The NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship was a singles championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's St. Louis Wrestling Club and Central States Wrestling promotions in the 1970s and 1980s. It was considered a "stepping stone" to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship (although only Race, Terry Funk and Kerry Von Erich made it; Gene Kiniski, Dory Funk, Jr.,Jack Brisco and Ric Flair were already former World Champions upon winning the Missouri title). A version of the Missouri Championship has been documented to exist 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. Prior to the creation of the NWA the championship was not recognized outside of the region and used by regional promoters, it is even possible that competing Missouri Heavyweight Championships existed. The championship was abandoned 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 Missouri Heavyweight Championship | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Details | |||||||
| Promotion | Central States Wrestling and St. Louis Wrestling Club (through 1986) | ||||||
| Date established | October - December 1899 (original) September 16, 1972 (current) | ||||||
| Other name(s) | |||||||
Missouri Heavyweight Championship | |||||||
| |||||||
Pre National Wrestling Alliance Title history
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 | George Baptiste | October 1899 (NLT) | Missouri show | [Note 1] | 1 | [Note 2] | Records are unclear as to whom he defeated. | |||
| Championship history is unrecorded from October 1899 (NLT) to 1921. | ||||||||||
| 2 | Jake Reed | 1921 | Missouri show | [Note 1] | 1 | [Note 3] | Defeated Lloyd Carter to win the championship. Unclear if Carter was the champion or if this was a tournament final. | |||
| Championship history is unrecorded from 1921 to March 6, 1930. | ||||||||||
| 3 | Jake Ross | March 6, 1930 | Missouri show | Chillicothe, Missouri | 1 | 705 | Defeated Charles Santen to win the championship, unclear if Santen was the champion or if this was a tournament final. | |||
| 4 | Fred Peterson | February 9, 1932 | Missouri show | [Note 1] | 1 | [Note 4] | ||||
| 5 | Billy Wolf | March 1934 | Missouri show | [Note 1] | 1 | [Note 5] | ||||
| 6 | Lou Thesz | June 18, 1937 | Missouri show | Kansas City, Missouri | 1 | [Note 6] | Defeated Warren Bockwinkel to win the championship | |||
| — | Deactivated | N/A | — | — | — | — | Uncertain when the championship was abandoned | |||
National Wrestling Alliance Title history
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 | Tommy O'Toole | March 10, 1950 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Joseph, Missouri | 1 | 35 | Defeated Sonny Myers in a 10-man tournament final. | |
| 2 | Sonny Myers | April 14, 1950 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Joseph, Missouri | 1 | 273 | ||
| 3 | Ron Etchison | January 12, 1951 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Joseph, Missouri | 1 | 14 | ||
| 4 | Sonny Myers | January 26, 1951 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Joseph, Missouri | 2 | 7 | ||
| 5 | Ron Etchison | February 2, 1951 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Joseph, Missouri | 2 | 7 | ||
| 6 | Ray Eckert | February 9, 1951 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Joseph, Missouri | 1 | 20 | ||
| 6 | Ron Etchison | March 1, 1951 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Joseph, Missouri | 3 | 99 | ||
| — | Vacated | June 8, 1951 | — | — | — | — | Championship vacated, reason undocumented | |
| 8 | Sonny Myers | February 1, 1952 | CSW/SLWC show | [Note 1] | 3 | 14 | ||
| 9 | Joe Dusek | February 15, 1952 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Joseph, Missouri | 1 | 273 | ||
| 10 | Sonny Myers | November 14, 1952 | CSW/SLWC show | [Note 1] | 4 | 42 | ||
| 11 | Ron Etchison | December 26, 1952 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Joseph, Missouri | 4 | 155 | ||
| — | Vacated | May 30, 1953 | — | — | — | — | Championship vacated, no reason documented | |
| 12 | Sonny Myers | December 18, 1953 | CSW/SLWC show | [Note 1] | 5 | 14 | ||
| 13 | Bob Orton | January 1, 1954 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Joseph, Missouri | 1 | 63 | ||
| 14 | Ray Eckert | March 5, 1954 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Joseph, Missouri | 2 | 33 | ||
| — | Vacated | April 7, 1954 | — | — | — | — | Championship held up due to a controversial ending of a match against Sonny Myers | |
| 15 | Sonny Myers | April 9, 1954 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Joseph, Missouri | 6 | 43 | Defeated Ray Eckert to win the vacant championship. | |
| 16 | Larry Hamilton | May 22, 1954 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Joseph, Missouri | 1 | 167 | ||
| 17 | Ron Etchison | November 5, 1954 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Joseph, Missouri | 5 | 308 | ||
| — | Vacated | September 9, 1955 | — | — | — | — | Championship vacated, reason not documented | |
| 18 | Joe Dusek | April 1956 | CSW/SLWC show | Sedalia, Missouri | 2 | [Note 7] | ||
| — | Vacated | September 19, 1956 | — | — | — | — | Championship inactive. | |
| 19 | Harley Race | September 16, 1972 | Wrestling at the Chase | St. Louis, Missouri | 1 | 91 | Defeated Pak Song in a tournament final for the revived championship. | |
| — | Vacated | December 16, 1972 | — | — | — | — | Championship held up after a match against Johnny Valentine | |
| 20 | Johnny Valentine | January 19, 1973 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Louis, Missouri | 1 | 22 | Defeated Harley Race in a rematch. | [1] |
| 21 | Terry Funk | February 10, 1973 | Wrestling at the Chase | St. Louis, Missouri | 1 | 34 | [2] | |
| 22 | Gene Kiniski | March 16, 1973 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Louis, Missouri | 1 | 211 | ||
| 23 | Harley Race | October 13, 1973 | Wrestling at the Chase | St. Louis, Missouri | 2 | 223 | ||
| 24 | Dory Funk, Jr. | May 24, 1974 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Louis, Missouri | 1 | 273 | ||
| 25 | Harley Race | February 21, 1975 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Louis, Missouri | 3 | 427 | ||
| 26 | Bob Backlund | April 23, 1976 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Louis, Missouri | 1 | 217 | ||
