See also below: THE NWA PRESIDENTS DURING
THE MID-ATLANTIC PERIOD
The NWA Champions During the
Mid-Atlantic Period (1973 - 1986)
Top: Jack Brisco, Terry Funk,
and Harley Race. Middle: Giant Baba and Dusty Rhodes.
Bottom: Tommy Rich, Ric Flair,
and Kerry Von Erich
These eight men were all NWA World
Champions during
the Mid-Atlantic years
(the period of time Jim Crockett Promotions named their programs and
events "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling.") Ironically, these years
coincided exactly with the life of the "domed-globe" version
of the NWA world championship belt: 1973-1986.
These were the only eight men to hold
the domed globe version of the NWA belt for the territorial NWA,
which existed from 1948 until 1986. In 1986, NWA member Jim
Crockett, Jr. effectively took control of booking the NWA champion,
awarding the new "big gold" version of the belt to Ric Flair in
February of that year. The territorial system had basically died,
eventually replaced by two major companies, Crockett's NWA and the WWF, both of which were
at that point promoting nationally.
The modern day NWA (as opposed to the
territorial NWA of old) resurfaced when some of the remaining members of the old
NWA board (and some additional new members as well) reclaimed
control of the title as well as the belt which Ric Flair had tried to take with him to
the WWF in 1991. The title was dormant until 1992, when Bill Watts
and WCW, as members of the NWA, brought it back, represented by the
"big gold" version of the belt.
In 1993, WCW withdrew from the NWA, but
retained ownership of the big gold belt. The remaining board members
of the NWA, now made up of small independent promoters, brought back
the likeness of the original domed-globe design and the title was
re-established in ECW in 1994, received national exposure again in
the mid-2000s in TNA, and continues to exist on much smaller scale
today.
For a detailed look at
the domed-globe version of the NWA world heavyweight championship
belt and the eight men who wore it, check out the book "Ten
Pounds of Gold" on sale here or at Amazon.com.
Notes: Despite holding the title well
into 1973, Dory Funk Jr. is not included in the list of men to hold
the NWA World title during the Mid-Atlantic Period (1973-1986) since
that period began in September of 1973 when the Eastern title was
renamed the Mid-Atlantic title and a new belt awarded. Dory lost the
NWA title to Harley Race in May of 1973.
NWA TITLE HISTORY
DURING THE MID-ATLANTIC YEARS:
THE MEN WHO WORE THE
DOMED-GLOBE VERSION OF THE NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE |