NWA United National Championship
The NWA United National Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance, and best known for being defended in All Japan Pro Wrestling. It was unified into the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, along with the PWF World Heavyweight Championship and the NWA International Heavyweight Championship, in 1989. The original belt remained in use for the Triple Crown until 2013.
Title history
# | Wrestler | Reign | Date | Days held | Location | Notes |
1 | Dale Lewis | 1 | October 1970 | St. Louis, MO | Won a tournament to crown the first champion. | |
2 | Pantera Negra | 1 | Los Angeles, CA | |||
3 | John Tolos | 1 | Los Angeles, CA | |||
4 | Ray Mendoza | 1 | Los Angeles, CA | |||
5 | John Tolos | 2 | March 1971 | N/A | Tolos returned the championship when the NWA decided the referee used a fast count during his title defense against Mendoza. | |
6 | Antonio Inoki | 1 | Los Angeles, CA | - | ||
- | Vacated | - | - | N/A | Vacated on December 13, 1971 when Inoki is fired from the JWA, the promotion to which he had brought the title from the United States. | |
7 | King Krow | 1 | January 1972 | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | Defeated Sailor Thomas in a fictitious tournament final. | |
8 | Seiji Sakaguchi | 1 | Los Angeles, CA | |||
9 | The Sheik | 1 | Tokyo, Japan | - | ||
10 | Seiji Sakaguchi | 2 | Osaka, Japan | - | ||
11 | Johnny Valentine | 1 | Yokohama, Japan | - | ||
12 | Akihisa Takachiho | 1 | Sano, Japan | - | ||
- | Deactivated | - | - | N/A | Deactivated on April 14, 1973 when the JWA closed. | |
13 | Jumbo Tsuruta | 1 | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated Jack Brisco in an AJPW tournament final to revive the championship. | ||
14 | Billy Robinson | 1 | Akita, Japan | |||
15 | Jumbo Tsuruta | 2 | Miami, FL | |||
16 | Dick Murdoch | 1 | Kagoshima, Japan | |||
17 | Jumbo Tsuruta | 3 | Kuroiso, Japan | |||
18 | Abdullah the Butcher | 1 | Nagoya, Japan | |||
19 | Jumbo Tsuruta | 4 | Nirasaki, Japan | |||
20 | Harley Race | 1 | Tokyo, Japan | |||
21 | Jumbo Tsuruta | 5 | Kitami, Japan | - | ||
- | Vacated | - | - | N/A | Vacated on June 17, 1983 so Tsuruta could focus on winning the NWA International Heavyweight Championship. | |
22 | Ted DiBiase | 1 | Sasebo, Japan | Defeated Jerry Lawler in a tournament final via forfeit; wrestled Genichiro Tenryu for his first title defense instead. | ||
23 | Michael Hayes | 1 | Athens, GA | |||
24 | David Von Erich | 1 | Dallas, TX | - | ||
- | Vacated | - | - | N/A | Vacated on February 10, 1984 when Von Erich dies of an apparent heart attack. | |
25 | Genichiro Tenryu | 1 | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated Ricky Steamboat in a tournament final. | ||
- | Vacated | - | February 1986 | - | N/A | Voluntarily vacated in February 1986 when Tenryu is pinned by Yoshiaki Yatsu in a tag team match. |
26 | Genichiro Tenryu | 2 | Ōmiya-ku, Japan | Defeated Ted DiBiase in a tournament final. Tenryu won the PWF Heavyweight Championship on March 9, 1988. | ||
27 | Stan Hansen | 1 | Nagano, Japan | Also won the PWF Heavyweight Championship. | ||
28 | Jumbo Tsuruta | 6 | Tokyo, Japan | Retained the NWA International Heavyweight Championship and won the PWF Heavyweight Championship and the UN Championship. | ||
- | Unified | - | - | N/A | Title was unified with Tsuruta's NWA International Heavyweight Championship and with Hansen's PWF Heavyweight Championship and UN championship to create the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship. |