NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship

NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship
An American wrestler with short blond pompadour-styled hair wearing a blue and black robe poses in the middle of a wrestling ring.
Ric Flair held the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship four times and had the eight-longest combined reign, at 408 days.
Details
Promotion National Wrestling Alliance
Jim Crockett Promotions
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
Date established October 13, 1970 (Re-established in 1996)
Date retired December 26, 1986
Other name(s)
  • NWA Eastern Heavyweight Championship

The NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship contested for in Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), a territory-promotion governed by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The title was only contestable by male individual wrestlers. Since 1974, JCP was also known as "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" (MACW), which is why all of its championships included "Mid-Atlantic" in their names.[1] Being a professional wrestling championship, it was not won legitimately; it was instead won via a scripted ending to a match or awarded to a wrestler because of a storyline. In 1970, the championship was introduced as the NWA Eastern Heavyweight Championship during a taping of Championship Wrestling[Note 2] on October 13, 1970. It was announced that the Missouri Mauler had defeated the defending champion Pat O'Connor in New York City to win the title; this title change was fictitious and a storyline to introduce the championship to the promotion; nevertheless, O'Connor's reign is denoted as the first official reign. Because it was fictitious, further information regarding O'Connor's reign is unavailable.

On the September 6, 1973 taping of Championship Wrestling,[Note 2] JCP owner Jim Crockett, Jr. announced the retirement of the NWA Eastern Heavyweight Championship and the establishment of the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship; this coincided with the rebranding of JCP as MACW.[1] At the time of this change, Jerry Brisco was in his fourth reign as the NWA Eastern Heavyweight Champion, and as a result of never losing the title, he was recognized as the first NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion. Because Brisco's fourth reign did not end, being awarded the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title is not counted as a new reign overall in the title's history.[2] On December 26, 1986, Ron Garvin, after winning JCP's version of the NWA United States Tag Team Championship with Barry Windham, vacated the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title and handed the belt to Crockett, Jr. on a taping of World Championship Wrestling.[Note 3] Crockett, Jr. deactivated the championship for unknown reasons, and eventually, JCP was sold to Ted Turner in 1988.[3] As a result, Garvin was the final wrestler to hold the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title. In the late 1990s, a group of promoters was given permission by the NWA to establish a territory called "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (MACW)"; however, this territory has not claimed any connection to the original JCP/MACW. As a result, their prime championship, called the MACW Heavyweight Championship,[4] has no connection to this original JCP/MACW championship.

Overall, there were 60 reigns shared between 29 wrestlers. Fifteen of those reigns occurred while the title was called the "NWA Eastern Heavyweight Championship", while 46 occurred under the "NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship" name. The title had only one official vacancy, which occurred in July 1985. Jack Brisco and Wahoo McDaniel had the most reigns as champion, with six; Jerry Brisco and Rip Hawk had the second-most, with four. Ken Patera's second reign was the longest in the title's history, at 334 days; the Missouri Mauler had the second-longest, at 275 days. Johnny Valentine ranks first in combined reigns by length, at 504 days with 2 reigns; Patera ranks second, at 495 days with 4 reigns. All title changes occurred at JCP–promoted events: live events, pay-per-view events, and on televised events that aired on broadcast delay.

