undefined
Well now we have what the WWF claim is the first ever "undisputed" World Champion, with Chris Jericho beating both the Rock, and Steve Austin to win both the WWF World and the (WCW)World Championships, with a lot of help from Vince McMahon tonight at Vengence. However once agian this is revisonist history by the folks at Titan Tower, but it is an interesting ride how it got to this point. So this timeline will show the history of the World's Wrestling Heavyweight Championship from the turn of the century to tonight so let's take a look shall we?
Jan 30, 1904-George Hackenschmidt who was the European Greco-European Champion defeats American Champion Tom Jenkins in New York City to become the first recognized World Heavyweight Champion in North America
April 3,1908-Frank Gotch defeats Hackenshmidt in Chicago, IL to win the World Title....Gotch retires as champion in 1913. After Gotch's retirement the lineage of the title is broken as several promoters declare their own versions of the World Championship. By the late 20's and early 30's these versions include the Boston based American Wrestling Association,which named Ed "Strangler" Lewis as its champion in 1928. the New York State Athletic Commission "World Champion", which named Hans Steinke in February of 1928, the Los Angeles version of the title, which named Jim Londos in 1935, the Maryland version which named Bronko Nagurski in 1937, and the Midwest Wrestling Alliance version which named John Pesek as champion in 1931.
Jan 4, 1928 the National Wrestling Association, a branch of the National Boxing Association is formend and names Gus Sonnenberg, as its World Champion adding yet another version of a world championship. Sonnenberg is later stripped of this version later in 1929 for failing to meet "real contenders".
June 25, 1934-Jim Londos, the New York "World Champion" defeats National Wrestling Association Champion Jim Browning to unifiy those titles in New York City
July 30, 1935-Danno O'Mahoney defeats Boston AWA World Champion Ed Don George to unifiy the titles in Boston, MA to become the first undistputed World Champion in nearly 20 years. However in March 2, 1936 O'Mahoney loses the title to Dick Shikat, but the Boston AWA contiues to recognize O'Mahoney as their champion. These versions continue to fragment the title for another decade.
Dec 29, 1937-Lou Thesz defeats Everett Marshall in St.Louis, MO to win the National Wrestling Association World Championship. Thesz is also recognized as the Boston AWA Champion January, 1938. This is Thesz first World Championship
July 20,1948-Lou Thesz defeated Bill Longson for his third National Wrestling Association Championship in Indianapolis, IN
July, 1948-Six midwest promoters form the National Wrestling Alliance and names Midwest Wrestling Association Champion Orville Brown has its first World Champion. The Midwest Wrestling Association is absorbed into the NWA. A title unification match is announced between Brown and National Wrestling Association Champion Lou Thesz for November 25, 1949
Nov 27,1949-Lou Thesz is awarded the National Wrestling Alliance World Title when Orville Brown is injured in an auto accident November 1, 1949 weeks before their unification match. The National Wrestling Association version of the title is merged with the National Wrestling Alliance.
July 27, 1950-NWA World Champion Lou Thesz defeats Gorgeous George in Chicago, IL to unify the Boston AWA version of the World Title to the NWA
May 21, 1952-NWA World Champion Lou Thesz defeats Baron Michele Leone in Los Angeles, CA to unify the Los Angeles Version of the World Title with the NWA World Title to become the first undisputed World Champion for the first time in over 15 years
June 14, 1957-NWA World Champion Lou Thesz loses to Edouard Carpentier by disqualification in Chicago, IL when Thesz cannot continue due to a back injury, NWA rules the title cannot change hands through an injury and gives the title back to Thesz. Carpentier is still recognized as World Champion in Omaha and by the World Wrestling Association in Los Angeles to legitmate the lineage of their titles. Thesz defeats Carpentier in a rematch by disqualification July 7, 1957 in Montreal, Canada
May, 1960-Midwest promoters led by Wally Karbo of Minneapolis split to from the NWA to form the Amercian Wrestling Association (AWA). They name NWA World Champion Pat O'Connor as their first champion, however they give O'Connor 90 days to defend the title against Verne Gagne or be stripped of the title. O'Connor ignored the AWA and they strip him and awarded the AWA title to Gagne, this is the first crack in the National Wrestling Alliance.
Jan 24, 1963-Lou Thesz defeats Buddy Rogers to win his 6th NWA World Championship in Toronto, Canada. However Northeast promoters led by Toots Mondt and Vince McMahon Sr, refuse to recognize Rogers one-fall loss to Thesz and they form the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), and name Rogers as their first champion.; In February 7, 1963 in Toronto Thesz defeats Rogers in a 2-out-of-3 falls rematch that was mostly forgotten by most historians.