| 27 | Jack Brisco | November 26, 1976 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Louis, Missouri | 1 | 259 | ||
| 28 | Dick Slater | August 12, 1977 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Louis, Missouri | 1 | 184 | ||
| 29 | Ted DiBiase | February 12, 1978 | Wrestling at the Chase | St. Louis, Missouri | 1 | 14 | [3] | |
| 30 | Dick Murdoch | February 26, 1978 | Wrestling at the Chase | St. Louis, Missouri | 1 | 138 | [4] | |
| 31 | Dick the Bruiser | July 14, 1978 | Wrestling at the Chase | St. Louis, Missouri | 1 | 246 | [5] | |
| 32 | Dick Murdoch | March 18, 1979 | Wrestling at the Chase | St. Louis, Missouri | 2 | 61 | ||
| 33 | Dick the Bruiser | May 18, 1979 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Louis, Missouri | 2 | 56 | ||
| 34 | Dick Murdoch | July 13, 1979 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Louis, Missouri | 3 | 133 | ||
| 35 | Kevin Von Erich | November 23, 1979 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Louis, Missouri | 1 | 154 | ||
| 36 | Ken Patera | April 25, 1980 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Louis, Missouri | 1 | 210 | ||
| 37 | Ted DiBiase | November 21, 1980 | Wrestling at the Chase | St. Louis, Missouri | 2 | 315 | ||
| 38 | Jack Brisco | October 2, 1981 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Louis, Missouri | 2 | 21 | ||
| 39 | Ken Patera | October 23, 1981 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Louis, Missouri | 2 | 70 | ||
| 40 | Dick the Bruiser | January 1, 1982 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Louis, Missouri | 3 | 259 | ||
| 41 | Harley Race | September 17, 1982 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Louis, Missouri | 4 | 128 | ||
| 42 | Kerry Von Erich | January 23, 1983 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Louis, Missouri | 1 | 82 | [6] | |
| 43 | Jerry Blackwell | April 15, 1983 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Louis, Missouri | 1 | 28 | ||
| 44 | Harley Race | May 13, 1983 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Louis, Missouri | 5 | 28 | [7] | |
| — | Vacated | June 10, 1983 | — | — | — | — | Championship vacated when Champion Harley Race won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship | [8] |
| 45 | Ric Flair | July 15, 1983 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Louis, Missouri | 1 | 63 | Defeated David Von Erich in a tournament final. | |
| 46 | David Von Erich | September 16, 1983 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Louis, Missouri | 1 | 112 | ||
| 47 | Harley Race | January 6, 1984 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Louis, Missouri | 6 | 315 | ||
| 48 | Jerry Blackwell | November 16, 1984 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Louis, Missouri | 2 | 259 | ||
| 49 | Harley Race | August 2, 1985 | CSW/SLWC show | St. Louis, Missouri | 7 | [Note 8] | [9] | |
| — | Vacated | February 2, 1986 | — | — | — | — | Championship retired when Jim Crockett Promotions bought the St. Louis Wrestling Club. Crockett also bought Central States Wrestling in September. | |
See also
editFootnotes
edit- ^ a b c d e f g The location of the match was not captured as part of the championship documentation.
- ^ The date the championship was won and later lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted more than 1 day but it is impossible to say how long exactly.
- ^ The date the championship was won and later lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted more than 1 day but it is impossible to say how long exactly.
- ^ The date the championship was won has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 21 days and 51 days
- ^ The date the championship was won has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 751 days and 781 days
- ^ The date the championship was vacated has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted more than 1 day but it is impossible to say how much more.
- ^ The date the championship was won has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 142 days and 171 days
- ^ The date the championship was vacated has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 183 days and 210 days
References
edit- General references
- Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2006). "(Kansas and Western Missouri) West Missouri: NWA Missouri Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 254. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4. (through 2000)
- "Missouri Heavyweight Title". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (January 19, 2019). "Pro wrestling history (01/19): Ric Flair wins WWF title in 1992 Royal Rumble". Wrestling Observer NewsletterWrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (February 10, 2017). "DAILY PRO WRESTLING HISTORY (02/10): MASA SAITO WINS AWA GOLD AT THE TOKYO DOME". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (February 12, 2017). "On this day in pro wrestling history (Feb 12): Christian Cage wins gold in TNA". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (February 26, 2017). "Daily pro wrestling history (02/26): Verne Gagne wins AWA title on his birthday". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (July 14, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (July 14): Bruiser & Crusher vs. Stevens & Bockwinkel, Gagne vs. Superstar, Lex Luger wins WCW title, Snuka wins ECW title, Sting wins TNA belt". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (January 23, 2020). "Pro wrestling history (01/23): Hulk Hogan defeats Iron Sheik for WWF title". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (May 13, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (May 13): Rick Martel wins AWA gold, Kurt Angle wins TNA title, Nash & Hall beat one man to win tag titles". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
- ^ F4W Staff (June 10, 2015). "ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY (JUNE 10): HARLEY RACE BEATS RIC FLAIR FOR NWA TITLE, JERRY BLACKWELL TURNS BABYFACE". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Hoops, Brian (August 2, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history: Ron Simmons makes history by winning WCW World title". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 19, 2017.