NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Championship (Gulf Coast version)

The NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling regional championship in Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling (GCCW). It was a secondary title, complementing the NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Championship, and one of several state championships recognized by the National Wrestling Alliance. The title was deactivated with the retirement of "Cowboy" Bob Kelly on September 3, 1976.

NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Championship
Details
PromotionGulf Coast Championship Wrestling
Date establishedJuly 3, 1958
Date retiredSeptember 3, 1976

There have been a total of 33 recognized champions who have had a combined 78 official reigns, with Bob Kelly holding the most at eighteen. The longest reigning champion was Lee Fields, who held the title for 281 days. The shortest reigning champion was The Avenger, who held the title for only four days.

Key
Reign The reign number for the specific set of wrestlers listed
Event The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the titles were won
N/A The specific information is not known
— Used for vacated reigns so as not to count it as an official reign
(n) Indicates that a title change took place "no later than" the date listed.[Note 1]
  Indicates that there was a period where the lineage is undocumented due to the lack of written documentation

Title history
No. Champion Reign Date Days held Location Event Notes Ref.
1 Bobby Fields 1 July 3, 1958 63 Hattiesburg, MS Live event Defeated The Great Malenko in a tournament final. [1]
2 Mario Galento 1 September 4, 1958 5 Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [2]
3 Tom Drake 1 September 9, 1958 56 Laurel, MS Live event    
4 Lee Fields 1 November 4, 1958 56 Laurel, MS Live event    
5 Joe McCarthy 1 December 30, 1958 14 Laurel, MS Live event    
6 Lee Fields 2 January 13, 1959 28 Laurel, MS Live event This was a boxing match.  
— Vacated — February 10, 1959 — Laurel, MS Live event Championship vacated when Lee Fields is stripped for fighting outside the ring during a title defense against Rocket Monroe and using a folding chair to attack his opponent.  
7 Pancho Villa 1 March 31, 1959 14 Laurel, MS Live event Defeated Lee Fields in a tournament final.  
8 Lee Fields 3 April 14, 1959 35 Laurel, MS Live event    
9 John Smith 1 May 19, 1959 N/A Laurel, MS Live event    
                 
— Vacated — October 1959 — Jackson, MS Live event Championship vacated following a controversial match between Lee Fields and The Mighty Yankee.  
10 Pancho Villa 2 November 1959 [Note 2] Laurel, MS Live event Defeated Lee Fields in a tournament final.  
11 Lee Fields 4 December 15, 1959 70 Laurel, MS Live event    
12 Joe McCarthy 2 February 23, 1960 [Note 3] Laurel, MS Live event    
— Vacated — March 1960 — N/A N/A Championship vacated when McCarthy is stripped of the title for refusing to accept a challenge by Al Galento.  
13 Al Galento 1 March 22, 1960 13 Laurel, MS Live event Defeated Jack Curtis, Jr. to win the vacant title.  
14 Lee Fields 5 April 4, 1960 281 Laurel, MS Live event    
15 Pancho Villa 3 January 10, 1961 N/A Laurel, MS Live event    
                 
