WCW INTERNATIONAL HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

Name	Date	Location	Notes
Ric Flair	July 18, 1993	Biloxi, Mississippi	1
Rick Rude	September 19, 1993	Houston, Texas	2
Hiroshi Hase	March 16, 1994	Tokyo, Japan	3
Rick Rude (2)	March 24, 1994	Kyoto, Japan
Sting	April 17, 1994	Rosemont, Illinois	4
Sting (2)	May 22, 1994	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	5
Ric Flair (2)	June 23, 1994	Charleston, South Carolina	6

1. Ric Flair defeated Barry Windham to win the NWA World Heavyweight Title. The recognition was dropped by the NWA in September of 1993 when WCW withdrew from the NWA. Ric Flair continued to be recognized as "World Heavyweight Champion" by WCW; the NWA holds a tournament for the NWA World Heavyweight Title in 1994.

2. The title was renamed the WCW International World Heavyweight Title after the withdrawl of WCW from the NWA.

3. Hiroshi Hase was billed as the WCW International Heavyweight champion in Japan.

4. Rick Rude defeated Sting for the title on May 1, 1994 in Fukuoka, Japan, but the decision was reversed because Rude hit Sting with the title belt to win. Sting refused to accept the title on May 22, 1994 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania unless he can defeat Vader that night.

6. Ric Flair has won the WCW World Heavyweight title by defeating Vader on December 27, 1994 in Charlotte, North Carolina and unified the title with the WCW International World title on June 24, 1994.

Despite what World Championship Wrestling (WCW) told you back in the mid-1990s, here is the REAL story behind the "International World Championship." Keep in mind that a big portion of the story is hearsay, as well as what Ric Flair stated on his DVD, "The Ultimate Ric Flair Collection," as well as his book, "To Be The Man."

In 1991, Flair was a double World Champion, serving as "The Man" in both the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as a whole and in WCW, then an NWA territory. However, a contract dispute led to Flair leaving the company in July, and making the WCW Championship vacant. Lex Luger filled the vacancy at the Great American Bash on July 14, but the NWA Title was still technically held by Flair. That's where things get a little screwy.

Flair signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on September 8, 1991 while still recognized as the NWA World Champion. In addition, he was still in possession of the "Big Gold" belt he'd held during his many years as champion (WCW had made a different version in the meantime) because WCW President Jim Herd refused to give Flair his $25,000 deposit on the belt. Therefore, Flair believed he owned the belt and began appearing on WWF television with the gold, calling him the "Real World's Champion."

After signing with the WWF, the NWA officially stripped Flair of his title as champion. However, Flair still had their belt, so, according to most reports, WCW decided to take action, threatening to sue the WWF if Flair continued to display the belt on TV. According to Flair, the WWF, to avoid any legal problems in the future, had Flair begin wearing a WWF Tag Team belt, which was then "video-distorted" to go along with the proposed angle, in which it was stated that then-WWF President Jack Tunney ruled that the "Real World Championship" was not recognized by the WWF, so the belt would be "distorted" on TV as a result. This went on for most of the remainder of 1991, until Flair finally stopped appearing on TV with the belt. The Big Gold belt was eventually returned to WCW, and that portion of the story ended.

In the meantime, the NWA and WCW decided to hold a tournament to crown a new NWA champion. Masa Chono won that tournament in August of 1992, and the title lineage resumed, with the championship being defended on WCW TV and house shows along with the WCW Championship. Everything ran smoothly until the summer of 1993, when WCW decided it was ready to break away from the NWA and run on its own. The problem was Flair, who had returned and was back under contract to WCW, was once again the NWA Champion. Instead of having Flair give up the championship when the split occurred in September of 1993, WCW made up the “International Committee" story. Fans watching WCW programming were informed that this committee had created the "International World Championship" and named Flair as the first titleholder.

The title, which was essentially a second "World" title in WCW, was defended until June 23, 1994, when the champion at the time, Sting, lost to WCW World Champion Ric Flair in a unification match, ending the controversy once and for all. After that match, the "Big Gold" was once again recognized as the WCW World Championship belt, and the International World Title was quickly abandoned.

And that's the real story behind the WCW International World Championship.