NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship

The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).

Beginning that October, the NWA began its first YouTube series, Ten Pounds of Gold, which focused primarily around the NWA World Heavyweight Champion and others in the division.

Although formally established in 1948, its lineage has been traditionally traced back to the first World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship, which traces its lineage to the title first awarded to George Hackenschmidt in 1905.

The last several reigns are recognized by the NWA under the NWA World Heavyweight Championship's lineage.

The title has been competed for in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, now WWE), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW, later Extreme Championship Wrestling), Ring of Honor (ROH), and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA, now Impact Wrestling).

In 1963, McMahon and Mondt had a dispute with the NWA over "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers being booked to hold the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

The title has been competed for in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, now WWE), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW, later Extreme Championship Wrestling), Ring of Honor (ROH), and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA, now Impact Wrestling).

It withdrew from the NWA in 2004 and became known as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), but it continued to use the NWA World Heavyweight and Tag Team championships as part of an agreement with the NWA.

The current champion is Nick Aldis, who is in his second reign.

Nicholas Aldis (born 6 November 1986) is an English professional wrestler currently signed by the National Wrestling Alliance, where he is the current NWA World Heavyweight Champion in his second reign.

Ric Flair holds the record for the most reigns with ten.

Flair is officially recognized by WWE as a 16-time world champion (eight-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, six-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and two-time WWF Champion), although the number of his world championship reigns varies by source, ranging from 16 to 25.

As Lou Thesz continued to hold the title, other popular wrestlers such as Verne Gagne became frustrated over the lack of change.

A fifteen-time world champion, he held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship three times for a combined total of 10 years, three months and nine days (3,749 days) – longer than anyone else in history.

The title has been competed for in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, now WWE), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW, later Extreme Championship Wrestling), Ring of Honor (ROH), and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA, now Impact Wrestling).

Crockett went to Tod Gordon and asked him to hold a tournament for the NWA's top prize, the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, in ECW's home area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 27, 1994.

This was recognized as a title change by those NWA affiliate promotions that would later evolve into the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in 1960.

He aspired to become NWA World Champion, but political sentiment within the NWA prevented it.

Ostensibly, the dispute was over "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers losing the NWA World Heavyweight Championship to Lou Thesz in one fall instead of a best-of-three — the format in which NWA World Heavyweight Championship matches were traditionally decided at the time.

Rogers was a two-time world champion, holding the top championship in both the NWA and the WWWF, today known as WWE (he was the inaugural WWWF World Heavyweight Champion).

On June 12, 1961, Carpentier lost a match to Freddie Blassie which created the basis for the WWA World Heavyweight Championship (Los Angeles version).

While there, he won the NWA Georgia Southern Heavyweight Championship, the holder of which was generally first in line to challenge the NWA World Heavyweight Champion whenever he passed through the territory.

On June 14, 1957 in Chicago, Thesz defended the world title against Canadian wrestler Édouard Carpentier in a two out of three falls match.

The highpoint of his career was his NWA World Heavyweight Championship reign from 1956 to 1957.

On June 12, 1961, Carpentier lost a match to Freddie Blassie which created the basis for the WWA World Heavyweight Championship (Los Angeles version).

The title was established as an offshoot of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship when Édouard Carpentier became recognized as world champion in Los Angeles, when the promotion was then known as the North American Wrestling Alliance.

"Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers was then recognized as the first WWWF World Heavyweight Champion.

During this time, Buddy Rogers held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship until January 24, when Lou Thesz defeated Rogers for the championship in a one fall match.

Flair returned to WCW and regained the belt from Barry Windham in July 1993; that same year, WCW recognized the Ric Flair-Tatsumi Fujinami NWA title changes in 1991.

In NWA/WCW, he was a one-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, a one-time United States Heavyweight Champion, a one-time Television Champion, a one-time Western States Heritage Champion, a four-time NWA (Mid Atlantic)/WCW World Tag Team Champion and a one-time NWA United States Tag Team Champion with Ron Garvin.

The NWA organization existed only on paper at this point; on television it was portrayed that the NWA World Heavyweight Championship simply became the WCW World Heavyweight Championship by late 1990.

It was the original world title of the World Championship Wrestling promotion, spun off from the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

On June 14, 1957 in Chicago, Thesz defended the world title against Canadian wrestler Édouard Carpentier in a two out of three falls match.

(Examples of this are Slammiversary XI, when Sting was defeated by defending champion Bully Ray in a no holds barred variant of this match and was barred from challenging for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship again no matter who held it, and the debut episode of NWA Power, where Tim Storm was barred from challenging for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship ever again as a result of losing to Nick Aldis).

Disputes between WCW management and the NWA Board reached the breaking point in the summer of 1993 over a variety of issues, not the least of which was a storyline by WCW to have the title switched to Rick Rude.

Rude also challenged for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on pay-per-view cards, headlining several such events during his career.

The NWA decided to hold a tournament for the vacated NWA World Heavyweight Championship through ECW at the ECW Arena in August 1994, which was won by ECW Heavyweight Champion Shane Douglas.

An NWA World Title Tournament at the venue in August 1994 ended with Shane Douglas throwing down the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and declaring himself ECW World Heavyweight Champion, effectively launching ECW as a national promotion.

The tournament was won by Japanese wrestler Masahiro Chono.

He is a former seven-time IWGP Tag Team Champion, and a former one-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion and a former one-time NWA Heavyweight Champion.

The NWA decided to hold a tournament for the vacated NWA World Heavyweight Championship through ECW at the ECW Arena in August 1994, which was won by ECW Heavyweight Champion Shane Douglas.

Martin held a dozen championships between ECW, WCW, and the WWF and is a five-time world champion: a four-time ECW World Heavyweight Champion and a one-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion.

The NWA decided to hold a tournament for the vacated NWA World Heavyweight Championship through ECW at the ECW Arena in August 1994, which was won by ECW Heavyweight Champion Shane Douglas.

It was the original world title of the ECW promotion, spun off from the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

Flair displayed the "Big Gold Belt" on WWF television, calling himself the "Real World's Heavyweight Champion."

The Big Gold Belt was first introduced in 1986 to replace the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt that had been used since 1973, historically known as the "domed globe".

It had been planned that the NWA would present Thesz and Carpentier as rival champions in different cities following a similar pattern to the successful title dispute matches between Thesz and Leo Nomellini.

While working for the National Wrestling Alliance, Nomellini once defeated Lou Thesz in a two-out-of-three falls match, but was not awarded the NWA World Heavyweight Championship because the first fall was a disqualification.

Although Severn had attempted to go the "traveling champion" route done by former champions Thesz, Dory Funk, Jr., Harley Race, and Terry Funk, the competition level was relatively minor due to the lack of strong territories.

He was a nine time world champion, having won the WWA World Heavyweight Championship once and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship eight times and was the first NWA United States Heavyweight Champion.