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Midwest Wrestling Association
World Junior Heavyweight Championship
(1943 — July 1948)
National Wrestling Alliance
World Junior Heavyweight Championship
(December 28, 1948 - Present)
World Junior Heavyweight Championship
(1943 — July 1948)
Won By: | Date: | Event: | Location: | Reign: |
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Ken Fenelon | May 1943 | -- | -- | |
Fenelon was awarded the title by Midwest Wrestling Association promoter Pinkie George.
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Marshall Esteppe | May 30, 1945 | Live Event | Toronto, USA | 216 days |
Larry Tillman | Jan 1, 1946 | Live Event | Des Moines, USA | 69 days |
Ken Fenelon [2] | Mar 11, 1946 | Live Event | Des Moines, USA | 301 days |
Marshall Esteppe [2] | Jan 6, 1947 | Live Event | Des Moines, USA | 77 days |
Ray Steele | Mar 24, 1947 | Live Event | Des Moines, USA | 35 days |
Marshall Esteppe [3] | Apr 28, 1947 | Live Event | Des Moines, USA | 294 days |
Billy Goelz | Feb 16, 1948 | Live Event | Des Moines, USA | 188 days |
During this reign, the National Wrestling Alliance is officially formed, with the championship becoming property of the alliance and expanding out of Iowa.
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World Junior Heavyweight Championship
(December 28, 1948 - Present)
Won By: | Date: | Event: | Location: | Reign: |
---|---|---|---|---|
Al Williams | Aug 22, 1948 | Live Event | Waterloo, USA | 14 days |
Billy Goelz [2] | Sep 5, 1948 | Live Event | Waterloo, USA | 114 days |
-- Dec 28, 1948 -- CHAMPIONSHIP RECORDS UNCLEAR -- Dec 28, 1948 -- | ||||
Leroy McGuirk | Dec 28, 1948 | Live Event | Des Moines, USA | 406 days |
McGuirk, the reigning N.B/W.A World Junior Heavyweight Champion, defeats Goelz for the N.W.A. Junior Heavyweight Championship, giving the belt World Title status.
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** Vacated ** | Feb 7, 1950 | -- | -- | |
McGuirk vacates the title after an automobile accident that leaves him blind and forces him to retire.
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Verne Gagne | Nov 13, 1950 | Live Event | Tulsa, USA | 371 days |
Gagne defeated Sonny Myers in the finals of a tournament for the vacant title.
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Danny McShain | Nov 19, 1951 | Live Event | Memphis, USA | 637 days |
Unifies the Los Angeles version of the world title, defeating Rito Romero on May 25, 1952 in Los Angeles, CA.
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Baron Michele Leone | Aug 17, 1953 | Live Event | Memphis, USA | 602 days |
Ed Francis | Apr 11, 1955 | Live Event | Tulsa, USA | 365 days |
Mike Clancy | Apr 10, 1956 | -- | -- | 350 days |
Freddie Blassie | Mar 26, 1957 | Live Event | Nashville, USA | 0 days |
** Held-Up ** | Mar 26, 1957 | Live Event | Nashville, USA | |
Vacated after the match between Blassie & Clancy ended with a controversial finish.
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-- Aug 19, 2024 -- CHAMPIONSHIP RECORDS UNCLEAR -- Apr 9, 1957 -- | ||||
Mike Clancy [2] | Apr 9, 1957 | Live Event | Nashville, USA | 217 days |
** Held-Up ** | Nov 12, 1957 | Live Event | Nashville, USA | |
Title held-up after a match against Freddie Blassie.
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Mike Clancy [3] | Nov 19, 1957 | Live Event | Nashville, USA | 101 days |
Defeats Blassie via disqualification to reclaim the title.
