On this page, you find the full Title History for the NWA Worlds 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 Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a World Title contested in National Wrestling Alliance, by men wrestlers.
The championship was first established on July 14, 1948.
The current champion is EC3, who won the title at NWA 75 on August 27, 2023, and has been reigning for 334 days.
NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship: Title History
-
Promotions / Brands
Promotion from to Promotion 
NWAMay 13, 2007 Present Promotion 
TNAJune 19, 2002 May 12, 2007 Promotion NWASeptember 16, 1993 June 18, 2002 Promotion 
WCW, NWANovember 21, 1988 September 15, 1993 Promotion NWA, 
JCPJanuary 1, 1985 November 20, 1988 Promotion NWAJuly 14, 1948 December 31, 1984
- Championship Names & Belt Designs
-
NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship ("Ten Pounds of Gold") October 21, 2016 - NWA World Heavyweight Championship ("Ten Pounds of Gold") June 19, 2002 October 20, 2016
-
NWA World Heavyweight Championship (Dan Severn) March 9, 2002 June 18, 2002 - NWA World Heavyweight Championship ("Ten Pounds of Gold") September 16, 1993 March 8, 2002
-
NWA World Heavyweight Championship ("Big Gold") August 9, 1986 September 15, 1993 - NWA World Heavyweight Championship ("Ten Pounds of Gold") May 24, 1973 August 8, 1986
-
NWA World Heavyweight Championship ("Crown belt") January 9, 1959 May 23, 1973 -
NWA World Heavyweight Championship ("Lou Thesz belt") November 27, 1949 January 8, 1959 -
NWA World Heavyweight Championship July 14, 1948 November 26, 1949
-
For the Title History of the newer version of this championship, see the page for the TNA World Championship.
NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship: Title Reigns
-
N. Image Champion Reign National Wrestling Alliance 99 
EC3 1
- August 27, 2023
- St. Louis, MO
- | NWA 75
- 334+ days
334+- days
98 
Tyrus 1
- November 12, 2022
- Chalmette, LA
- | NWA Hard Times 3
- 288 days
288- days
97 
Trevor Murdoch 2
- June 11, 2022
- Knoxville, TN
- | NWA Alwayz Ready
- 154 days
Defeated Nick Aldis, Thom Latimer and Sam Shaw in a fatal 4-way match for the vacant title.154- days
Vacant
- June 11, 2022
- Knoxville, TN
- | NWA Alwayz Ready
- 0 days
Matt Cardona vacated the title due to an injury.0- days
96 
Matt Cardona 1
- February 12, 2022
- Oak Grove, KY
- | NWA/TNT PowerrrTrip
- 119 days
119- days
95 Trevor Murdoch 1
- August 29, 2021
- St. Louis, MO
- | NWA 73
- 167 days
167- days
94 
Nick Aldis 2
- October 21, 2018
- Nashville, TN
- | NWA 70th Anniversary Show
- 1043 days
1043- days
93 
Cody 1
- September 1, 2018
- Hoffman Estates, IL
- | All In
- 50 days
50- days
92 Nick Aldis 1
- December 9, 2017
- Sewell, NJ | Cage of Death 19
- 266 days
266- days
91 Tim Storm 1
- October 21, 2016
- Sherman, TX | House show
- 414 days
On October 1, 2017, Billy Corgan's company Lightning One, Inc. purchased NWA, including the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. During this reign, the NWA's licensing model was abolished and title matches were limited primarily to performers under contract with Lightning One, Inc.414- days
90 
Jax Dane 1
- August 29, 2015
- San Antonio, TX | World War Gold
- 419 days
419- days
89 
Hiroyoshi Tenzan 1
- February 14, 2015
- Sendai, Japan
- | NJPW The New Beginning 2015
