- NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship
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NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship Details Current champion(s) Davey Vega Date won October 16, 2009 Promotion Central States Wrestling and St. Louis Wrestling Club (through 1986)
NWA Midwest (since 2002)Date established October 1899 (original)
September 16, 1972 (current)Statistics Most reigns Harley Race (7) First champion(s) George Baptiste Longest reign Dingo (1,001 days) Shortest reign Ted DiBiase (14 days) The NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship was the secondary singles championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's St. Louis Wrestling Club and Central States Wrestling promotions in the 1970's and 1980's. It was usually dominated by the area's top star, Harley Race, and as such it was considered a "stepping stone" to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship (although only Race, Terry Funk, Kerry Von Erich and Ric Flair made it; Gene Kiniski and Dory Funk, Jr. were already former World Champions upon winning the Missouri title).
Previous versions existed in 1899, 1921, 1933 to 1934, 1937, 1947, 1950, and 1954 to 1955, but it was only in 1972 that a serious championship was established. It was shelved in 1986, as the Central States promotion was being consolidated under Jim Crockett Promotions in order to counter the World Wrestling Federation's national expansion. NWA Midwest revived the title in 2002 and it is still defended to this day.[1][2]
Title history
Silver areas in the history indicate periods of unknown lineage. An (n) next to a date indicates that a title change occurred no later than the date listed.
Wrestler: Times: Date: Location: Notes: George Baptiste 1 October 1899 (n) Records are unclear as to whom he defeated. Jake Reed 1 1921 Defeated Lloyd Carter. Fred Peterson 1 October 1933 (n) Peterson continued to claim the title as late as March 1934. Billy Wolf 1 1934 (n) Records are unclear as to whom he defeated. Lou Thesz 1 June 18, 1937 Kansas City, Missouri Defeated Warren Bockwinkel. Ron Etchison 1 October 17, 1947 St. Joseph, Missouri Defeated Sonny Myers. Sonny Myers 1 November 7, 1947 St. Joseph, Missouri The title was vacated between 1947 and 1950. Tommy O'Toole 1 March 10, 1950 St. Joseph, Missouri Defeated Sonny Myers in a tournament final. Bob Orton 1 February 1954 (n) Records are unclear as to whom he defeated. Ron Etchison 2 January 1955 (n) Records are unclear as to whom he defeated. The title was inactive between 1955 and 1972. Harley Race 1 September 16, 1972 St. Louis, Missouri Defeated Pak Song in a tournament final. The title was held up after a match against Johnny Valentine on December 16, 1972 in St. Louis, Missouri. Johnny Valentine 1 January 19, 1973 St. Louis, Missouri Defeated Harley Race in a rematch. Terry Funk 1 February 10, 1973 St. Louis, Missouri Gene Kiniski 1 March 16, 1973 St. Louis, Missouri Harley Race 2 October 13, 1973 St. Louis, Missouri Dory Funk, Jr. 1 May 24, 1974 St. Louis, Missouri Harley Race 3 February 21, 1975 St. Louis, Missouri Bob Backlund 1 April 23, 1976 St. Louis, Missouri Jack Brisco 1 November 26, 1976 St. Louis, Missouri Dick Slater 1 August 12, 1977 St. Louis, Missouri Ted DiBiase 1 February 12, 1978 St. Louis, Missouri Dick Murdoch 1 February 26, 1978 St. Louis, Missouri Dick the Bruiser 1 July 14, 1978 St. Louis, Missouri Dick Murdoch 2 March 17, 1979 St. Louis, Missouri Dick the Bruiser 2 May 18, 1979 St. Louis, Missouri Dick Murdoch 3 July 13, 1979 St. Louis, Missouri Kevin Von Erich 1 November 23, 1979 St. Louis, Missouri Ken Patera 1 April 25, 1980 St. Louis, Missouri Ted DiBiase 2 November 21, 1980 St. Louis, Missouri Jack Brisco 2 October 2, 1981 St. Louis, Missouri Ken Patera 2 October 23, 1981 St. Louis, Missouri Dick the Bruiser 3 January 1, 1982 St. Louis, Missouri Harley Race 4 September 17, 1982 St. Louis, Missouri Kerry Von Erich 1 January 23, 1983 St. Louis, Missouri Jerry Blackwell 1 April 15, 1983 St. Louis, Missouri Harley Race 5 May 13, 1983 St. Louis, Missouri The title was vacated on June 10, 1983, when Race won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Ric Flair in St. Louis, Missouri. Ric Flair 1 July 15, 1983 St. Louis, Missouri Defeated David Von Erich in a tournament final. David Von Erich 1 September 16, 1983 St. Louis, Missouri Harley Race 6 January 6, 1984 St. Louis, Missouri Jerry Blackwell 2 November 16, 1984 St. Louis, Missouri Harley Race 7 August 2, 1985 St. Louis, Missouri The title was retired in February 1986 when Jim Crockett Promotions bought the St. Louis Wrestling Club. Crockett also bought Central States Wrestling in September. Gary Jackson 1 July 27, 2002 St. Robert, Missouri Defeated Steve Stone after the title was revived by NWA Midwest. Jackson was stripped of the title on June 3, 2003 due to lack of defenses. Shane Somers 1 June 17, 2003 Rolla, Missouri Defeated Dingo, John Epperson, Tony Luza, Rick Norris and Yukon Eric, Jr. in a six-way match. Somers was immediately stripped of the title by Missouri State Commissioner Carl Lauer for using an illegal chokehold. Shane Somers 2 June 17, 2003 Rolla, Missouri Partnered with The Mad Hatter, pinned John Epperson, partnered with Ricky Murdock, in a tag team match. Ricky Murdock 1 October 10, 2003 Parkersburg, West Virginia Won the title at the NWA 55th Anniversary Show. Murdock's NWA National Heavyweight Championship was also at stake. Shane Somers 3 March 27, 2004 Plato, Missouri The title was vacated in 2005. Abyss 1 December 7, 2005 Lawrence, Kansas Defeated Tyler Cook. The title was vacated on December 29, 2006. Dingo 1 January 19, 2007 St. Joseph, Missouri Defeated Kraig Keesman, Mark Sterling and Jeremy Wyatt in a four-way match. Dingo also won the NWA Kansas Heavyweight title from Mark Sterling on March 17, 2007 in Lawrence, Kansas, and the IWA Mid-South Heavyweight title from Chuck Taylor on June 20, 2008 in Sellersburg, Indiana. Davey Vega 1 October 16, 2009 Glen Carbon, Illinois Jeremy Wyatt 1 April 30, 2011 Caseyville, IL Defeated Uhaa Nation, Jonathan Gresham & Trent Stone in a four-way match. Davey Vega vacated the title as he no longer could commit to NWA Midwest events. Wyatt vacated the title after winning the NWA Central States Championship on 5/7/11. See also
References
- ^ Duncan, Royal and Gary Will (2006). Wrestling Title Histories, Fourth Edition. Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "N.W.A. Missouri Heavyweight Title". Puroresu Dojo. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/mo/mo-h.html. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
Categories:- National Wrestling Alliance championships
- Central States Wrestling championships
- State heavyweight wrestling championships
- Regional professional wrestling championships
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