In 1971 the WWWF secretly rejoins the NWA and the WWWF World Title is reduced to a regional title, but many fans still continued to regard the WWWF title as a "world's championship"
Jan 25, 1978-NWA World Champion Harley Race wrestles WWWF Champion Superstar Billy Graham in a 2 out of three fall match at the Orange Bowl in Miami, FL. Graham wins the first fall by submission, Race wins the second fall by countout and the final fall ends in a time limit draw
March, 1979-WWWF drops one W and become the World Wrestling Federation....March 25, 1979 WWF Champion Bob Backlund wrestles AWA World Champion Nick Bockwinkel to a double countout in Toronto, Canada
Sept 22,1980-NWA World Champion Harley Race loses by disqualification to WWF Champion Bob Backlund in New York City
July 4, 1982-NWA World Champion Ric Flair wrestles WWF Champion Bob Backlund to a double countout in Atlanta, GA....WWF withdraws from the NWA in 1983 and title is remaned WWF World Championship
Oct 2,1985-NWA World Champion Ric Flair wrestles AWA World Champion Rick Martel to a double countout in Tokyo, Japan....This is the last title unification match for the next 15 years.
Nov, 1988-Media mogul Ted Turner buys Jim Crockett Promotions, the only remnant of the NWA, and renames the company World Championship Wrestling. The name change, and renamed titles are offical in January of 1991..The NWA exists on paper only, and they continue to recognize Ric Flair as NWA World Champion while holding the WCW World Title....Flair is stripped of WCW Title in July of 1991 when he leaves the company to join the WWF, the NWA strip him of title recognition in September of 1991 when Flair makes his WWF debut
Late 1990-Early 1991-The AWA ceases promotion due to lack of money & an audience, a stubborn refusal by AWA owner Verne Gagne to change his product from the mat based wrestling that he focused on in the 60's and 70's, to the more glitz and entertainment based product of the 80's, and constant talent rades during the 80's by the WWF and to a lesser degree the NWA as Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura, Bobby Hennan, Adrian Adonis, The Road Warriors, Rick Martel, Curt Hennig, Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty, Paul E Dangerously, Pat Tanaka & Paul Diamond, Diamond Dallas Page and Sgt. Slaughter just to name a few all leave the AWA on a continous basis beginning in 1983. Larry Zbyszko was the last AWA World Champion, and he left for WCW in December of 1990
June, 1992-WCW rejoins the NWA...At the Great American Bash PPV in July of 1992 WCW World Tag Team Champions Steve Williams & Terry Gordy defeat Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes in the tournament to win the NWA Tag title, basically unifying those belts...In August 12,1992 in Tokyo,Japan Masa Chono defeats WCW U.S Champion Rick Rude to win the NWA Title in a tournament...The relationship continues untill WCW withdraws from the NWA in September 1993 and all NWA titles are withdrawn from WCW, and the NWA Title is vacant
Aug 24, 1994-Eastern Championship Wrestling, who joined the NWA a year earlier, is renamed Extreme Championship Wrestling when ECW Champion Shane Douglas defeats 2 Cold Scorpio in a tournament to win the NWA Title, then throws down the belt and claims himself the ECW "World" Champion, and ECW withdraws from the NWA. The ECW title is not recognized as a World Championship until around 1997 when ECW begins promoting cards regularly outside the Northeast area, and begins airing Pay Ver View cards on a regular basis beginning with Barely Legal in April, 1997 which saw former NWA World Champion Terry Funk, defeat the Sandman and Steve Richards in a triple threat match to win a shot at the ECW World Title, and then beating Raven to win the ECW World Title.
Nov 19, 1994-Chris Candido defeats Tracey Smothers in a tournament in Cherry Hill, NJ to win the vacant NWA Title...The NWA is still around today with over two dozen independent promoters making up the current version of the NWA, but the NWA Title is not considered a World Championship, due to lack of national television exposure, and the lack of true talent in the NWA member promtions, and the title is considered an independent belt, far from its glory days from the 40's to the 80's
Feb 1, 2000-WWF World Champion Hunter Hearst Helmsley pins Chris Benoit in Philadelphia,PA. Benoit debuted in the WWF along with Dean Malenko, Eddy Guerrero, and Perry Saturn a week before on January 31 after Benoit vacated the WCW World Title the night after he won it from Sid Vicious on January 16, 2000, due to the management changes in WCW. It wasn't a title vs. title, but with Benoit being a undefeated WCW World Champion wrestling against the current WWF World Champion it was very symbolic
April 13, 2000-Tazz a WWF wrestler defeats Mike Awesome to win his 2nd ECW World Championship at a card that was taped for ECW on TNN, just days after Awesome signed with WCW and appeared on WCW Monday Nitro. Tazz beat Awesome in less than three minutes.
April 20, 2000-WWF World Champion Triple H pins ECW World Champion Tazz(who is a WWF wrestler) in a non-title match on Smackdown. Its the first time in 15 years that two World Champions went face to face
March 26, 2001-WWF owner Vince McMahon appears on the opening segment of WCW Monday Nitro on TNT to announce he bought WCW....Several months later WCW World Champion Booker T attacks WWF World Champion Steve Austin at the King of the Ring PPV in June of 2001. The following week Booker defended the WCW World Title against Buff Bagwell on RAW on TNN.
April, 2001-ECW files for bankruptcy. Rhyno was the last ECW World Champion. ECW's last card was its PPV on January 7, 2001 in New York.
December 9, 2001-Chris Jericho pins The Rock to win the WCW World Title(renamed the World Championship by the WWF November 19,2001), and then pins WWF World Champion Steve Austin to win that title and unify the WWF & WCW World Titles to become the first undisputed World Champion in North America since Lou Thesz over 45 years ago