16 Dick Dunn 1 March 2, 1964 N/A Laurel, MS Live event Defeated Bobby Fields in a one-night 10-man tournament final.  
                 
17 Bobby Fields 2 April 6, 1968 151 N/A N/A Billed as champion upon arrival. [1]
18 Bob Kelly 1 September 4, 1968 47 Hattiesburg, MS Live event    
19 Rocket Monroe 1 October 21, 1968 61 Laurel, MS Live event    
20 Bob Kelly 2 December 21, 1968 117 Laurel, MS Live event    
21 Mitsu Sito April 17, 1969 27 Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [3]
22 Bob Boyer 1 May 14, 1969 85 Laurel, MS Live event   [4]
23 Rocket Monroe 2 August 7, 1969 21 Hattiesburg, MS Live event    
24 The Blue Yankee 1 August 28, 1969 7 Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [5]
25 Bob Kelly 3 September 4, 1969 21 Hattiesburg, MS Live event    
26 The Blue Yankee 2 September 25, 1969 123 Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [5]
27 Bob Kelly 4 January 26, 1970 80 Laurel, MS Live event    
28 Mike Boyette 1 April 16, 1970 98 Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [6]
29 The Blue Yankee 3 July 23, 1970 28 Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [5]
30 Bobby Whitlock 1 August 20, 1970 28 Hattiesburg, MS Live event    
31 The Avenger 1 September 17, 1970 4 Hattiesburg, MS Live event    
32 Bob Kelly 5 September 21, 1970 35 Laurel, MS Live event    
33 Rocket Monroe 3 October 26, 1970 31 Laurel, MS Live event    
34 Ken Lucas 1 November 26, 1970 14 Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [7]
35 Rocket Monroe 4 December 10, 1970 42 Hattiesburg, MS Live event    
36 Bobby Fields 3 January 21, 1971 [Note 4] Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [1]
— Vacated — 1971 — N/A N/A Championship vacated for unknown reasons; Fields may have been forced to forfeit the title due to a pre-match stipulation when he failed to defeat Sam Bass in less than 5 minutes Hattiesburg, Mississippi on February 25, 1971.  
37 Terry Garvin 1 March 18, 1971 7 Hattiesburg, MS Live event Defeated Bob Kelly in a tournament final.  
38 Bob Kelly 6 March 25, 1971 49 Hattiesburg, MS Live event    
39 Eddie Sullivan 1 May 13, 1971 28 Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [8][9][10]
40 Bob Kelly 7 June 10, 1971 119 Hattiesburg, MS Live event    
41 Eddie Sullivan 2 October 7, 1971 35 Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [10]
42 Ken Lucas 2 November 11, 1971 14 Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [7][11]
43 Eddie Sullivan 3 November 25, 1971 60 Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [10]
44 Bob Kelly 8 January 24, 1972 21 Laurel, MS Live event   [12]
45 Donnie Fargo 1 February 14, 1972 31 Laurel, MS Live event   [13]
46 Bob Kelly 9 March 16, 1972 120 Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [14]
47 The Spoiler 1 July 14, 1972 4 Hattiesburg, MS Live event    
48 Arman Hussein 1 July 18, 1972 [Note 5] Laurel, MS Live event   [15]
— Vacated — August 1972 — N/A N/A Championship vacated for failing to defend the title.  
49 Gorgeous George Jr. 1 August 31, 1972 14 Hattiesburg, MS Live event Won a battle royal to win the vacant title. [16][17]
50 The Spoiler 2 September 14, 1972 39 Hattiesburg, MS Live event    
51 Arman Hussein 2 October 23, 1972 24 Laurel, MS Live event   [15]
52 The Mysterious Medic 1 November 16, 1972 28 Hattiesburg, MS Live event    
53 Bob Kelly 10 December 14, 1972 35 Hattiesburg, MS Live event    
54 The Mysterious Medic 2 January 18, 1973 21 Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [18]
55 Bob Kelly 11 February 8, 1973 63 Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [19][20]
56 The Wrestling Pro 1 April 12, 1973 4 Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [21][22]
57 Arman Hussein 3 April 16, 1973 59 Laurel, MS Live event   [15]
58 Rocket Monroe 5 June 14, 1973 70 Hattiesburg, MS Live event    
59 Ken Lucas 3 August 23, 1973 39 Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [7][23][24]
60 Norvell Austin 1 October 1, 1973 24 Laurel, MS Live event   [25]
61 Ken Lucas 4 October 25, 1973 49 Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [7]
62 Duke Miller 1 December 13, 1973 35 Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [26]
63 Bob Kelly 12 January 17, 1974 98 Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [27]
64 The Wrestling Pro 2 April 25, 1974 [Note 6] Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [22]
— Vacated — June 1974 — N/A N/A Championship vacated for unknown reasons. A 10-man tournament is held in Laurel, Mississippi on July 1, 1974, however, the winner is unknown.  
                 