- 196 days
196- days
88 
Rob Conway 2
- June 2, 2014
- Las Vegas, NV | Cauliflower Alley Club Reunion Show
- 257 days
257- days
87 
Satoshi Kojima 1
- January 4, 2014
- Tokyo, Japan
- | NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8
- 149 days
149- days
86 
Rob Conway 1
- March 16, 2013
- San Antonio, TX | A Monster's Ball
- 294 days
294- days
85 Kahagas 1
- November 2, 2012
- Clayton, NJ | Wrath of Champions
- 134 days
Won an elimination match for the vacant title by last eliminating Damien Wayne.134- days
Vacant
- October 27, 2012
- Berwick, Victoria, Australia | NWA Warzone Wrestling 14
- 6 days
Adam Pearce left NWA and resigned as champion after the organization refused to allow him to defend the title in the concluding match of his seven-match series against Colt Cabana. The match did take place with Cabana winning, but both wrestlers refused the title in the aftermath.6- days
84 
Adam Pearce 5
- July 21, 2012
- Kansas City, KS | Metro Pro Wrestling
- 98 days
The match was aired on an unknown date via tape delay. During this reign, ownership of the NWA World Championship and the NWA itself was transferred from Pro Wrestling Organization LLC to the International Wrestling Corp.98- days
83 
Colt Cabana 2
- April 29, 2012
- Glendale, CA | NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood
- 83 days
83- days
82 Adam Pearce 4
- July 31, 2011
- Columbus, OH | NWA at the Ohio State Fair
- 273 days
Defeated Chance Prophet, Jimmy Rave and Shaun Tempers in a 4-way match to win the vacant title.273- days
Vacant
- July 11, 2011
- 20 days
The Sheik was stripped of the title for refusing to defend against Adam Pearce on July 31, 2011.20- days
81 The Sheik 1
- April 23, 2011
- Jacksonville, FL | Subtle Hustle
- 79 days
79- days
80 
Colt Cabana 1
- April 2, 2011
- West Hollywood, CA | NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood
- 21 days
21- days
79 Adam Pearce 3
- March 14, 2010
- Charlotte, NC | House show
- 384 days
384- days
78 Blue Demon Jr. 1
- October 25, 2008
- Mexico City, Mexico | House show
- 505 days
505- days
77 Adam Pearce 2
- September 20, 2008
- Philadelphia, PA
- | ROH Glory by Honor VII
- 35 days
35- days
76 Brent Albright 1
- August 2, 2008
- New York City, NY
- | ROH Death Before Dishonor VI
- 49 days
49- days
75 Adam Pearce 1
- September 1, 2007
- Bayamón, Puerto Rico | House show
- 336 days
Defeated Brent Albright in the finals of the Reclaiming the Glory tournament to win the vacant title. Pearce competed as a substitute for Bryan Danielson, who defeated Pearce in the semifinals but withdrew from the tournament due to a detached retina.336- days
Vacant
- May 13, 2007
- 111 days
Christian Cage was stripped of the title when NWA ended its business agreement with TNA.111- days
74 
Christian Cage 2
- January 14, 2007
- Orlando, FL
- | TNA Final Resolution 2007
- 119 days
119- days
TNA / Impact Wrestling 73 
Abyss 1
- November 19, 2006
- Orlando, FL
- | TNA Genesis 2007
- 56 days
56- days
72 
Sting 2
- October 22, 2006
- Plymouth, MI
- | TNA Bound for Glory 2006
- 28 days
28- days
71 
Jeff Jarrett 7
- June 18, 2006
- Orlando, FL
- | TNA Slammiversary 2006
- 126 days
126- days
70 Christian Cage 1
- February 12, 2006
- Orlando, FL
- | TNA Against All Odds 2006
- 126 days
126- days
69 Jeff Jarrett 6
- November 3, 2005
- Orlando, FL
- | TNA Impact!
