NWA United States Heavyweight Championship

championships used by various National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) members since 1953. At least twelve different versions of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championships have been promoted in various regions across the United States. The NWA's bylaws allowed any NWA member, also known as an NWA territory, to create and control their own version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship. The most well known version was the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling version, which later became the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship, and is still active as the WWE United States Championship

NWA World Heavyweight Championship and one NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship across all promotions. Beyond those two championships the Board allowed each promotion to create and promote whatever championship they wanted to. For example, in 1949 the first of many NWA World Tag Team Championships was created in the Los Angeles territory.^[2][3]

The Sheik, Wilbur Snyder, Johnny Valentine, and multi-time AWA World Heavyweight Champions Verne Gagne and Dick the Bruiser. At around the same time, a version of the US title was established in the Rocky Mountains territory. First held by Gagne, it lasted until 1961. Five years later in 1958, a version was established in St Joseph with Gagne again as inaugural champion, lasted nearly a decade until it was last claimed by former World champion Lou Thesz

Capitol Wrestling leaving the National Wrestling Alliance and becoming the WWWF, the company hosted a version of the championship for several months in 1960-1961. The only holder of this title was Buddy Rogers, who vacated the title upon winning the NWA World title from Pat O'Connor in Chicago in June 1961.^[5] (The WWWF subsequently hosted its own United States Heavyweight Championship from 1963 to 1976.)^[5] Over the next three years, versions were also established in the Central States, Hawaii, San Francisco and Toronto territories. The Central States version was defended in the Central States Wrestling territory around Missouri. It existed from 1961 until 1968. The Hawaiian version was first held by Nick Bockwinkel in 1962 and became the North American title in 1968. The San Francisco version was defended in NWA San Francisco and, later, Big Time Wrestling. The title, which originated as the American Wrestling Alliance United States Championship and was renamed in 1968, existed from 1960 until 1981.^[4] The Toronto version was defended in Frank Tunney's Toronto-based Maple Leaf Wrestling. It existed from 1962 until 1973 when the title was vacated by champion Tiger Jeet Singh after several years of intermittent activity.^[4]

The Spoiler. The title was renamed the NWA American Heavyweight Championship in May 1968.^[6] Later, when WCCW pulled out of the NWA in 1986, the championship was renamed the World Class Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Championship.^[7] The title was briefly unified by Jerry Lawler with the AWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1988-1989 and continued as the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship

WWF.^[4]

FMW as late as the early 1990s.) This left the Mid-Atlantic version as the only version active in the NWA. The title remained the primary championship within the Mid-Atlantic territory until 1986 when Crockett gained control of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The United States title then became the secondary championship of the promotion. After Ted Turner bought the company and renamed it World Championship Wrestling

WWE United States Heavyweight Championship in 2003. In February 2016, a new version of the title was established in Indiana, mostly held by bodybuilder and wrestler Josh Lewis. It has been vacant since Billy Corgan