Well hello there. For today, I go by Mr. Warrior, and I would like to fill your minds with vast knowledge regarding World Championships and their unifications.

I see many wrestling fans who are uneducated on the intricacies of professional wrestling. They are not familiar with the facts, and this can sometimes lead to confusion and arguments. So without further ado, please put your thinking caps on, and be prepared to take notes.

Original World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship (1905-1956)





In order to grasp how we arrived at this moment in 2014, we have to understand how it all began.





It’s hard to imagine any wrestling fans today who could remember a time when the world only had one World Championship. The wrestling world was really basic back then, and it wasn’t until 1905 that the first World Champion would be crowned, George Hackenschmidt, who won a tournament.

This championship would last 51 years, and would be held by the likes of Hackenschmidt, Frank Gotch, Ed “The Strangler” Lewis & Lou Thesz. Many of these unsung legends can be credited for building the foundation blocks for what wrestling is today. Many of the basic moves and techniques used by wrestlers today were innovated by these men, and sadly, they are not given the recognition they deserve.

The only time this championship was not defended, was of course, during the World Wars. The old days was all about keeping kayfabe (acting like it’s real), and to be honest, the fans had no clue. Wrestling was considered a sport back then, and you had to be really tough to be a champion, otherwise your opponent might try to steal your championship by forcing a pinfall.





There were so many territories, and after some time, the NWA was formed. This would oversee the territory system, and during the 1950s, many promoters had grown tired of the way the World Champion would be booked in their areas. They wanted to crown a World Champion in their territories so they could bring in the money, and this led to the demise of the Original World title.





In 1956, a match between Lou Thesz(c) and Édouard Carpentier ended with the challenger winning by disqualification. This had such an effect that some territories decided they wanted to recognise Carpentier as World Champion, and thus, was crowned with their championships, leading to the Original World title to split. The Original World Championship has never been reunited to this day, and although it might be possible to do, it would be incredibly unlikely. (You will see why later)

The NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) would see to it that Lou Thesz became the NWA World Heavyweight Champion after their plans for the Original title didn’t work out as planned.

NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1948-Present)

The NWA title is the oldest World Championship in wrestling history, and is credited with inadvertently creating splinter championships from its legacy.





While Lou Thesz was the (original) World Champion, Verne Gagne had become frustrated with the lack of change, and wanted to become champion. When Lou Thesz became NWA Champion, he wrestled Verne Gagne in Omaha, Nebraska on August 9, 1958. Gagne won that match, and the title change was recognized by those NWA affiliate promotions that would later evolve into the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in 1960.

The NWA World Heavyweight Championship would cause other promotions to create their own titles after they seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance. These companies included the AWA, WWWF (WWE), WCW, ECW and TNA Wrestling.





AWA World Heavyweight Championship

The AWA created this title after they seceded from the NWA in 1960. It was one of the first championships to splinter off from the NWA World Championship, therefore being able to be traced back to the Original World Heavyweight Championship.

Verne Gagne was the promoter, and the longest reigning World Champion in AWA. When he didn’t hold it, names such as Nick Bockwinkel, Mad Dog Vachon, Larry Zbyszko, Curt Hennig & Jerry Lawler would keep the company afloat as World Champions.





Other championships splintered off from the AWA World Championship as well, just like the NWA title, however in 1991, the title was deactivated when the AWA shut down and closed its doors forever.

WCW World Heavyweight (91-01) & WCW International World Heavyweight Championships (93-94)

Back in 1988, Ted Turner purchased JCP (Jim Crockett Promotions), which was a successful wrestling show in the NWA. They would promote under the name of “NWA World Championship Wrestling” however, this was fazed out over time in favour of WCW. In January 1991, Flair defeated Sting to become the NWA Champion, but was recognized as the WCW Champion, despite using the same belt, and WCW using the NWA title lineage.

In July of the same year, a creative disagreement led to Flair leaving WCW for the WWF, Jim Herd (vice president of WCW) refused to give Flair his $25,000 deposit for the NWA title (Champions had to do that back then when they became champion) so Flair kept the “Big Gold Belt” that had represented the NWA World title. WCW was forced to find a new title belt and make an actual WCW World Championship, which was won by Lex Luger. The NWA revived the title during a co-promotional gimmick between WCW and NJPW (although any title changes at the time are recognized by some and not by others), and it wasn’t until September 1993, that WCW decided to part ways with the NWA.

WCW didn’t like the NWAs demands, and by the fall of 1993, conflictions on who was NWA Champion arose as Rick Rude appeared to be champion during the “disney tapings”, while Flair had returned to WCW and was crowned the NWA Champion. Are you confused yet?

The NWA were outraged that spoilers had gotten out showing Rick Rude becoming NWA Champion over Flair, so WCW decided to secede, and as they owned the Big Gold Belt, (which had represented the NWA title since 1986) created a new title, and a ficticious subsidiary known simply as “WCW International”, making Rick Rude the first WCW International Heavyweight Champion. He would defend the title outside America mostly, while Flair would defend the WCW World title in America. Both titles were treated equally and booked strongly, and no mention was made about the NWA going forward.

At Starrcade 93, it was decided that Ric Flair (WCW World) and Sting (WCW International) would fight in a Unification match. Flair won that match, and WCW decided to drop the lineage of the short lived WCW International title, but instead, use the Big Gold Belt as the WCW World Championship going forward.