65 Jack Donovan 1 August, 1974 (n) [Note 7] Unknown Live event    
                 
66 Bob Kelly 13 February 20, 1975 14 Hattiesburg, MS Live event    
67 Chris Colt 1 March 6, 1975 7 Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [28]
68 Bob Kelly 14 March 13, 1975 49 Hattiesburg, MS Live event    
69 Rip Tyler 1 May 1, 1975 8 Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [29]
70 Big Bad John 1 May 9, 1975 13 Meridian, MS Live event   [30]
71 The Bounty Hunter #1 1 May 22, 1975 98 Hattiesburg, MS Live event This was during a battle royal in which Big Bad John had been put the title on the line.  
72 Bob Kelly 15 August 28, 1975 14 Hattiesburg, MS Live event    
73 Melvin Kimball 1 September 11, 1975 14 Hattiesburg, MS Live event    
74 Bob Kelly 16 September 25, 1975 84 Hattiesburg, MS Live event    
— Vacated — December 18, 1975 — N/A N/A Championship vacated when Kelly leaves the Gulf Coast territory. [31]
75 Duke Miller 2 January 22, 1976 105 Hattiesburg, MS Live event Defeated Eddie Sullivan in a tournament final. [31]
76 Bob Kelly 17 May 6, 1976 49 Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [32]
— Vacated — June 24, 1976 — N/A N/A Title held up and a tournament is held to decide a new champion.  
77 Sweet Daddy Banks 1 July 1, 1976 14 Hattiesburg, MS Live event Won an 8-man tournament to win the vacant title.  
78 Bob Kelly 18 July 15, 1976 50 Hattiesburg, MS Live event   [33][34]
— Deactivated — September 3, 1976 — — N/A Championship is vacated upon Bob Kelly's retirement and subsequently abandoned. [33]

List of top combined reigns
¤ The exact length of several title reigns are uncertain, so the shortest possible length is used.
List of combined reigns
Rank Champion No. of reigns Combined days
1 Bob Kelly 18 1,065
2 Lee Fields 5 470
3 Bobby Fields 3 249
4 Rocket Monroe 5 225
5 The Blue Yankee 3 158
6 Duke Miller 2 140
7 Eddie Sullivan 3 123
8 Ken Lucas 4 116
9 Mike Boyette 1 98
10 Bounty Hunter #1 1
11 Arman Hussein 3 97
12 Bob Boyer 1 85
13 The Wrestling Pro 2 64¤
14 Tom Drake 1 56
15 Dick Dunn 1 54¤
16 The Mysterious Medic 2 49
17 The Spoiler 2 43
18 Donnie Fargo 1 31
19 Pancho Villa 3 28¤
20 Bobby Whitlock 1 28
21 Mitsu Sito 1 27
22 Norvell Austin 1 24
23 Joe McCarthy 2 23¤
24 Gorgeous George Jr. 1 14
25 Melvin Kimball 1
26 Big Bad John 1 13
27 Al Galento 1
28 Rip Tyler 1 8
29 Terry Garvin 1 7
30 Chris Colt 1
31 Mario Galento 1 5
32 The Avenger 1 4
33 John Smith 1 N/A

Footnotes
  1. Documentation of the specific date of a title change is not found but documentation of the champion holding the title on that date/in that period.
  2. The exact date on which the title was won is not known, which means their title reign lasted between 15 and 44 days.
  3. The exact date on which the title was vacated is not known, which means their title reign lasted between 9 and 25 days.
  4. The exact date on which the title was vacated is not known, which means their title reign lasted between 35 and 56 days.
  5. The exact date on which the title was vacated is not known, which means their title reign lasted between 14 and 44 days.
  6. The exact date on which the title was vacated is not known, which means their title reign lasted between 60 and 64 days.
  7. The exact date on which the title was won is not known, which means their title reign lasted between 31 and 195 days.

References

General

  • Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "United States: Mississippi". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 229. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  • "NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title (Gulf Coast)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  • Norris, Mike (2004). "Regional Territories: GCCW". KayfabeMemories.com.