- 101 days
101- days
68 
Rhino 1
- October 23, 2005
- Orlando, FL
- | TNA Bound for Glory 2005
- 11 days
11- days
67 Jeff Jarrett 5
- September 15, 2005
- Windsor, Ontario, Canada | NWA International Incident
- 38 days
38- days
66 
Raven 1
- June 19, 2005
- Orlando, FL
- | TNA Slammiversary 2005
- 88 days
88- days
65 
AJ Styles 3
- May 15, 2005
- Orlando, FL
- | TNA Hard Justice 2005
- 35 days
35- days
64 Jeff Jarrett 4
- April 3, 2005
- San Juan, Puerto Rico | CMLL Juicio Final
- 42 days
The title was returned to Jarrett due to the controversial ending of the title match.42- days
63 Ray González 1
- April 3, 2005
- San Juan, Puerto Rico | CMLL Juicio Final
- 0 days
González pinned Jarrett in San Juan, but the decision was reversed after the match due to an unauthorized referee counting the pinfall while the originally sanctioned referee was knocked out. The title change was initially ignored by TNA, but was retroactively recognized by NWA in 2015.0- days
62 Jeff Jarrett 3
- June 2, 2004
- Nashville, TN
- | NWA: Total Nonstop Action
- 305 days
Ron Killings defeated Jarrett on the June 23 NWA-TNA Weekly pay-per-view event for the title, but due to issues surrounding the title change, the title was held up, before Vince Russo gave Jarrett the title back (and the title change was not recognized).305- days
61 
Ron Killings 2
- May 19, 2004
- Nashville, TN
- | NWA: Total Nonstop Action
- 14 days
14- days
60 AJ Styles 2
- April 21, 2004
- Nashville, TN
- | NWA: Total Nonstop Action
- 28 days
28- days
59 Jeff Jarrett 2
- October 22, 2003
- Nashville, TN
- | NWA: Total Nonstop Action
- 182 days
182- days
58 AJ Styles 1
- June 11, 2003
- Nashville, TN
- | NWA: Total Nonstop Action
- 133 days
133- days
57 Jeff Jarrett 1
- November 20, 2002
- Nashville, TN
- | NWA: Total Nonstop Action
- 203 days
During this reign Jarrett unified the title with the WWA World Heavyweight Championship.203- days
56 Ron Killings 1
- August 7, 2002
- Nashville, TN
- | NWA: Total Nonstop Action
- 105 days
105- days
55 
Ken Shamrock 1
- June 19, 2002
- Huntsville, AL
- | NWA: Total Nonstop Action
- 49 days
In June 2002, Jeff and Jerry Jarrett formed NWA: Total Nonstop Action (NWA-TNA) and worked out a licensing deal with NWA to control and feature the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Tag Team Championship as their title. Shamrock defeated Malice to win the vacant title.49- days
Vacant
- May 28, 2002
- 22 days
Dan Severn was stripped of the title after "refusing to make a defense" of the title on the inaugural NWA-TNA weekly pay-per-view.22- days
National Wrestling Alliance 54 
Dan Severn 2
- March 9, 2002
- Tokyo, Japan | ZERO-ONE Vast Energy
- 80 days
80- days
53 
Shinya Hashimoto 1
- December 15, 2001
- McKeesport, PA | Clash of the Champions
- 84 days
Won a 3 round robin style (which also involved Gary Steele and Steve Corino) to win the vacant title.84- days
Vacant
- October 13, 2001
- St. Petersburg, FL | NWA 53rd Anniversary Show
- 63 days
The title was held up after a Corino vs. Shinya Hashimoto title match ended in a no contest due to Corino being unable to compete after sustaining a head injury.63- days
52 
Steve Corino 1
- April 24, 2001
- Tampa, FL | House show
- 172 days
172- days
51 Mike Rapada 2
- December 22, 2000
- Nashville, TN | Christmas Chaos
- 123 days
123- days
50 
Sabu 1
- November 14, 2000
- Tampa, FL | Night of Decisions
- 38 days
38- days
49 Mike Rapada 1
- September 19, 2000
- Tampa, FL | Tango in Tampa
- 56 days
Defeated Jerry Flynn in tournament final to win the vacant title.56- days
