NWA International Heavyweight Championship

On this page, you find the full Title History for the NWA International Heavyweight Championship, with all Championship Info, Statistics, the Belt Design changes through the years, and the full list of Title Reigns, along with dates, events, and reign durations.

The NWA International Heavyweight Championship was a secondary title contested in All Japan Pro Wrestling, International Wrestling Enterprise and Japanese Wrestling Association, by men wrestlers.

The championship was first established on November 1, 1957, and the inaugural champion was Lou Thesz.

The NWA International Heavyweight Championship was retired on April 18, 1989, when it was unified into the AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, with the final champion being Jumbo Tsuruta.

NWA International Heavyweight Championship: Title History

For the Title History of the championship in which this title was unified into, see the page for the AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship.

NWA International Heavyweight Championship: Title Reigns

N.	Image	Champion	Reign
All Japan Pro Wrestling
	Unified into the AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship April 18, 1989 Unified with PWF Heavyweight Championship and NWA United National Championship to create the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship.
20		Jumbo Tsuruta 3 April 19, 1988 House show \| Sendai, Japan	364 days
19		Bruiser Brody 3 March 27, 1988 House show \| Tokyo, Japan	23 days
18		Jumbo Tsuruta 2 October 21, 1986 House show \| Tokyo, Japan	523 days
17		Stan Hansen 1 July 31, 1986 House show \| Tokyo, Japan	82 days
16		Jumbo Tsuruta 1 April 30, 1983 House show \| Tokyo, Japan	1188 days
15		Bruiser Brody 2 April 21, 1982 House show \| Osaka, Japan	374 days
14		Dory Funk Jr. 3 November 1, 1981 House show \| Tokyo, Japan	171 days
13		Bruiser Brody 1 October 9, 1981 House show \| Tokyo, Japan	23 days
12		Dory Funk Jr. 2 August 1, 1981 House show \| Florida, United States	69 days
11		Butch Reed 1 June 1, 1981 House show \| Florida, United States Title reign not recognized in Japan.	61 days
10		Dory Funk Jr. 1 April 30, 1981 House show \| Matsudo, Japan Won tournament for the vacant title when Bruiser Brody was injured and unable to wrestle in the finals. Defeated Terry Funk for his first title defense instead.	32 days
		Vacant April 13, 1981 After the JWA closed in 1973, Ohki took the belt to South Korea from where he defended it. After briefly returning to Japan and making some defenses in IWE, Ohki vacated the title on April 13, 1981 under orders from the NWA.	17 days
International Wrestling Enterprise
9		Kintaro Oki 1 December 4, 1972 House show \| Hiroshima, Japan	3052 days
Japanese Wrestling Association
8		Bobo Brazil 2 December 1, 1972 House show \| Yokohama, Japan Defeated Kintarō Ōki for the vacant title.	3 days
		Vacant September 2, 1972 Vacated when Baba left the Japan Wrestling Association to start All Japan Pro Wrestling.	90 days
7		Giant Baba 3 December 19, 1970 House show \| Los Angeles, California, United States	623 days
6		Gene Kiniski December 3, 1970 House show \| Osaka, Japan	16 days
5		Giant Baba 2 June 27, 1968 House show \| Tokyo, Japan	889 days
4		Bobo Brazil 1 June 25, 1968 House show \| Nagoya, Japan	2 days
3		Giant Baba 1 November 24, 1965 House show \| Osaka, Japan Defeated Dick the Bruiser for the vacant title.	944 days
		Vacant December 15, 1963 Vacated following Rikidōzan's death from stab wounds suffered one week earlier in Tokyo, Japan.	710 days
2		Rikidōzan 1 August 27, 1958 House show \| Los Angeles, California, United States Thesz claims the match was not for the title and continues defending the title in the U.S. and Europe until regaining the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in January 1963.	1936 days
1		Lou Thesz 1 November 1, 1957 Thesz was awarded the championship by the NWA after losing the World Heavyweight Championship to Dick Hutton. Houston NWA promoter Morris Sigel claimed that Thesz had won the title by defeating Antonino Rocca in 1949.	299 days

NWA International Heavyweight Championship: Names & Belt Designs

- NWA International Heavyweight ChampionshipNovember 24, 1965April 18, 1989
- NWA International Heavyweight ChampionshipNovember 1, 1957December 15, 1963

NWA International Heavyweight Championship: Statistics

Promotions History
Promotion from to
PromotionAJPW April 30, 1981 April 18, 1989
PromotionIWE April 14, 1973 April 30, 1981
PromotionJWA November 1, 1957 April 14, 1973

Promotion	from	to
PromotionAJPW	April 30, 1981	April 18, 1989
PromotionIWE	April 14, 1973	April 30, 1981
PromotionJWA	November 1, 1957	April 14, 1973

Promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling International Wrestling Enterprise Japanese Wrestling Association National Wrestling Alliance
TerritoryWorld Tier 2
DivisionSecondary
GenderMale
Date EstablishedNovember 1, 1957
Date RetiredApril 18, 1989
Unified Into AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship

First ChampionLou Thesz
Final ChampionJumbo Tsuruta

Most Number of Reigns

Rank	Wrestler	Reigns
	Giant Baba	3
	Jumbo Tsuruta	3
	Bruiser Brody	3
	Dory Funk Jr.	3
	Bobo Brazil	2

Most Combined Days

Rank	Wrestler	Days
	Kintaro Oki	3052
	Giant Baba	2456
	Jumbo Tsuruta	2075
	Rikidōzan	1936
	Bruiser Brody	420

Longest Reigns

Wrestler	Reign	Days
Kintaro Oki	December 4, 1972 - April 13, 1981	3052
Rikidōzan	August 27, 1958 - December 15, 1963	1936
Jumbo Tsuruta	April 30, 1983 - July 31, 1986	1188
Giant Baba	November 24, 1965 - June 25, 1968	944
Giant Baba	June 27, 1968 - December 3, 1970	889