NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship

The NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship in the National Wrestling Alliance competed for by wrestlers in the Junior Heavyweight division. The title has been in existence from 1945 to the present.[1] The title was unified with the National Wrestling Association's World Junior Heavyweight Championship in 1949.

For the Pro Wrestling Zero1 recognized title, see NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (Zero1).
NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship
The latest NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship belt.
Details
PromotionNWA
Date establishedMay 15, 1945
Date retiredSeptember 30, 2017

Title history
Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days
1 Ken Fenelon May 15, 1945 N/A N/A 1 N/A Fenelon was awarded the title by Pinkie George, founder of the NWA.
2 Marshall Esteppe May 30, 1945 N/A Toronto, IA 1 216 [2]
3 Larry Tillman January 10, 1946 N/A Des Moines, IA 1 69
4 Ken Fenelon March 11, 1946 N/A Des Moines, IA 2 301
5 Marshall Esteppe January 6, 1947 N/A Des Moines, IA 2 77
6 Ray Steele March 24, 1947 N/A Des Moines, IA 1 35
7 Marshall Esteppe April 28, 1947 N/A Des Moines, IA 3 77
8 Billy Goelz March 16, 1948 N/A Des Moines, IA 1 159
9 Al Williams August 22, 1948 N/A Waterloo, IA 1 14
10 Billy Goelz September 5, 1948 N/A Waterloo, IA 2 114 Recognition withdrawn in 49 when NWA selects Leroy McGuirk as champion.
11 Leroy McGuirk December 28, 1948 N/A Des Moines, IA 1 41 Defeating John Swenski on June 19, 1939 in Hollywood, CA; recognized by National Wrestling Alliance during the convention later defeats Billy Goelz and Unified National Wrestling Association's World Junior Heavyweight Championship into National Wrestling Alliance title.
— Vacated February 7, 1950 — — — —
12 Verne Gagne November 13, 1950 N/A Tulsa, OK 1 371
13 Danny McShain November 19, 1951 N/A Memphis, TN 1 637 Unifies the Los Angeles version of the world title, defeating Rito Romero on May 25, 1952 in Los Angeles, CA; Whitey Whittler defeats McShain by DQ on October 17, 1952 in Oklahoma City, OK and claims the title; Red Berry defeats McShain by DQ on November 11, 1952 in Dallas, TX and claims the title; McShain defeats Whittler on November 14, 1952 in Oklahoma City, OK and Berry on November 27, 1952 in Galveston, Texas, to regain the respective claims.
14 Baron Michele Leone August 17, 1953 N/A Los Angeles, CA 1 602
15 Ed Francis April 11, 1955 N/A Tulsa, OK 1 365
16 Mike Clancy April 10, 1956 N/A Oklahoma City, OK 1 350
17 Fred Blassie March 26, 1957 N/A Nashville, TN 1 <1
— Vacated March 26, 1957 — — — — Immediately held up due to a controversial finish.
18 Mike Clancy April 9, 1957 N/A Nashville, TN 2 217 Defeated Fred Blassie.
— Vacated November 12, 1957 — — — — Held up; Clancy defeated Jackie Fargo by DQ at November 15 in Nashville, TN.
19 Mike Clancy November 19, 1957 N/A Nashville, TN 3 101
20 Angelo Savoldi February 28, 1958 N/A Oklahoma City, OK 1 97
21 Dory Funk June 5, 1958 N/A Amarillo, TX 1 36
22 Angelo Savoldi July 11, 1958 N/A 224 2
23 Ivan the Terrible February 20, 1959 N/A Oklahoma City, OK 1 14
24 Angelo Savoldi March 6, 1959 N/A 84 3
25 Mike DiBiase May 29, 1959 N/A 84 1
26 Angelo Savoldi August 21, 1959 N/A 336 4
27 Danny Hodge July 22, 1960 N/A 1,450 1
28 Hiro Matsuda July 11, 1964 N/A 125 1
29 Angelo Savoldi November 13, 1964 N/A 161 5
30 Danny Hodge April 23, 1965 N/A 214 2
31 Lorenzo Parente November 23, 1965 N/A 42 1
32 Danny Hodge January 4, 1966 N/A 10 3
33 Lorenzo Parente January 14, 1966 N/A 29 2
34 Joe McCarthy February 12, 1966 N/A 80 1
35 Danny Hodge May 3, 1966 N/A 1,361 4
36 Sputnik Monroe July 13, 1970 N/A 28 1
37 Danny Hodge August 10, 1970 N/A 283 5
38 Roger Kirby May 20, 1971 N/A 113 1
39 Ramón Torres September 10, 1971 N/A 84 1
40 Dr. X December 3, 1971 N/A 108 1
41 Danny Hodge March 20, 1972 N/A 639 6
42 Ken Mantell December 19, 1973 N/A 272 1
† Wrestling Pro September 17, 1974 — 49 1†
† Ken Mantell November 5, 1974 — 221 1(2)
43 Hiro Matsuda June 14, 1975 N/A St. Petersburg, FL 2 262
44 Danny Hodge March 2, 1976 N/A Shreveport, LA 7 13
— Vacated March 15, 1976 — — — —
45 Pat Barrett September 28, 1976 N/A 65 1
46 Ron Starr December 2, 1976 N/A New Orleans, LA 1 4
47 Nelson Royal December 6, 1976 N/A New Orleans, LA 1 566
48 Chavo Guerrero Sr. February 24, 1978 N/A N/A 1 42
49 Nelson Royal April 7, 1978 N/A N/A 2 79
50 Al Madril June 25, 1978 N/A Houston, TX 1 398
51 Nelson Royal July 28, 1979 N/A N/A 3 134
— Vacated December 9, 1979 — — — — When Royal Retires.