Vacant
- July 2, 2000
- 79 days
Ogawa vacated the title to focus on training for his scheduled (but later cancelled) MMA fight against Rickson Gracie.79- days
48 Naoya Ogawa 2
- October 2, 1999
- Thomaston, CT | House show
- 274 days
274- days
47 Gary Steele 1
- September 25, 1999
- Charlotte, NC | NWA 51st Anniversary Show
- 7 days
7- days
46 Naoya Ogawa 1
- March 14, 1999
- Yokohama, Japan | UFO Battle in the Hama Ring
- 195 days
195- days
45 
Dan Severn 1
- February 24, 1995
- Erlanger, KY | House show
- 1479 days
1479- days
44 
Chris Candido 1
- November 19, 1994
- Cherry Hill, NJ | NWA World Heavyweight Title Tournament
- 97 days
Defeated Tracy Smothers in tournament final to win the vacant title.97- days
Vacant
- August 27, 1994
- 84 days
Shane Douglas threw the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt down immediately after winning it and declared that he did not want to be the organization's champion; Douglas then declared the NWA-ECW Heavyweight Championship, of which he was already in possession, to be a world championship. Eastern Championship Wrestling then withdraws from the NWA and becomes Extreme Championship Wrestling.84- days
43 
Shane Douglas 1
- August 27, 1994
- Philadelphia, PA
- | ECW NWA World Title Tournament
- 0 days
Defeated 2 Cold Scorpio in tournament final to win the vacant title.0- days
Vacant
- September 15, 1993
- 346 days
WCW withdrew from NWA on September 1, 1993 but NWA continued to recognize Flair as NWA Champion and tried to reach a deal with WCW for the title to be dropped to a wrestler of NWA's choosing before the end of the year. By September 15, communications broke down and NWA attempted to obtain a temporary restraining order against WCW to stop them from advertising the scheduled Rick Rude vs. Ric Flair match at Fall Brawl as a world title match and have the belt returned to them. Though WCW managed to keep the belt, they dropped any mentions of NWA name from that point forward and the title was vacated by NWA while WCW continued to recognize Flair as their WCW International World Heavyweight Champion.346- days
World Championship Wrestling & National Wrestling Alliance 42 
Ric Flair 8
- July 18, 1993
- Biloxi, MS
- | WCW Beach Blast 1993
- 59 days
59- days
41 
Barry Windham 1
- February 21, 1993
- Asheville, NC
- | WCW SuperBrawl III
- 147 days
147- days
40 
The Great Muta 1
- January 4, 1993
- Tokyo, Japan
- | WCW/NJPW Japan Supershow III: Fantastic Story in Tokyo Dome
- 48 days
48- days
39 
Masahiro Chono 1
- August 12, 1992
- Tokyo, Japan
- | NJPW G1 Climax 1992 Finals
- 145 days
Defeated Rick Rude in the final of the G1 Climax to win the vacant title.145- days
Vacant
- September 8, 1991
- 339 days
Ric Flair was stripped of the title upon signing with WWF.339- days
38 
Ric Flair 7
- January 11, 1991
- East Rutherford, NJ | House show
- 69 days
After this title win, Flair was also recognized as the first WCW World Heavyweight Champion. Flair lost the NWA World Championship to Tatsumi Fujinami on March 21, 1991 in Tokyo, and gained the title back on May 19, 1991, however these title changes were not recognized in the United States.69- days
37 
Sting 1
- July 7, 1990
- Baltimore, MD
- | WCW The Great American Bash 1990
- 188 days
188- days
36 Ric Flair 6
- May 7, 1989
- Nashville, TN
- | WCW WrestleWar 1989
- 426 days
426- days
35 
Ricky Steamboat 1
- February 20, 1989
- Chicago, IL
- | WCW Chi-Town Rumble 1989
- 76 days
76- days
34 Ric Flair 5
- November 26, 1987
- Chicago, IL
- | NWA Starrcade 1987: Chi-Town Heat
- 452 days
