WWA World Heavyweight Championship (Los Angeles)

The WWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the Los Angeles-based Worldwide Wrestling Associates (WWA).[1] The title was established as an offshoot of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship when Edouard 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.

There are omonime world titles contested in World Wrestling Association (Indianapolis),[2][3] World Wrestling Association in Mexico [4] and in World Wrestling Association (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.

Reigns

No. Champion Reign Date Days held Location Notes
1 Edouard Carpentier 1 June 14, 1957 1,636 Chicago, Illinois Defeated 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 Fred Blassie 1 June 12, 1961 289 Los Angeles, California He won the title when Carpentier was declared unable to continue in third fall.
3 Rikidozan 1 March 28, 1962 119 Los Angeles, California
4 Fred Blassie 2 July 25, 1962 2 Los Angeles, California
5 The Destroyer 1 July 27, 1962 287 San Diego, California
6 Fred Blassie 3 May 10, 1963 105 Los Angeles, California
7 Bearcat Wright 1 August 23, 1963 115 Los Angeles, California Wins by countout. First black wrestler to hold a world title in professional wrestling.
8 Edouard Carpentier 2 December 16, 1963 45 Indio, California Wins by forfeit when Wright no-shows a scheduled defense.
9 Fred Blassie 4 January 30, 1964 83 Los Angeles, California
10 Dick the Bruiser 1 April 22, 1964 91 Los Angeles, California
11 The Destroyer 2 July 22, 1964 50 Los Angeles, California Dick 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 1 September 10, 1964 64 Los Angeles, California
13 The Destroyer 3 November 13, 1964 119 San Diego, California
# Toyonobori 1 December 12, 1964 Tokyo, Japan Toyonobori 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 1 March 12, 1965 133 Los Angeles, California Defeats The Destroyer.
15 Luke Graham 1 July 23, 1965 86 Los Angeles, California Recognized 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 2 October 17, 1965 292 Los Angeles, California
17 Buddy Austin 1 August 5, 1966 28 Los Angeles, California
18 Bobo Brazil 1 September 2, 1966 14 Los Angeles, California
19 Buddy Austin 2 September 16, 1966 28 Los Angeles, California
20 Lou Thesz 1 October 14, 1966 14 Los Angeles, California
21 Mark Lewin 1 October 28, 1966 238 Los Angeles, California
22 KIM II 1 June 9, 1967 49 Seoul, South Korea
23 Mike DiBiase 1 July 28, 1967 28 Los Angeles, California
24 Buddy Austin 3 August 25, 1967 140 Los Angeles, California
25 Bobo Brazil 2 January 12, 1968 341 Los Angeles, California On 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.
# Title retired December 18, 1968

See also

References

External links

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