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John Stanley Hansen II is an American retired professional wrestler.
The GWF North American Heavyweight Championship was the major title in the Global Wrestling Federation in Texas. The title existed from 1991 until 1994, when GWF closed. The title was featured on the promotion's show that aired nationally on ESPN.
The GWF Tag Team Championship was the tag team title in the Global Wrestling Federation in Texas. The title existed from 1991 until 1994, when GWF closed. The title was featured on the promotion's show that aired nationally on ESPN. It is known as the first tag team title that Harlem Heat won. In its early days, the GWF pretended on television that it was part of a larger worldwide promotion. In 1991, it was announced that a tag team known as the "English lords" had been injured in a car wreck and that the GWF was organizing a tournament to award the vacated title in Dallas. No such team as the English Lords ever existed.
The NWA Florida Television Championship was a secondary title in Championship Wrestling from Florida. It existed from 1970 until 1987.
The NWA Detroit United States Heavyweight Championship was a version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship contested in Big Time Wrestling from 1959 until 1980. It was originally known as the Chicago version and contested on shows produced by Fred Kohler Enterprises. While the National Wrestling Alliance recognized only one World Heavyweight Champion, there were multiple "NWA United States Heavyweight Champion"s, as many NWA-affiliated promotions/"territories" across the U.S. each had its own version of an "American" or "United States" championship. For most such territories -- including Detroit -- the U.S. Title was the promotion's primary singles championship. Over its history, the title was held by stars including Bobo Brazil, The Sheik, Wilbur Snyder, Johnny Valentine, and multi-time AWA World Heavyweight Champions Verne Gagne and Dick the Bruiser.
The NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title that has existed since the 1930s. Though its exact date of creation isn't known, it is among the oldest championships used in professional wrestling today. The title has used a variety of different names over the years, which consists of initial changes to represent the various companies that have controlled the title at different times. Originally, it was simply known as the Texas Heavyweight Championship until its name was changed after the formation of the National Wrestling Alliance in 1948. For most of the title's existence, at least until the early 1990s, it was defended almost exclusively within the Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio areas of Texas. From the 1930s to the mid-1960s, these cities and the surrounding towns were within the territory operated by Ed McLemore, which was known simply as Southwest Sports, Inc. at the time. After McLemore's death, the territory came under the control of Fritz Von Erich and was renamed as Big Time Wrestling. However, the promotion would be renamed World Class Championship Wrestling in the early 1980s, which is the name the territory is best remembered under today. The championship remained an NWA affiliated title until February 1986.
The WCWA Television Championship was a secondary professional wrestling championship that was used and defended in the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). Originally created in 1979 as the NWA Television Championship, one of many television championships across the NWA territories, it was primarily defended on their weekly television show. At the time of its creation the championship was promoted by NWA Big Time Wrestling (BTW). BTW changed its name to "World Class Championship Wrestling" (WCCW) in 1982 and the championship became known as the WCCW Television Championship. In 1986 WCCW withdrew from the NWA and became known as the World Class Wrestling Association. As it is a professional wrestling championship, it is won not by actual competition, but by a scripted ending to a match.
The AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship was a major professional wrestling title in the Continental Wrestling Association during the 1970s and 1980s. The title is part of a long lineage that was started when the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship, in use since 1939, was renamed the NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Memphis version) in 1974. The title's name changed again in 1978, when it was renamed the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship due to a partnership with the American Wrestling Association. It was also called the Mid-Southern Heavyweight Championship in Pro Wrestling Illustrated and its sister publications, in order for this title to not be confused with Championship Wrestling from Florida's version of the title.
The NWA International Heavyweight Championship was a singles title recognized by the National Wrestling Alliance through its partnership with the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance, and later by All Japan Pro Wrestling. It is one of the three titles that were unified into the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship in 1989. From 1981 to the withdrawal of All Japan from the NWA in 1988, the National Wrestling Alliance considered the NWA International title to be its top singles championship in Japan. In 1983, Giant Baba would elevate the title even further in the eyes of many when he, as the reigning PWF Heavyweight Champion, declared Jumbo Tsuruta to be the new "Ace" of All Japan after Jumbo won the NWA International Heavyweight Championship from Bruiser Brody. Following the withdrawal of All Japan from the NWA, the International title was briefly sanctioned by the Pacific Wrestling Federation until the unification of the Triple Crown could be completed.
The USWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary professional wrestling tag team championship promoted by the Memphis, Tennessee-based United States Wrestling Association (USWA). The Continental Wrestling Association and World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA) merged in 1989 to form the USWA. In the merger the USWA replaced both the WCWA World Tag Team Championship and the CWA Tag Team Championship with the USWA version. The promotion awarded Cactus Jack and Scott Braddock the championship after they won the WCWA championship on August 4, 1989. The USWA closed in 1997, with PG-13 as the final champions. There were a total of 116 reigns in the eight year lifetime of the championship.
The World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling World tag team championship in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling. It was created on June 10, 1988 as a unification of two previous tag team titles in All Japan; the PWF Tag Team Championship, and the NWA International Tag Team Championship; when the PWF champions Jumbo Tsuruta and Yoshiaki Yatsu defeated NWA champions The Road Warriors. As with the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, it is symbolized by four belts, two for each wrestler, representing the former PWF and NWA titles. It is currently the top of two tag team titles in AJPW, along with the secondary All Asia Tag Team Championship. There have been a total of 91 reigns shared between 59 different teams consisting of 65 distinctive champions. The current champions are Ryuki Honda and Shotaro Ashino who are in their first reign as a team.
The World Women's Wrestling Association (WWWA) World Tag Team Championship was the top doubles championship in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) from 1970 until it closed in 2005. During those years the title was held by many of the most famous tag teams in Japanese women's professional wrestling, including the Beauty Pair and the Crush Gals. The WWWA Tag Team belt succeeded AJW's original tag belt, the American Girls Wrestling Association (AGWA) Tag Team Championship, which was contested in AJW from 1968 until 1970.
The Pacific Wrestling Federation (PWF) World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and one of the three titles that make up the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship. It was created in 1973 by All Japan owner Giant Baba, after he won a series of ten matches against Bruno Sammartino, Terry Funk, Abdullah the Butcher, The Destroyer, Wilbur Snyder, Don Leo Jonathan, Pat O'Connor and Bobo Brazil.
The NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in its member promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling, which promoted shows in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington.
The NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship was the top singles championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Los Angeles territory, known officially as NWA Hollywood Wrestling, from 1968 until the promotion closed in 1982. The title was first established in 1967 as a secondary championship in NWA Hollywood's predecessor, Worldwide Wrestling Associates. Although the name of the title implies that it was defended throughout North, Central and South America, it was rarely defended outside of Southern California. As a result, the title was essentially a regional title rather than a national one. A number of NWA affiliated promoters at various points over the years have used their own regional versions or variations of "national" championships for the purpose of giving crowds the idea that the company was larger than it actually was, or that the company was the biggest or most successful within the ranks of the National Wrestling Alliance.
The NWA Mid-America Tag Team championship was a tag team title promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion NWA Mid-America that ran more or less exclusively in Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky, United States, from the 1940s until 1980. Originally the NWA Mid-America promoted their version of the NWA World Tag-Team titles but when they became defunct in 1977 the "Mid-America" title became the main title for the promotion. The titles were reactivated in 2001 under NWA Nashville's patronage and continued to exist until 2011 when they were again abandoned.
This was a regional NWA championship based in Japan. For the version of this title that was promoted in NWA All Star Wrestling in Canada, see NWA International Tag Team Championship.
The Florida version of the NWA Brass Knuckles Championship was a secondary professional wrestling championship defended sporadically in the National Wrestling Alliance's Florida territory, Championship Wrestling from Florida. As its name suggests, the title was contested in matches in which the participants wore brass knuckles and it existed from 1960 until the title was abandoned, no earlier than late 1984.
The NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Championship was the top tag team professional wrestling title in the Australian World Championship Wrestling promotion from 1972 through the promotion's 1978 closure.
The NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship was the top tag team championship in Georgia Championship Wrestling from 1968 to 1980, when it was replaced with the NWA National Tag Team Championship.
References
- ↑ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ↑ Hoops, Brian (September 3, 2015). "ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY (SEPT. 3): RIC FLAIR VS. TERRY FUNK TEXAS DEATH MATCH, GREAT MUTA VS. STING, TED DIBIASE AND STAN HANSEN WINS AJPW TAG TITLES". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 10, 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.