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Angelo Savoldi | Feb 28, 1958 | Live Event | Oklahoma City, USA | 97 days |
Dory Funk | Jun 5, 1958 | Live Event | Amarillo, USA | 36 days |
Angelo Savoldi [2] | Jul 11, 1958 | Live Event | Oklahoma City, USA | 224 days |
Ivan The Terrible | Feb 20, 1959 | Live Event | Oklahoma City, USA | 14 days |
Angelo Savoldi [3] | Mar 6, 1959 | Live Event | Oklahoma City, USA | 84 days |
Mike DiBiase | May 29, 1959 | Live Event | Oklahoma City, USA | 84 days |
Angelo Savoldi [4] | Aug 21, 1959 | Live Event | Oklahoma City, USA | 336 days |
Danny Hodge | Jul 22, 1960 | Live Event | Oklahoma City, USA | 1450 days |
Hiro Matsuda | Jul 11, 1964 | Championship Wr… | Tampa, USA | 125 days |
Angelo Savoldi [5] | Nov 13, 1964 | Live Event | Oklahoma City, USA | 161 days |
Danny Hodge [2] | Apr 23, 1965 | Live Event | Oklahoma City, USA | 214 days |
Lorenzo Parente | Nov 23, 1965 | Live Event | Little Rock, USA | 42 days |
Danny Hodge [3] | Jan 4, 1966 | Live Event | Little Rock, USA | 10 days |
Lorenzo Parente [2] | Jan 14, 1966 | Live Event | Oklahoma City, USA | 28 days |
Joe McCarthy | Feb 11, 1966 | Live Event | Oklahoma City, USA | 81 days |
Danny Hodge [4] | May 3, 1966 | Live Event | Little Rock, USA | 1532 days |
Sputnik Monroe | Jul 13, 1970 | Live Event | Shreveport, USA | 28 days |
Danny Hodge [5] | Aug 10, 1970 | Live Event | Tulsa, USA | 283 days |
Roger Kirby | May 20, 1971 | Live Event | Chalmette, USA | 113 days |
Ramón Torres | Sep 10, 1971 | Live Event | Oklahoma City, USA | 84 days |
Dr. X | Dec 3, 1971 | Live Event | Oklahoma City, USA | 108 days |
Danny Hodge [6] | Mar 20, 1972 | Live Event | Shreveport, USA | 639 days |
Ken Mantell | Dec 19, 1973 | Live Event | Jackson, USA | 542 days |
Hiro Matsuda [2] | Jun 14, 1975 | Live Event | St. Petersburg, USA | 262 days |
Danny Hodge [7] | Mar 2, 1976 | Live Event | Shreveport, USA | 13 days |
** Vacated ** | Mar 15, 1976 | -- | -- | |
Hodge vacates the title after suffering a broken neck in an auto accident.
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Pat Barrett | Sep 28, 1976 | Live Event | Shreveport, USA | 65 days |
Barrett defeated Nelson Royal in the finals of a tournament for the vacant title. Included in the tournament were Hiro Matsuda, Ken Mantell, and Ron Starr.
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Ron Starr | Dec 2, 1976 | -- | -- | 4 days |
Nelson Royal | Dec 6, 1976 | Live Event | Tulsa, USA | 445 days |
-- Feb 24, 1978 -- CHAMPIONSHIP RECORDS UNCLEAR -- Jun 25, 1978 -- | ||||
Al Madril | Jun 25, 1978 | Live Event | Houston, USA | 398 days |
Nelson Royal [2] | Jul 28, 1979 | -- | -- | 134 days |
Royal was awarded when Madril was too ill to participate in the match.
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** Vacated ** | Dec 9, 1979 | -- | -- | |
Royal vacates the title upon retiring. On December 10, 1979, Steve Keirn defeated Chavo Guerrero, Sr. to seemingly win the vacant title, but NWA did not recognize the win as being for the title, though it was recognized by Florida, Los Angeles, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling; this version was later renamed the NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship.
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Ron Starr [2] | Feb 11, 1980 | Live Event | Tulsa, USA | |
Starr defeated Les Thornton in the finals of a tournament for the vacant title.
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Les Thornton | Mar 1980 | -- | -- | |
Thornton wins the title via forfeit, exact date unknown.
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Jerry Stubbs | Jan 26, 1981 | -- | -- | 5 days |
Les Thornton [2] | Jan 31, 1981 | -- | -- | 127 days |
Terry Taylor | Jun 7, 1981 | Live Event | Roanoke, USA | 13 days |
Les Thornton [3] | Jun 20, 1981 | Live Event | Roanoke, USA | 88 days |
Jerry Brisco | Sep 16, 1981 | Live Event | Miami Beach, USA | 30 days |
Les Thornton [4] | Oct 16, 1981 | Live Event | Knoxville, USA | 221 days |
Tiger Mask | May 25, 1982 | Big Fight Series | Shizuoka, Japan | 313 days |
Some North American promoters declared the title vacant due to Tiger Mask wrestling for the World Wrestling Federation; however, during an annual meeting between the NWA and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, it's announced that Tiger Mask is still recognized as the official champion.