On November 21, 1988 NWA's flagship promotion JCP was purchased by Ted Turner and renamed World Championship Wrestling (WCW).452- days
National Wrestling Alliance & Jim Crockett Promotions 33 
Ronnie Garvin 1
- September 26, 1987
- Detroit, MI | WorldWide
- 61 days
61- days
32 Ric Flair 4
- August 9, 1986
- St. Louis, MO | House show
- 413 days
413- days
31 
Dusty Rhodes 3
- July 26, 1986
- Greensboro, NC
- | NWA The Great American Bash 1986
- 14 days
14- days
30 Ric Flair 3
- May 24, 1984
- Yokosuka, Japan | House show
- 793 days
By early 1985, JCP controlled many NWA territories and attempted going national, thus limiting title matches primarily to performers under contract with JCP.793- days
National Wrestling Alliance 29 
Kerry von Erich 1
- May 6, 1984
- Irving, TX | 1st Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions
- 18 days
18- days
28 Ric Flair 2
- November 24, 1983
- Greensboro, NC
- | NWA Starrcade 1983: A Flare for the Gold
- 164 days
During this reign, Harley Race defeats Ric Flair, then he regained the title, but there title changes were neither authorized nor recognised by NWA.164- days
27 
Harley Race 7
- June 10, 1983
- St. Louis, MO | House show
- 167 days
167- days
26 Ric Flair 1
- September 17, 1981
- Kansas City, KS | House show
- 631 days
During this reign, The Midnight Rider (Dusty Rhodes under a mask due to being under suspension in Florida) defeated Ric Flair for the title, but he returned it when then-NWA President Bob Geigel asked Rider to unmask or return the title, so the title was returned to Flair. Then Jack Veneno defeated Flair in Santo Domingo but he refused to defend the title outside his native country, so the title was returned to Flair on the same day and the title change was not recognized. Then Carlos Colón won it but the title change was not recognized, so the title was returned to Flair after a "fictional match".631- days
25 Dusty Rhodes 2
- June 21, 1981
- Atlanta, GA | House show
- 88 days
88- days
24 Harley Race 6
- May 1, 1981
- Gainesville, GA | House show
- 51 days
51- days
23 
Tommy Rich 1
- April 27, 1981
- Augusta, GA | House show
- 4 days
4- days
22 
Harley Race 5
- September 9, 1980
- Ōtsu, Japan | House show
- 230 days
230- days
21 
Giant Baba 3
- September 4, 1980
- Saga, Japan | House show
- 5 days
5- days
20 Harley Race 4
- November 7, 1979
- Amagasaki, Japan | House show
- 302 days
302- days
19 Giant Baba 2
- October 31, 1979
- Nagoya, Japan | House show
- 7 days
7- days
18 Harley Race 3
- August 26, 1979
- Orlando, FL | House show
- 66 days
66- days
17 Dusty Rhodes 1
- August 21, 1979
- Tampa, FL | House show
- 5 days
5- days
16 Harley Race 2
- February 6, 1977
- Toronto, ON | House show
- 926 days
926- days
15 
Terry Funk 1
- December 10, 1975
- Miami Beach, FL | House show
- 424 days
424- days
14 
Jack Brisco 2
- December 9, 1974
- Toyohashi, Japan | House show
- 366 days
366- days
13 Giant Baba 1
- December 2, 1974
- Kagoshima, Japan | House show
- 7 days
7- days
12 Jack Brisco 1
- July 20, 1973
- Houston, TX | House show
- 500 days
500- days
11 Harley Race 1
- May 24, 1973
- Kansas City, KS | House show
- 57 days
57- days
10 
Dory Funk Jr. 1
- February 11, 1969
- Tampa, FL | House show
- 1563 days
1563- days
9 Gene Kiniski 1
- January 7, 1966
- St. Louis, MO | House show
- 1131 days
1131- days
8 
Lou Thesz 3
- January 24, 1963
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada | House show
- 1079 days
During this reign, Buddy Rogers won the title but promoters in the Northeastern United States refused to recognize it.1079- days