† Steve Keirn December 10, 1979 — Los Angeles, CA 1† 0 Defeated Chavo Guerrero, Sr. to seemingly win the vacant title, but NWA did not recognize the win as being for the title, though it was recognized by Florida, Los Angeles, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling; this version was later renamed the NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship.
— Vacated December 10, 1979 — — — —
52 Ron Starr February 11, 1980 N/A Tulsa, OK 2 N/A
53 Les Thornton March 1, 1980 N/A N/A 1 N/A
54 Jerry Stubbs January 26, 1981 N/A Mobile, AL 1 5
55 Les Thornton January 31, 1981 N/A Dothan, AL 2 127
56 Terry Taylor June 7, 1981 N/A Roanoke, VA 1 13
57 Les Thornton June 20, 1981 N/A Roanoke, VA 3 88
58 Gerald Brisco September 16, 1981 N/A Miami, FL 1 30
59 Les Thornton October 16, 1981 N/A Knoxville, TN 4 22
60 Joe Lightfoot November 7, 1981 N/A Bayamon, Puerto Rico 1 7
61 Les Thornton November 14, 1981 N/A San Juan, Puerto Rico 5 192
62 Tiger Mask May 25, 1982 N/A Shizuoka, Japan 1 313 In 1982, some North American promoters declared the title vacant due to Tiger Mask wrestling for the World Wrestling Federation; however, during an annual meeting between the NWA and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, it's announced that Tiger Mask is still recognized as the official champion. [3]
— Vacated April 3, 1983 — — — — Vacated when Tiger Mask was injured two days prior.
63 Tiger Mask June 2, 1983 N/A 71 2
— Vacated August 12, 1983 — — — — Vacated after Tiger Mask retired.
64 The Cobra November 3, 1983 N/A 633 1 Defeated Davey Boy Smith in a decision match. Around this time, Les Thornton is recognized by promoters in the US as champion.
† Les Thornton November 14, 1983 — N/A 6† Wins a fictitious tournament to be recognized by Georgia Championship Wrestling.
— Vacated June 2, 1984 — — — — Thornton joins WWF after its takeover of Georgia Championship Wrestling.
† Hector Guerrero July 13, 1984 — Los Angeles, CA 1† 81 Wins a fictitious tournament to be recognized by Jim Crockett Promotions.
† Mike Davis October 2, 1984 — Albuquerque,NM 1† 112
† Denny Brown November 22, 1984 — Greensboro, NC 1† 248 Wins the title at Starrcade.
65 Hiro Saito July 28, 1985 N/A 0 1 Wins the title from The Cobra.
66 The Cobra July 28, 1985 N/A Osaka, Japan 2 4
— Vacated August 1, 1985 — — — —
67 Denny Brown August 1, 1985 N/A N/A 1(2) Won disputed version of title at Starrcade 1984 by defeating Mike Davis; recognized as champion by NWA vice president Shohei Baba, promoter of All Japan Pro Wrestling, after rival promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling withdraws from the NWA.
68 Gary Royal August 15, 1985 N/A 31 1
69 Denny Brown September 15, 1985 N/A 321 2(3)
70 Steve Regal August 2, 1986 N/A 30 1
71 Denny Brown September 1, 1986 N/A 187 3(4)
72 Lazor Tron March 7, 1987 N/A Atlanta, GA 1(2) N/A Lazor formerly known as Hector Guerrero. [4]
— Vacated October 8, 1987 — — — — Vacated when Tron left Jim Crockett Promotions.
73 Nelson Royal October 16, 1987 N/A Columbia, SC 4 280 Defeats Denny Brown for the vacant title; takes the title to USA Championship Wrestling in Knoxville in May 1988. Masanobu Fuchi, All Japan Pro Wrestling's reigning World Junior Heavyweight Champion, was then disputably recognized as the new champion; however, Royal continued defending the title across the country until 1989, when it was abandoned.
