The NWA Tennessee Heavyweight Championship was the primary championship in the National Wrestling Alliance territory promotion NWA Top Rope, based in Lebanon, Tennessee. The Championship was created in 2005 and was active until 2013 when NWA Top Rope closed. That version of the championship was preceded by the original NWA Tennessee Heavyweight Championship that existed from the late 1950s into the 1960s, promoted by NWA Mid-America.[1] Because the championship is a professional wrestling championship, it is not won or lost competitively but instead by the decision of the bookers of a wrestling promotion. The championship is awarded after the chosen wrestler "wins" a match to maintain the illusion that professional wrestling is a competitive sport.[2]
| NWA Tennessee Heavyweight Championship | |
|---|---|
| Details | |
| Promotion | NWA Mid-America (1949–1950) NWA Top Rope (2005–2013) |
| Date established | June 29, 1959 November 2, 2005 |
| Date retired | October, 1960 August, 2013 |
Title history
editNWA Mid-America
edit| 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 | Billy Wicks | June 29, 1959 | Mid-America show | Memphis, Tennessee | 1 | 35 | Defeated Sputnik Monroe in a tournament final to become the first champion. | [1] |
| 2 | Sputnik Monroe | August 3, 1959 | Mid-America show | Memphis, Tennessee | 1 | 7 | [1] | |
| 3 | Billy Wicks | August 10, 1959 | Mid-America show | Memphis, Tennessee | 2 | 231 | [1] | |
| 4 | Sputnik Monroe | March 28, 1960 | Mid-America show | Memphis, Tennessee | 2 | [Note 1] | [1] | |
| — | Deactivated | 1960 | — | — | — | — | Championship abandoned. | [1] |
Continental Championship Wrestling / USA Championship Wrestling
edit| 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 | Doug Furnas | July 17, 1987 | CCW show | Knoxville, Tennessee | 1 | 246 | Defeated Tony Anthony in a tournament final to become champion. Title moved from CCW to USA Championship Wrestling in March 1988. | [3] |
| 2 | Buddy Landell | March 19, 1988 | USAC show | Knoxville, Tennessee | 1 | 70 | [3] | |
| 3 | Wendell Cooley | May 28, 1988 | USAC show | Knoxville, Tennessee | 1 | 8 | [3] | |
| 4 | Buddy Landell | June 5, 1988 | USAC show | Knoxville, Tennessee | 2 | 47 | [3] | |
| 5 | Wendell Cooley | July 22, 1988 | USAC show | Knoxville, Tennessee | 2 | [Note 2] | [3] | |
| — | Deactivated | August 1988 | — | — | — | — | Championship abandoned when USA Championship Wrestling closes. | [3] |
NWA Top Rope
edit| 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 | Rick Santel | November 12, 2005 | NWA Top Rope show | Lebanon, Tennessee | 1 | [Note 3] | Defeated Jason James and Jason Brisbane in a three-way match to become the first champion in NWA Top Rope. | |||
| — | Vacated | February 2006 | — | — | — | — | Championship vacated due to injuries to Santel | |||
| 2 | Kory Williams | February 2006 | NWA Top Rope show | [Note 4] | 1 | [Note 5] | Williams was awarded the reigning NWA Top Rope Southern Heavyweight Champion. | |||
| 3 | Casey Kage | September 30, 2006 | NWA Top Rope show | Lebanon, Tennessee | 1 | 119 | This was a Texas Bullrope match. | |||
| 4 | Brian Rivers | October 28, 2006 | Nightmare Ted Allen's 2-day event | Tuscaloosa, Alabama | 1 | 1 | Defeated Casey Kage in a special challenge match | |||
| 5 | Casey Kage | October 29, 2006 | Nightmare Ted Allen's 2-day event | Tuscaloosa, Alabama | 2 | 119 | Defeated Brian Rivers to start 2nd reign | |||
| — | Vacated | January 27, 2007 | — | — | — | — | Championship vacated when Casey Kage and manager Jay West left NWA Top Rope over pay disputes. | |||
| 6 | Vic the Bruiser | February 24, 2007 | NWA Top Rope show | Lebanon, Tennessee | 1 | 84 | Won a battle royal to win the vacant title | |||
| 7 | Kory Wiliams | May 19, 2007 | NWA Top Rope show | Lebanon, Tennessee | 2 | 42 | ||||
| 8 | Vic the Bruiser | June 30, 2007 | NWA Top Rope show | Lebanon, Tennessee | 2 | [Note 6] | ||||
| 9 | Gary Valiant | June 2007 | NWA Top Rope show | Lebanon, Tennessee | 1 | [Note 7] | ||||
| 10 | Vic the Bruiser | August 2008 | NWA Top Rope show | [Note 4] | 3 | [Note 8] | Still billed as champion on November 20, 2008 | |||
| Championship history is unrecorded from August 2008 to June 2, 2009 (NLT). | ||||||||||
