WWA World Heavyweight Championship (Los Angeles)

Last updated
WWA World Heavyweight Championship
Details
Promotion Worldwide Wrestling Associates
Date establishedJune 14, 1957
Date retiredDecember 18, 1968
Other name(s)
World Heavyweight Championship
Statistics
First champion(s) Édouard Carpentier
Most reigns Freddie Blassie (four)
Longest reign Édouard Carpentier (1,459 days)
Shortest reign Freddie Blassie (two days)

The WWA World Heavyweight Championship, also known simply as the World Heavyweight Championship, was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the Los Angeles, California-based Worldwide Wrestling Associates (WWA). [1] The title was established as an offshoot of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship when Édouard Carpentier became recognized as world champion in Los Angeles, when the promotion was then known as the North American Wrestling Alliance. The championship was renamed with the promotion in 1961, and was abandoned in 1968 after WWA joined the NWA and was renamed NWA Hollywood Wrestling.

Contents

There were multiple world titles contested in Indianapolis' World Wrestling Association, [2] [3] the World Wrestling Association in Mexico [4] and in the World Wrestling Association of Korea, [5] [6] which are all omonime promotions of the original WWA and which all consider themselves to be the true WWA or its true heir.

Title history

Key
No.Overall reign number
ReignReign number for the specific champion
DaysNumber of days held
No.ChampionChampionship changeReign statisticsNotesRef.
DateEventLocationReignDays
1 Édouard Carpentier June 14, 1957WWA showChicago, Illinois11,459Defeated Lou Thesz by disqualification to become the National Wrestling Alliance world champion. He lost the NWA title by disqualification to Thesz on July 24, 1957. Some NWA territories (which then became Worldwide Wrestling Associates) didn't recognize the title change and thus the WWA World title was born.
2 Freddie Blassie June 12, 1961WWA showLos Angeles, California1289He won the title when Carpentier was declared unable to continue in third fall.
3 Rikidōzan March 28, 1962WWA showLos Angeles, California1119
4 Freddie Blassie July 25, 1962WWA showLos Angeles, California22
5 The Destroyer July 27, 1962WWA showSan Diego, California1287
6 Freddie Blassie May 10, 1963WWA showLos Angeles, California3105
7 Bearcat Wright August 23, 1963WWA showLos Angeles, California1115Wins by countout. First black wrestler to hold a world title in professional wrestling.
8 Édouard Carpentier December 16, 1963WWA showIndio, California245Wins by forfeit when Wright no-shows a scheduled defense.
9 Freddie Blassie January 30, 1964WWA showLos Angeles, California483
10 Dick the Bruiser April 22, 1964WWA showLos Angeles, California191
11 The Destroyer July 22, 1964WWA showLos Angeles, California250Dick the Bruiser didn't acknowledge his defeat against The Destroyer, claiming to be the true WWA champion and starting World Wrestling Association (Indianapolis) as the first WWA World Heavyweight Championship (Indianapolis) holder.
12 Bob Ellis September 10, 1964WWA showLos Angeles, California164
13 The Destroyer November 13, 1964WWA showSan Diego, California3119
† Toyonobori December 12, 1964JWA showTokyo, Japan1Toyonobori defeated The Destroyer in a JWA card, but the title change was not recognized by WWA. However Toyonobori was recognized as the legitimate champion in the JWA. To put an end to the controversy Luke Graham, the champion recognized by WWA, defeated Toyonobori, the champion recognized by the JWA, on September 20, 1965, in Los Angeles (below).
14 Pedro Morales March 12, 1965WWA showLos Angeles, California1133Defeats The Destroyer
15 Luke Graham July 23, 1965WWA showLos Angeles, California186Recognized as legitimate champion by WWA, defeated Toyonobori, recognized by the Japanese Wrestling Association as the true champion, on September 20, 1965, in Los Angeles to put an end to the controversy on the legitimate title holder.
16 Pedro Morales October 17, 1965WWA showLos Angeles, California2292
17 Buddy Austin August 5, 1966WWA showLos Angeles, California128
18 Bobo Brazil September 2, 1966WWA showLos Angeles, California114
19 Buddy Austin September 16, 1966WWA showLos Angeles, California228
20 Lou Thesz October 14, 1966WWA showLos Angeles, California114
21 Mark Lewin October 28, 1966WWA showLos Angeles, California1193
22 Kim Il May 9, 1967WWA showSeoul, South Korea166
23 Mike DiBiase July 14, 1967WWA showLos Angeles, California142
24 Buddy Austin August 25, 1967WWA showLos Angeles, California3140
25 Bobo Brazil January 12, 1968WWA showLos Angeles, California2341On October 1, 1968, WWA joined the National Wrestling Alliance. To determine the unified world champion Gene Kiniski, the NWA world champion, wrestled Brazil to a draw on December 18, 1968, in Los Angeles. Kiniski was therefore recognized the true champion and the WWA World title was merge with the NWA World title.
—DeactivatedDecember 18, 1968WWA show———

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "WWA World Heavyweight Title (California)". Wrestling-Titles.com.
  2. ↑ "WWA World Heavyweight Title (Indiana)". Wrestling-Titles.com.
  3. ↑ "Home". Archived from the original on November 28, 2009. Retrieved February 7, 2010.
  4. ↑ "WWA World Heavyweight Title (Mexico)". Wrestling-Titles.com.
  5. ↑ "WWA World Heavyweight Title (S. Korea)". Wrestling-Titles.com.
  6. ↑ "Untitled Document". Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
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