74 Scott Armstrong July 22, 1988 N/A 1 1
75 Nelson Royal July 23, 1988 N/A 8 5
76 Scott Armstrong July 30, 1988 N/A 20 2
77 Nelson Royal August 2, 1988 N/A N/A 6 USA Championship Wrestling closes in October 1988; Royal promotes Atlantic Coast Wrestling in the Carolinas and bills himself as world champion.
78 Les Anderson November 18, 1988 N/A N/A 1
79 Rock The Hunter June 15, 1989 N/A N/A 1
80 Les Anderson December 25, 1989 N/A 1 2
— Deactivated December 26, 1989 — — — —
81 Masayoshi Motegi August 30, 1995 N/A Tokyo, Japan 1 338 Defeated El Hijo del Santo in a tournament final when the NWA revives the title. The card was promoted by Motegi's Wrestle Yume (Dream) Factory.
82 The Great Sasuke August 2, 1996 N/A Tokyo, Japan 1 70 Wins an 8-man tournament to decide the first J-Crown holder, a combination of eight titles categorized junior heavyweight or lower. These titles were still technically considered separate, as opposed to one unified championship, and continued to be defended as such.
83 Último Dragón October 11, 1996 N/A Osaka, Japan 1 85
84 Jushin Thunder Liger January 4, 1997 N/A Tokyo, Japan 1 183 Defeated Dragón at Wrestling World.
85 El Samurai July 6, 1997 N/A Sapporo, Japan 1 35
86 Shinjiro Otani August 10, 1997 N/A Nagoya, Japan 1 87
— Vacated November 5, 1997 — — — — Vacated when the J-Crown was decommissioned and all titles are returned to their home promotions.
87 Logan Caine March 5, 1999 N/A Parkersburg, WV 1 237 Defeated Viper in a tournament final.
— Vacated October 28, 1999 — — — — Stripped due to no-showing a title defense against Vince Kaplack.
88 Vince Kaplack October 28, 1999 N/A Pittsburgh, PA 1 78 Defeated Chris Hero as a replacement for Logan Caine.
89 Tony Kozina January 14, 2000 N/A North Versailles, PA 1 190
90 Rockford 2000 July 22, 2000 N/A Surrey, BC, Canada 1 35
91 Tony Kozina August 30, 2000 N/A N/A 2 39 Awarded when NWA officials review the tape of a title match between Rockford and Kozina on August 26.
92 Vince Kaplack October 14, 2000 N/A Nashville, TN 2 175 Won the title at the NWA 52nd Anniversary Show.
93 Rocky Reynolds April 7, 2001 N/A Pennsboro, WV 1 27
94 Mike Thunder May 4, 2001 N/A North Richland Hills, TX 1 109
95 Lex Lovett August 21, 2001 N/A Tampa, FL 1 53
96 Jason Rumble October 13, 2001 N/A Saint Petersburg, FL 1 112 Defeated Lovett, Jimmy Rave, Brandon K & BJ Turner in a five-way match at the NWA 53rd Anniversary Show.
97 Rocky Reynolds February 2, 2002 N/A Titusville, PA 2 14
98 Jason Rumble February 16, 2002 N/A Malden, MA 2 49
99 Rocky Reynolds April 6, 2002 N/A Parkersburg, WV 3 56
100 Jimmy Rave June 29, 2002 N/A Cornelia, GA 1 42 Defeated Reynolds and Jeremy Lopez in a three-way match.
101 Star August 10, 2002 N/A Columbia, TN 1 7
102 Jimmy Rave August 17, 2002 N/A Columbia, TN 2 154
103 Brother Love January 18, 2003 N/A Greenville, MS 1 140
104 Rocky Reynolds June 7, 2003 N/A Parkersburg, WV 4 56
105 Chris Draven August 2, 2003 N/A Parkersburg, WV 1 161
106 Jerrelle Clark January 10, 2004 N/A St. Petersburg, FL 1 281
107 Jason Rumble October 17, 2004 N/A Winnipeg, MB, Canada 3 312 Defeated Clark and Vance Desmond in a three-way match at the NWA 56th Anniversary Show.
108 Black Tiger IV August 25, 2005 N/A Columbia, TN 1 178
109 Tiger Mask IV February 19, 2006 N/A Tokyo, Japan 1 446 [5]
110 Mike Quackenbush May 11, 2007 N/A Portage, IN 1 1275
111 Craig Classic November 6, 2010 N/A Fort Pierce, FL 1 247
— Vacated September 20, 2011 — — — — Classic relinquished the title in protest of The Sheik being stripped of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Classic brought his own version of the title to Pro Wrestling Zero1 as the New Wrestling Alliance championship.