Title history

Key
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
NWA Eastern Heavyweight Championship
 1  Pat O'Connor  1970  Live event N/A  1  [Note 1] It was announced in local advertisements that O'Connor was the reigning Eastern Heavyweight Champion until October 13, 1970, when he lost the championship to the Missouri Mauler; this reign was a storyline to introduce the championship to JCP, and as a result, further information regarding how O'Connor won the title is unavailable. [5]
 2  The Missouri Mauler  October 13, 1970  Championship Wrestling N/A  1  275 The Missouri Mauler announced on local television from WGHP television studios that he had defeated O'Connor for the title in New York City; the title change was a continuation of the storyline to introduce the championship to JCP, and as a result, further information regarding the title change is unavailable. This title change aired on broadcast delay. [5][Note 2]
 3  Danny Miller  July 15, 1971  Live event Greensboro, North Carolina  1  67
 4  The Missouri Mauler  September 20, 1971  Live event Charlotte, North Carolina  2  71
 5  Jack Brisco  November 30, 1971  Championship Wrestling
[Note 2]		 High Point, North Carolina  1  76 This title change aired on broadcast delay.
 6  Rip Hawk  February 14, 1972  Live event Charlotte, North Carolina  1  56
 7  Jack Brisco  April 10, 1972  Live event Charlotte, North Carolina  2  [Note 4]
 8  Rip Hawk  [Note 5]  Live event San Juan, Puerto Rico  2  [Note 5] The exact date on which Rip Hawk won his second reign is unknown, however, it is confirmed by sources that he won the title from Jack Brisco between April 25 and May 25, 1972 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
 9  Jerry Brisco  June 13, 1972  Live event Columbia, South Carolina  1  76
 10  Rip Hawk  August 28, 1972  Live event Greenville, South Carolina  3  7
 11  Jerry Brisco  September 4, 1972  Live event Greenville, South Carolina  2  115
 12  Rip Hawk  December 28, 1972  Live event Greensboro, North Carolina  4  65
 13  Jerry Brisco  March 3, 1973  Live vent Salem, North Carolina  3  67
 14  Ole Anderson  May 9, 1973  All Star Wrestling[Note 6] Raleigh, North Carolina  1  55 This title change aired on broadcast delay.
NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship
 15 (1)  Jerry Brisco  July 3, 1973  Live event Columbia, South Carolina  4  [Note 7] On September 6, 1973 the NWA retired the NWA Eastern Heavyweight Championship and introduced the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship to JCP as its replacement. As a result of Brisco being recognized as the final NWA Eastern Heavyweight Champion later the NWA recognized him as the first NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion. However, this reign is not considered to be a new reign overall in the title's history because Jerry Brisco originally never lost the title.
 16 (2)  Johnny Valentine  January 1974  Live event N/A  1  [Note 8] From the information known, Johnny Valentine was awarded the championship by Jim Crockett Jr. after Brisco traveled to Japan to wrestle and was unable to defend the title in the United States; a formal vacancy was not established, however.
— Vacated  October 28, 1974 — — — —
 17 (3)  Johnny Valentine  November 4, 1974  Live event N/A  2  135
 18 (4)  Paul Jones  March 9, 1975  Live event Charlotte, North Carolina  1  10 Jones' title win became a controversy as a result of Valentine having his leg on the ring rope when the referee counted the pinfall, which the referee failed to see. If this were seen, the pin count would have been stopped. [6]
 19 (5)  Johnny Valentine  March 19, 1975  All Star Wrestling Raleigh, North Carolina  3  102 Valentine demanded a review of his match with Jones by NWA President Sam Muchnick, who ruled in favor of Valentine. As a result, Muchnick stripped Jones of the championship and awarded it to Valentine; a formal vacancy was not established, however. This title change aired on tape delay. [6]
 20 (6)  Wahoo McDaniel  June 29, 1975  Live event Asheville, North Carolina  1  
 21 (7)  Ric Flair  July 1975  Live event N/A  1  
 22 (8)  Wahoo McDaniel  July 26, 1975  Live event Asheville, North Carolina  2  56
 23 (9)  Ric Flair  September 20, 1975  Live event Hampton, Virginia  2  226 [7]
 24 (10)  Wahoo McDaniel  May 3, 1976  Live event Charlotte, North Carolina  3  21
 25 (11)  Ric Flair  May 24, 1976  Live event Charlotte, North Carolina  3  110 [8]
 26 (12)  Wahoo McDaniel  September 11, 1976  Live event Greenville, South Carolina  4  35
 27 (13)  Ric Flair  October 16, 1976  Live event Greensboro, North Carolina  4  72
 28 (14)  Wahoo McDaniel  December 27, 1976  Live event Richmond, Virginia  5  166
 29 (15)  Greg Valentine  June 11, 1977  Live event Greensboro, North Carolina  1  59
 30 (16)  Wahoo McDaniel  August 9, 1977  Live event Raleigh, North Carolina  6  29
 31 (17)  Greg Valentine  September 7, 1977  Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
[Note 6]		 Raleigh, North Carolina  2  207 This title change aired on broadcast delay. As part of the storyline, Valentine "broke" Wahoo's leg, but this was not a legitimate injury.
 32 (18)  Wahoo McDaniel  April 2, 1978  Live event Greensboro, North Carolina  7  7
 33 (19)  Ken Patera  April 9, 1978  Live event Charlotte, North Carolina  1  161
 33 (20)  Tony Atlas  September 17, 1978  Live event Roanoke, Virginia  1  28
 34 (21)  Ken Patera  October 15, 1978  Live event Roanoke, Virginia  2  334
 35 (22)  Jim Brunzell  September 14, 1979  Live event Richmond, Virginia  1  69
 36 (23)  Ray Stevens  November 22, 1979  Live event Greensboro, North Carolina  1  33
 37 (24)  Jim Brunzell  December 25, 1979  Live event Charlotte, North Carolina  2  168