| 11 | Vordell Walker | June 2, 2009 (NLT) | NWA Top Rope show | [Note 4] | 1 | [Note 9] | ||||
| Championship history is unrecorded from June 2, 2009 (NLT) to November 7, 2009. | ||||||||||
| — | Vacated | November 7, 2009 | — | — | — | — | Championship vacated for undocumented reasons. | |||
| Championship history is unrecorded from November 7, 2009 to March 1, 2010 (NLT). | ||||||||||
| 12 | Gary Valiant | March 1, 2010 (NLT) | NWA Top Rope show | [Note 4] | 2 | [Note 10] | ||||
| 13 | Orion Bishop | April 8, 2010 | NWA Top Rope show | Nashville, Tennessee | 1 | [Note 11] | ||||
| Championship history is unrecorded from April 8, 2010 to June 28, 2010 (NLT). | ||||||||||
| 14 | Jeff Daniels | June 28, 2010 (NLT) | NWA Top Rope show | [Note 4] | 1 | [Note 12] | ||||
| 15 | Arrick Andrews | November 13, 2010 | NWA Top Rope show | Mt. Juliet, Tennessee | 1 | 140 | ||||
| — | Vacated | April 2, 2011 | — | — | — | — | Championship vacated for undocumented reasons. | |||
| 16 | Arrick Andrews | May 28, 2011 | NWA Top Rope show | Lebanon, Tennessee | 2 | 98 | Won a tournament. | |||
| 17 | Kevin Jones | September 3, 2011 | NWA Top Rope show | Lebanon, Tennessee | 1 | 21 | ||||
| 18 | Arrick Andrews | September 24, 2011 | NWA Top Rope show | Lebanon, Tennessee | 3 | 92 | ||||
| 19 | Derek Neal | December 25, 2011 | NWA Top Rope show | Lebanon, Tennessee | 1 | 27 | ||||
| 20 | Hammerjack | January 21, 2012 | NWA Top Rope show | Lebanon, Tennessee | 1 | [Note 13] | Still billed as champion on February 26, 2012 | |||
| Championship history is unrecorded from January 21, 2012 to June 22, 2012 (NLT). | ||||||||||
| 21 | Arrick Andrews | June 22, 2012 (NLT) | [Note 4] | NWA Top Rope show | 4 | [Note 14] | ||||
| 22 | Chris Michaels | July 21, 2012 | NWA Top Rope show | Lebanon, Tennessee | 1 | [Note 15] | ||||
| — | Vacated | July 2012 | — | — | — | — | Championship vacated for undocumented reasons. | |||
| 24 | Arrick Andrews | July 28, 2012 | NWA Top Rope show | Lebanon, Tennessee | 5 | [Note 16] | Defeated Tyler Gage in 4-man tournament final; | |||
| — | Deactivated | August 2013 | — | — | — | — | Championship abandoned when NWA Top Rope closed. | |||
See also
editFootnotes
edit- ^ The date the championship dropped lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 305 days.
- ^ The date the championship dropped lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 40 days.
- ^ The date the championship was lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 81 days and 108 days.
- ^ a b c d e f The location of the match was not captured as part of the championship documentation.
- ^ The date the championship was won has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 214 days and 241 days.
- ^ The date the championship was lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 0 days.
- ^ The date the championship was lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 457 days and 398 days.
- ^ The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 304 days.
- ^ The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 462 days.
- ^ The date the championship was won has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 38 days and 147 days.
- ^ The date the championship was lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 81 days.
- ^ The date the championship was won has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 138 days and 218 days.
- ^ The date the championship was lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 153 days.
- ^ The date the championship was won has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 29 days and 145 days.
- ^ The date the championship was lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 10 days.
- ^ The date the championship was abandoned has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 369 days and 399 days.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "Tennessee: NWA Tennessee Heavyweight Title [Nick Gulas & Roy Welch]". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ Ed Grabianowski. "How Pro Wrestling Works". How Stuff Works. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f "Tennessee Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com.