NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship

NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship

Jimmy Snuka is a former NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Champion.
Details
Promotion NWA Tri-State
NWA Mid-America (1960-1974)
Date established March 31, 1954
Date retired No later than March 1982
Other name(s)
NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship (Alabama version)

The NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling heavyweight championship in Tri-States Wrestling (NWA Tri-State). The original version was created in 1954, however, it was phased out in favor of the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship.[1][2]

The Alabama version of the NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship existed from 1960 until 1974. It was defended primarily in Alabama under the banner of NWA Tri-State Wrestling, and at times in Tennessee for NWA Mid-America. Because the championship was a professional wrestling championship, it was not won or lost competitively but instead by the decision of the bookers of a wrestling promotion. The championship was awarded after the chosen team "won" a match to maintain the illusion that professional wrestling is a competitive sport.[3]

The title was revived to replace the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship as the promotion's top singles title after Bill Watts left to form Mid-South Wrestling in 1979.[4] It was vacated and decommissioned when Tri-State promoter Leroy McGuirk closed the promotion in 1982.

Title history

Key
Symbol Meaning
# The overall championship reign
Reign The reign number for the specific set of wrestlers listed.
Event The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the title changed hands
— Used for vacated reigns in order to not count it as an official reign
  Indicates periods of unknown lineage
(NLT) Indicates that the championship changed hands "No Later Than" a certain date.
¤ Indicates that the data presented in this cell is uncertain.

Names

Name[5] Years[5]
NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship March 31, 1954 – April 28, 1954
NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship (Alabama version) September 12, 1960 – October 3, 1974
NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship September 7, 1980 – 1982
NWA-MCW Heavyweight Championship 1982 – March 1982

Title history

NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship (Original version)

No. Champion Reign Date Days held Location Event Notes Ref.
1 Whitey Whittler 1 March 31, 1954 28 Joplin, MO Live event Defeated Red Berry in a tournament final. [6]
2 Red Berry 1 April 28, 1954 N/A Joplin, MO Live event

NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship (Alabama version)

# Team
(team members)		 Reign Date Days
held		 Location Event Notes
1 Joe Scarpa 1 September 12, 1960 [Note 1] Memphis, Tennessee Live event Defeated Mario Galento in tournament final to become the first champion.
 
2 Jerry Lawler 1 September 1971 (NLT) [Note 2] [Note 3] Live event Won a battle royal, last eliminating Jimmy Golden.
 
3 Jimmy Golden 1 October 29, 1971 (NLT) [Note 4] [Note 3] Live event  
4 Tony Russo 1 November 5, 1971 20 Gadsden, Alabama Live event  
5 Gary Martin 1 November 25, 1971 [Note 5] Anniston, Alabama Live event  
6 Tony Russo 2 December 1971 (NLT) [Note 6] [Note 3] Live event  
7 The Golden Hawk 1 December 16, 1971 [Note 7] Anniston, Alabama Live event Still billed as champion on January 6, 1972
 
8 Buddy Wayne 1 March 16, 1972 (NLT) [Note 8] [Note 3] Live event  
9 Jimmy Golden 2 April 6, 1972¤ [Note 9] Anniston, Alabama¤ Live event Still champion as of 72/06/08
 
10 Ramon Perez 1 October 5, 1972 (NLT) [Note 10] [Note 3] Live event  
 
11 Tony Russo 3 December 21, 1972 (NLT) [Note 11] [Note 3] Live event  
 
12 Buddy Wayne 2 January 26, 1973 (NLT) [Note 12] [Note 3] Live event  
 
13 Jimmy Golden 3 March 7, 1974 (NLT) [Note 13] [Note 3] Live event  
14 Jack Donovan 1 March 14, 1974¤ 70 Anniston, Alabama¤ Live event  
15 Jimmy Golden 4 May 23, 1974¤ [Note 14] Anniston, Alabama¤ Live event  
 
16 Dennis Condrey 1 October 3, 1974 (NLT) [Note 15] [Note 3] Live event  
— Retired N/A 1974 N/A N/A N/A Championship abandoned.

NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship (Final version)

No. Champion Reign Date Days held Location Event Notes Ref.
1 Tom Jones 1 1981 N/A N/A Live event
2 Mr. Pogo 2 1981 N/A N/A Live event
3 Tom Jones 2 1981 N/A N/A Live event [7]
4 Mike George 1 February 28, 1981 30 Tulsa, OK Live event [8]
5 Bob Sweetan 1 March 30, 1981 63 Tulsa, OK Live event [9]
6 Mike George 2 June 1, 1981 81 Tulsa, OK Live event
— Vacated — August 21, 1981 — N/A N/A Championship vacated when George leaves the territory.  
7 Jimmy Snuka 1 January 18, 1982 42 Tulsa, OK Live event Won tournament.
8 Paul Jones 1 March 1, 1982 N/A Tulsa, OK Live event [10]
9 Eddie Mansfield 1 March 1982 [Note 16] N/A Live event
10 Paul Jones 2 March 17, 1982 N/A Springfield, MO Live event
— Deactivated — 1982 — N/A N/A NWA Tri-State closed in 1982, and the championship was subsequently abandoned.

List of top combined reigns

Mr. Pogo, who was the fifth longest-reigning Tri-State Heavyweight Champion
¤ The exact length of several title reigns are uncertain, so the shortest possible length is used.
List of combined reigns
Rank Champion No. of reigns Combined days
1 Mike George 2 111
2 Bob Sweetan 1 63
3 Terry Gibbs 1 55¤
4 Jimmy Snuka 1 42¤
5 Mr. Pogo 2 29¤
6 Whitey Whittler 1 28
7 Eddie Mansfield 1 1¤
8 Red Berry 1 N/A
9 Terry Orndorff 1 N/A
10 Tom Jones 2 N/A
11 Paul Jones 2 N/A

Footnotes

  1. ↑ The length of this reign is too uncertain to calculate.
  2. ↑ The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 424 days.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 The location of the match was not captured as part of the championship documentation.
  4. ↑ The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 64 days.
  5. ↑ The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 402 days.
  6. ↑ The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 20 days.
  7. ↑ The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 91 days.
  8. ↑ The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 90 days.
  9. ↑ The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 182 days.
  10. ↑ The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 258 days.
  11. ↑ The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 112 days.
  12. ↑ The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 440 days.
  13. ↑ The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 404 days.
  14. ↑ The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 133 days.
  15. ↑ The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 221 days.
  16. ↑ The exact date on which the title was won is not known, which means their title reign lasted between 1 and 15 days.

References

General references
Specific
  1. ↑ Laffere, Charles (2004). "Regional Territories: UWF #35". KayfabeMemories.com.
  2. ↑ Rowland, Sean (2004). "Regional Territories: Mid-South #8 Page #2". KayfabeMemories.com.
  3. ↑ Ed Grabianowski. "How Pro Wrestling Works". How Stuff Works. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
  4. ↑ Rowland, Sean (2004). "Regional Territories: Mid-South #8 Page #2". KayfabeMemories.com.
  5. 1 2 "NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
  6. ↑ "Tri-State Title Tournament 1954". ProWrestlingHistory.com.
  7. ↑ "Tom Jones". Online World of Wrestling.
  8. ↑ "Mike George". Online World of Wrestling.
  9. ↑ "Bob Sweetan". Online World of Wrestling.
  10. ↑ Baker, David (July 23, 2011). "Paul Jones". Mid-Atlantic Gateway. David Baker's Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Results.
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