7 
Buddy Rogers 1
- June 30, 1961
- Chicago, IL | House show
- 573 days
During this reign, Bruno Sammartino defeated Rogers but refused to accept the title because Rogers had wrestled with an injury, so the title was returned to Rogers. Also Bobo Brazil refused the title because of a groin injury that Rogers had claimed to have; however Brazil was then declared champion because a doctor had determined that Rogers had not suffered an injury, but this title change is not recognized by NWA (and neither Rogers' rematch win). Also Killer Kowalski defeated Rogers after Rogers broke his ankle; NWA does not recognize any of Rogers' losses.573- days
6 
Pat O'Connor 1
- January 9, 1959
- St. Louis, MO | House show
- 903 days
During this reign, Gene LeBell defeated O'Connor, but then he struck a Texas wrestling commissioner with the title belt and the decision was reversed. The title was returned to O'Connor and these two title changes were not recognized.903- days
5 Dick Hutton 1
- November 14, 1957
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada | House show
- 421 days
421- days
4 
Lou Thesz 2
- November 9, 1956
- St. Louis, MO | House show
- 370 days
During this reign, Édouard Carpentier was awarded the title when Lou Thesz could not continue the match due to a back injury, but in some territories Thesz continued to be recognized as NWA World Heavyweight Champion, while in others Carpentier was billed as the champion. Thesz then won a rematch against Carpentier. After some controversies, these two title changes were not recognized.370- days
3 Whipper Billy Watson 1
- March 15, 1956
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada | House show
- 239 days
239- days
2 Lou Thesz 1
- November 27, 1949
- 2300 days
Awarded of the title when Orville Brown suffered career-ending injuries in an automobile accident on November 1, 1949. During this reign, Leo Nomellini defeated Lou Thesz and both wrestlers continued to claim the title, then Thesz defeated Nomellini in a rematch. These two title changes were not officially recognized.2300- days
1 Orville Brown 1
- January 5, 1948
- Waterloo, IA
- 692 days
On July 14, 1948, NWA was founded in Waterloo, Iowa and Brown was recognized as the first official NWA World Heavyweight Champion. At the time of the founding of the NWA, Brown already held MWA World Heavyweight Championship and Iowa version of NWA World Heavyweight Championship; during the reign, the two titles were unified into the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.692- days
NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship: Statistics
- Promotion National Wrestling Alliance
- Gender Male
- Title Type Primary Title
- Date Established July 14, 1948
- Followed By
TNA World Championship
- Current ChampionEC3
Most Number of Reigns
| Rank | Wrestler | Reigns |
|---|---|---|
| Ric Flair | 8 | |
| Harley Race | 7 | |
| Jeff Jarrett | 7 | |
| Adam Pearce | 5 | |
| Lou Thesz | 3 |
Most Combined Days
| Rank | Wrestler | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Lou Thesz | 3749 | |
| Ric Flair | 3007 | |
| Harley Race | 1799 | |
| Dory Funk Jr. | 1563 | |
| Dan Severn | 1559 |
Longest Reigns
| Rank | Wrestler | Reign | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lou Thesz | November 27, 1949 - March 15, 1956 | 2300 | |
| Dory Funk Jr. | February 11, 1969 - May 24, 1973 | 1563 | |
| Dan Severn | February 24, 1995 - March 14, 1999 | 1479 | |
| Gene Kiniski | January 7, 1966 - February 11, 1969 | 1131 | |
| Lou Thesz | January 24, 1963 - January 7, 1966 | 1079 |