Specific

  1. "Bobby Fields Profile". Online World of Wrestling.
  2. "Mario Galento Profile". Online World of Wrestling.
  3. Hoops, Brian (April 17, 2020). "Daily pro wrestling (04/17): WCW Spring Stampede 1994". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  4. "Bob Boyer Profile". Online World of Wrestling.
  5. "Curtis Smith Profile". Online World of Wrestling.
  6. "Mike Boyette Profile". Online World of Wrestling.
  7. Schwarz, H.K. (2014). "Ken Lucas Biography". Pro Wrestling Historical Society.
  8. Martinez, Ryan (May 13, 2009). "This day in history: The Boston Garden's last show, NWA and TNA split, U.S. title tournament and more". PWInsider.com.
  9. Hoops, Brian (May 13, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (May 13): Rick Martel wins AWA gold, Kurt Angle wins TNA title, Nash & Hall beat one man to win tag titles". F4Wonline.com. Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Weekly.
  10. Gallipoli, Thomas M. (February 29, 2008). "Specialist: List of Deceased Wrestlers for 2000 - Solie, Albright, Duncum, Tsuruta, Blue Demon, Al Costello". PWTorch.com. Pro Wrestling Torch.
  11. Norris, Mike (2004). "GCCW #6 Page #2". KayfabeMemories.com.
  12. Martinez, Ryan (January 24, 2008). "THIS DAY IN HISTORY: THESZ VS. ROGERS SETS THE STAGE FOR THE BIRTH OF THE WWWF, MCMAHON WINS THE RUMBLE, BUNKHOUSE STAMPEDE ON PPV, JIM ROSS DAY". PWInsider.com.
  13. "Don Fargo Profile". Online World of Wrestling.
  14. Martinez, Ryan (March 16, 2008). "THIS DAY IN HISTORY: WCW UNCENSORED, KINISKI WINS MISSOURI TITLE, ATLAS DEFEATS HOGAN AND MORE". PWInsider.com.
  15. Oliver, Greg (January 10, 2008). "The mystery of Arman Hussian". Canadian Online Explorer. SLAM! Sports.
  16. Martinez, Ryan (August 31, 2008). "THIS DAY IN HISTORY: UK SUMMERSLAM AIRS, NITRO RUNS UNOPPOSED, SEVEN TITLE BELTS IN ONE MATCH AND MORE". PWInsider.com.
  17. Hoops, Brian (August 31, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (August 31): Jerry Lawler vs. Don Bass hair vs. title cage match, lots of Memphis history". F4Wonline.com. Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Weekly.
  18. Hoops, Brian (January 18, 2019). "Pro wrestling history (01/18): Ivan Koloff defeats Bruno Sammartino for WWWF title". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  19. Johnson, Mike (February 8, 2012). "2/8 THIS DAY IN HISTORY: PEDRO MORALES WINS WWF TITLE, RING OF HONOR FIRST ANNIVERSARY RIOT AND MORE". PWInsider.com.
  20. Hoops, Brian (February 8, 2016). "Daily pro wrestling history (02/08): Randy Savage wins the WWF IC Title". F4Wonline.com. Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Weekly.
  21. Johnson, Mike (April 12, 2012). "4/12 THIS DAY IN HISTORY". PWInsider.com.
  22. "Masked Classic: The Wrestling Pro". Sumo Nova. September 26, 2006.
  23. Johnson, Mike (August 23, 2011). "8/23 THIS DAY IN HISTORY". PWInsider.com.
  24. Hoops, Brian (August 23, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (August 23): HHH downs Mankind to win WWF title, CM Punk wins WWE World title in TLC match". F4Wonline.com. Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Weekly.
  25. "Norvell Austin Profile". Online World of Wrestling.
  26. Johnson, Mike (December 13, 2014). "12/13 THIS DAY IN HISTORY: AWA SUPERCLASH 3 UNIFIES WORLD CLASS AND AWA TITLES". PWInsider.com.
  27. Hoops, Brian (January 17, 2019). "Pro wrestling history (01/17): Vader wins IWGP heavyweight title". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  28. "Chris Colt Profile". Online World of Wrestling.
  29. "Rip Tyler Profile". Online World of Wrestling.
  30. "Big Bad John Profile". Online World of Wrestling.
  31. Johnson, Mike (January 22, 2015). "1/22 THIS DAY IN HISTORY: CHAVO'S BIGGEST WWE WIN, BACKLUND VS. STUDD IN NYC, HBK WINS FIRST RUMBLE, RUMBLE'S ONLY TIE, BLACKWELL PASSES AWAY AND MORE". PWInsider.com.
  32. F4W Staff (May 6, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (May 6): Verne Gagne Vs. Danny Hodge, 1st Annual Von Erich Parade of Champions show". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  33. Martinez, Ryan (July 15, 2011). "7/15 THIS DAY IN HISTORY". PWInsider.com.
  34. Hoops, Brian (July 15, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (July 15): Brock Lesnar stripped of IWGP title, CZW vs. ROH". F4Wonline.com. Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Weekly.
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