 38 (25)  The Iron Sheik  May 11, 1980  Live event Charlotte, North Carolina  1  174
 39 (26)  Ricky Steamboat  November 1, 1980  Live event Richmond, Virginia  1  166
 40 (27)  Ivan Koloff  April 16, 1981  Live event Norfolk, Virginia  1  177
 41 (28)  Ricky Steamboat  October 10, 1981  Live event Greensboro, North Carolina  2  22
 42 (29)  Roddy Piper  November 1, 1981  Live event Greensboro, North Carolina  1  180
 43 (30)  Jack Brisco  May 10, 1982  Live event Greenville, North Carolina  3 (1)  58
 43 (31)  Roddy Piper  July 7, 1982  World Wide Wrestling
[Note 9]		 Charlotte, North Carolina  2  27 This title change aired on broadcast delay.
 44 (32)  Jack Brisco  August 3, 1982  Live event Raleigh, North Carolina  4 (2)  29
 45 (33)  Paul Jones  September 1, 1982  World Wide Wrestling
[Note 9]		 Charlotte, North Carolina  2  47 This title change aired on broadcast delay.
 46 (34)  Jack Brisco  October 18, 1982  Live event Greenville, South Carolina  5 (3)  15
 47 (35)  Paul Jones  November 2, 1982  Live event Raleigh, North Carolina  3  28
 48 (36)  Jack Brisco  November 30, 1982  Live event Columbia, South Carolina  6  61
 49 (37)  Dory Funk Jr.  January 30, 1983  Live event Charlotte, North Carolina  1  187
 50 (38)  Rufus Jones  August 5, 1983  Live event Richmond, Virginia  1  120
 51 (39)  Dick Slater  December 3, 1983  Live event Hampton, Virginia  1  [Note 10]
 52 (40)  Ivan Koloff  [Note 11]  [Note 12] N/A  2  [Note 11] After Dick Slater won the NWA United States Championship on December 14, 1983, he elected to award Ivan Koloff the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship; however, the exact date and location of this title change is unknown, although it has been confirmed to have aired on broadcast delay.
 53 (41)  Angelo Mosca Jr.  January 25, 1984  Live event Shelby, North Carolina  1  53
 54 (42)  Ivan Koloff  March 18, 1984  Live event Charlotte, North Carolina  3  35
 55 (43)  Angelo Mosca Jr.  April 22, 1984  [Note 12] Charlotte, North Carolina  2  20 This title change aired on broadcast delay.
 56 (44)  The Masked Outlaw  May 12, 1984  [Note 12] Spencer, North Carolina  2  46 The Masked Outlaw was an alternate ring name of Dory Funk Jr. (who was suspended for shoving NWA representative Sandy Scott), who had won the title under his real name previously. This title change aired on broadcast delay.
 57 (45)  Angelo Mosca Jr.  June 27, 1984  [Note 12] Norfolk, Virginia  3  63 This title change aired on broadcast delay.
 58 (46)  Ron Bass  August 29, 1984  [Note 12] Spartanburg, South Carolina  1  199 This title change aired on broadcast delay.
 59 (47)  Buzz Tyler  March 16, 1985  [Note 12] Greensboro, North Carolina  1  [Note 13] This title change aired on broadcast delay.
— Vacated  July 1985 — — — — Buzz Tyler was stripped of the championship after he left JCP; title was declared vacant as a result.
 60 (48)  Krusher Khrushchev  November 28, 1985  Starrcade (1985) Greensboro, North Carolina  1  44 Krusher Khrushchev defeated Sam Houston in a tournament final to win the vacant championship.
 61 (49)  Sam Houston  January 11, 1986  World Championship Wrestling
[Note 3]		 Atlanta, Georgia  1  66 This title change aired on broadcast delay.
Khrushchev legitimately injured his knee during this match; he would miss six months of action.
 62 (50)  Black Bart  March 18, 1986  Live event Mooresville, North Carolina  1  168
 63 (51)  Ron Garvin  September 2, 1986  Live event Spartanburg, South Carolina  1  115 After winning JCP's version of the NWA United States Tag Team Championship with Barry Windham, Garvin vacated the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship and handed it to Jim Crockett Jr. on the December 26, 1986 taping of World Championship Wrestling. The title was deactivated afterwards for unknown reasons by Crockett Jr., and JCP was then sold to Ted Turner in 1988.[3] As a result, Ron Garvin was the final wrestler to hold the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title.
NWA MACW Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship (1996-2011)
 64 (52)  Preston Quinn  July 17, 1996   Suffolk, Virginia  1  571 Defeated Rising Sun.
 65 (53)  Carolina Kid  February 8, 1998   Norfolk, Virginia  1  
— Vacated  1998 — — — —
 66 (54)  Colt Steel  October 2, 1999   Columbus, North Carolina  1  371 Defeated The Metal Maniac.
 67 (55)  Bunkhouse Buck  October 7, 2000   Morganton, North Carolina  1  
 68 (56)  Rick Nelson  2001   N/A  1  
 69 (57)  Buff Bagwell  December 14, 2001   Hartsville, South Carolina]  1  
† N/A — —
— Vacated  2002 — — — — Title vacated as of September 5, 2002.
 70 (58)  Steve Williams  December 30, 2003   Guangzhou, China  1   Defeated Terry Taylor.
— Vacated  2005 — — — —
 71 (59)  Scott Steiner  September 24, 2005   Concord, North Carolina  1   Defeated Buff Bagwell
— Vacated  2006 — — — —
 72 (60)  Buff Bagwell  March 17, 2006   Laurens, South Carolina  2  1,807 Defeated Rikki Nelson
 73 (61)  Rick Nelson  February 26, 2011   Cheraw, South Carolina  2   MACW leaves the NWA in 2012. Title vacated as of October 1, 2012. No Championship by Ricky Nelson or the old MACW is sanctioned or recognized by the NWA after this date
NWA MACW Heavyweight Championship (2012-present)
— Vacated  2012 — — — — NWA Sanctions a new MACW to be formed October 1st, 2012
— Vacated  2013 — — — — NWA World Wide introduces new Eastern States Championship but it is not the Mid-Atlantic Championship.
 74 (62)  Lance Erikson  July 4, 2015   Beckley, West Virginia  1  239 Lance Erickson becomes first NWA Mid-Atlantic Champion since 2012 when he Defeated William Huckaby.
— Vacated  February 28, 2016 — — — — Title vacated when Erickson fails to defend the title

Combined reigns

Key
Symbol Meaning
#= The equal sign next to a number means that entry is equal in length with the preceding and/or following entry
¤ The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain, so the shortest possible length is used.
† Indicates the current champion.
Rank Wrestler # of reigns Combined days
1= Buff Bagwell 2 1,828¤
2 Preston Quinn 1 571
3 Johnny Valentine 3 504¤
[Note 8]
4 Ken Patera 2 495
5 Jerry Brisco 4 440¤
[Note 7]
6 Ric Flair 4 408¤
7 Colt Steel 1 371
8 Missouri Mauler 2 347
9 Wahoo McDaniel 7 341¤
10 Greg Valentine 2 266
11 Jack Brisco 6 253¤
[Note 4]
12 Lance Erikson 1 239
14 Jim Brunzell 2 237
14 Ivan Koloff 3 237¤
[Note 11]
15 Dory Funk, Jr./The Masked Outlaw 2 233
16 Roddy Piper 2 207
18 Ron Bass 1 199
19 Rick Steamboat 2 188
20 The Iron Sheik 1 174
21 Black Bart 1 168
22 Rip Hawk 4 147¤
[Note 5]
23 Angelo Mosca, Jr. 3 136
24 Rufus Jones 1 120
25 Ron Garvin 1 115
26 Buzz Tyler 1 107¤
[Note 13]
27 Paul Jones 2 85
28 Danny Miller 1 67
29 Sam Houston 1 66
30 Ole Anderson 1 55
31 Ray Stevens 1 33
32 Tony Atlas 1 28
33 Dick Slater 1 28¤
[Note 10]
34 Pat O'Connor 1 1¤
[Note 1]
35 Carolina Kid 1 1¤
36 Bunkhouse Buck 1 1¤
37 "Dr. Death" Steve Williams 1 1¤
38 Scott Steiner 1 1¤
39 Rikki Nelson 2 1¤