112 Kevin Douglas October 7, 2011 N/A Charlotte, NC 1 373 Defeated Chase Owens in a tournament final.
— Vacated October 14, 2012 — — — — Douglas was stripped of the title for no-showing a scheduled title defense on October 13, 2012 against Chase Owens. A one-night tournament was held in Kingsport, TN in lieu of the Douglas-Owens match.
113 Chase Owens October 13, 2012 N/A Kingsport, TN 1 Defeated Matt Conard and Zac Vincent in a tournament final.
114 Jason Kincaid August 10, 2013 N/A Kingsport, TN 1 69
115 Chase Owens October 18, 2013 N/A Houston, TX 2 78
116 Ricky Morton January 4, 2014 N/A Kingsport, TN 1 62
117 Chase Owens March 7, 2014 N/A Church Hill, TN 3 246
118 Jushin Thunder Liger November 8, 2014 N/A Osaka, JPN 2 156
119 Steve Anthony April 13, 2015 N/A N/A 1 163
120 Tiger Mask IV September 23, 2015 N/A N/A 2 178
121 Steve Anthony March 19, 2016 N/A Nagoya, Japan 2 112
122 John Saxon July 9, 2016 N/A Pensacola, FL 1 275
123 Arrick Andrews April 8, 2017 N/A Dyersburg, TN 1 41
124 Mr. USA May 19, 2017 N/A Franklin, KY 1 85
125 Barrett Brown August 12, 2017 N/A Dyersburg, TN 1 49
— Vacated September 30, 2017 — — — —

Combined reigns
Rank Wrestler No. of
reigns		 Combined days
1 Danny Hodge74,134
2 Mike Quackenbush11,275
3 Angelo Savoldi5902
4 Nelson Royal6846
5 Mike Clancy3768
6 Denny Brown3(4)756
7 Danny McShain1637
The Cobra2637
8 Chase Owens3626
9 Tiger Mask IV2624
10 Baron Michele Leone1602
11 Hiro Matsuda2548
12 Ken Mantell1(2)493
13 Jason Rumble3473
14 Les Thornton6429
15 Al Madril1398
16 Tiger Mask2384
17 Kevin Douglas1373
18 Verne Gagne1371
19 Marshall Esteppe3370
20 Ed Francis1364
21 Jushin Thunder Liger2339
22 Masayoshi Motegi1338
23 Ken Fenelon2301
24 Jerrelle Clark1281
25 Steve Anthony2275
John Saxon1275
27 Vince Kaplack2253
28 Craig Classic1247
29 Logan Caine1237
30 Tony Kozina2229
31 Jimmy Rave2196
32 Barrett Brown1182
33 Rocky Reynolds4181
34 Black Tiger IV1178
35 Chris Draven1161
36 Billy Goelz2159
37 Brother Love1140
38 Roger Kirby1113
— Mike Davis1†112
39 Mike Thunder1109
40 Dr. X1108
41 Shinjiro Otani187
42 Último Dragón185
Mr. USA185
43 Mike DiBiase184
Ramón Torres184
44 Hector Guerrero/Lazor Tron1(2)81
45 Joe McCarthy180
46 Chavo Guerrero Sr.279
47 Lorenzo Parente271
48 The Great Sasuke170
49 Pat Barrett169
Larry Tillman169
Jason Kincaid169
50 Ricky Morton162
51 Lex Lovett153
— Wrestling Pro1†49
52 Arrick Andrews141
Leroy McGuirk141
53 Dory Funk136
54 Ray Steele135
El Samurai135
55 Gary Royal131
56 Steve Regal130
57 Sputnik Monroe128
58 Al Williams114
Ivan The Terrible114
59 Joe Lightfoot17
Star17
60 Jerry Stubbs15
61 Ron Starr24
62 Scott Armstrong21
Les Anderson21
63 Hiro Saito1<1
Fred Blassie1<1
64 Rock The Hunter1N/A

See also

References
  1. Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  2. Hoops, Brian (May 30, 2015). "ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY (MAY 30): INOKI BEATS ANDRE TO WIN MSG LEAGUE, GAREA & CALHOUN WIN WWWF TAG TITLES, GAGNE VS. FUNK JR., UFC BOOKER WINS TITLE". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  3. Hoops, Brian (May 25, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (May 25): Rockers last match in AWA, Tiger Mask wins NWA Jr. Heavyweight gold, Russian amateur wrestler beats Vader". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  4. Hoops, Brian (March 7, 2020). "Daily Pro Wrestling history (03/07): Bruno Sammartino vs. Giant Baba". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  5. Hoops, Brian (February 19, 2017). "Daily Pro Wrestling History (02/19): Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker at No Way Out 2006". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.