See also

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 The exact date on which Pat O' Connor won his only reign is unknown, which means that it lasted between 1 and 285 days.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Championship Wrestling was a television program for JCP that began airing on local WGHP television markets in 1964.
  3. 1 2 World Championship Wrestling was a television program for JCP that began airing on WTBS television markets in 1981.
  4. 1 2 The exact date on which Jack Brisco lost his second reign in unknown, which means that it lasted between 15 and 45 days.
  5. 1 2 3 The exact date on which Rip Hawk won his second reign is unknown, although it is confirmed in sources that it took place between April 25, 1972 and May 25, 1972. As a result, his reign lasted between 19 and 49 days.
  6. 1 2 All Star Wrestling, Wide World Wrestling, and World Wide Wrestling were television programs for JCP that began airing on local WRAL television markets in the late 1950s.
  7. 1 2 The exact date on which Jerry Brisco lost his fourth championship reign is unknown, which means that it lasted between 182 and 212 days.
  8. 1 2 The exact date on which Johnny Valentine won his first reign is unknown, which means that it lasted between 402 and 432 days.
  9. 1 2 World Wide Wrestling (renamed from Wide World Wrestling in 1978) began airing on local WPCQ-TV television markets in 1981, after it moved from WRAL.
  10. 1 2 The exact date on which Dick Slater awarded Ivan Koloff the championship is unknown, which means that his only reign lasted between 11 and 28 days.
  11. 1 2 3 The exact date on which Ivan Koloff was awarded the championship by Dick Slater took place between December 14 and December 31, 1983, which means that his second reign lasted between 25 and 42 days.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 From 1983 to 1984, JCP taped programming in indoor arenas to air on television markets; however, the name of the programming and the markets it aired on is unknown.
  13. 1 2 The exact date on which Buzz Tyler was stripped of the championship is unknown, which means that his only reign lasted between 107 and 137 days.

References

General (title history)
  • Bourne, Dick. "Mid-Atlantic Wrestling: The Definitive History of the Mid-Atlantic Championship". Mid-Atlantic Gateway. Archived from the original on December 17, 2010. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  • "NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title History". Wrestling Title Histories by Gary Will and Royal Duncan. Solie.org. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
General (television programming)
  • "WGHP-8 High Point, NC". Mid-Atlantic Gateway. Archived from the original on August 16, 2009. Retrieved July 29, 2009.
  • Thatcher, Les. "WRAL Studio Wrestling: Television History on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway". Mid-Atlantic Magazine (1977). Mid-Atlantic Gateway. Archived from the original on 2009-04-01. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  • "WPCQ - Charlotte, NC". Mid-Atlantic Gateway. Archived from the original on November 18, 2008. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
Specific
  1. 1 2 Bourne, Dick; David Chappell. "What's In a Name?". Mid-Atlantic Gateway. Archived from the original on August 21, 2009. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  2. ↑ Bourne, Dick. "The Origin and Evolution of the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship". Mid-Atlantic Gateway. Archived from the original on March 10, 2009. Retrieved July 30, 2009.
  3. 1 2 Beekman, Scott (2006). Ringside: a history of professional wrestling in America. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 129–132. ISBN 0-275-98401-X.
  4. ↑ "MACW's Latest Rankings". Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. Archived from the original on August 14, 2009. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  5. 1 2 "Clippings from the collection of Mark Eastridge". Mid-Atlantic Gateway. January 1971. Archived from the original on November 14, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2009.
  6. 1 2 Bourne, Dick. "Why Paul Jones' victory over Johnny Valentine for the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship Should Be Recognized". Mid-Atlantic Gateway. Archived from the original on 2009-08-21. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
  7. ↑ Hoops, Brian (September 20, 2015). "On this date in pro wrestling history (9/20): Flair Defeated McDaniel, Gagne beats Von Raschke". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  8. ↑ Hoops, Brian (May 24, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (May 24): Harley Race wins NWA title due to interesting circumstances, Ric Flair beats Kerry Von Erich in Japan". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 18, 2017.

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