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** Vacated ** | Apr 3, 1983 | -- | -- | |
Tiger Mask vacates the title due to injury. On April 3, Dynamite Kid and Kuniaki Kobayashi have a match for the title with no winner. On April 21, Dynamite Kid and Tiger Mask have a match for the title with no winner.
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Tiger Mask [2] | Jun 2, 1983 | I.W.G.P. League | Tokyo, Japan | 71 days |
** Vacated ** | Aug 12, 1983 | -- | -- | |
Tiger Mask vacates the title upon retirement.
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The Cobra | Nov 3, 1983 | Live Event | Osaka, Japan | 633 days |
Hiro Saito | Jul 28, 1985 | Burning Spirit … | Osaka, Japan | 4 days |
The Cobra [2] | Jul 28, 1985 | Burning Spirit … | Osaka, Japan | 0 days |
-- Jul 28, 1985 -- CHAMPIONSHIP RECORDS UNCLEAR -- Aug 1, 1985 -- | ||||
** Vacated ** | Aug 1, 1985 | -- | -- | |
The Cobra vacates the title after N.J.P.W. withdraws from N.W.A.
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Denny Brown | Aug 2, 1985 | -- | -- | 13 days |
Won a disputed version of the title at Starrcade '84. Recognized as champion after N.J.P.W. withdraws from N.W.A.
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Gary Royal | Aug 15, 1985 | Live Event | Kansas City, USA | 31 days |
Denny Brown [2] | Sep 15, 1985 | World Champions… | Atlanta, USA | 321 days |
Steve Regal | Aug 2, 1986 | The Great Ameri… | Atlanta, USA | 30 days |
Denny Brown [3] | Sep 1, 1986 | Live Event | Greenville, USA | 187 days |
Lazer Tron | Mar 7, 1987 | World Champions… | Atlanta, USA | 215 days |
** Vacated ** | Oct 8, 1987 | -- | -- | |
Tron vacates the title after leaving W.C.W.
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Nelson Royal [3] | Nov 17, 1987 | World Wide Wres… | Columbia, USA | 248 days |
Leaves M.A.C.W. and takes the title to USA Championship Wrestling in Knoxville in May 1988. Masanobu Fuchi, A.J.P.W.'s reigning World Junior Heavyweight Champion, was then disputably recognized as the new champion.
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Scott Armstrong | Jul 22, 1988 | Live Event | Knoxville, USA | 1 day |
Nelson Royal [4] | Jul 23, 1988 | Live Event | Knoxville, USA | 7 days |
Scott Armstrong [2] | Jul 30, 1988 | Live Event | Chattanooga, USA | 3 days |
Nelson Royal [5] | Aug 2, 1988 | Live Event | Knoxville, USA | 108 days |
USA Championship Wrestling closes in October 1988; Royal moves to Atlantic Coast Wrestling in the Carolinas and bills himself as world champion.
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Les Anderson | Nov 18, 1988 | -- | -- | 209 days |
Rock The Hunter | Jun 15, 1989 | -- | -- | 193 days |
Les Anderson [2] | Dec 25, 1989 | -- | -- | 6 days |
** Retired ** | Dec 31, 1989 | -- | -- | |
Masayoshi Motegi | Aug 30, 1995 | Live Event | Tokyo, Japan | 338 days |
Motegi defeated El Hijo del Santo in the finals of a tournament for the revived title. Also in the tournament were Ray González, Takashi Okano, Supe Crazy, Yoshihiro Tajiri, KAMIKAZE, and Unicorn
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The Great Sasuke | Aug 2, 1996 | G1 Climax | Tokyo, Japan | 70 days |
Sasuke defeated Motegi in the first round of the J-Crown tournament to win the title. Sasuke, the reigning N.J.P.W. I.W.G.P. Junior Heavyweight Champion, would go on to win the tournament along with 6 other titles to hold a total of 8 championships. The other championships included the W.A.R. International Junior Heavyweight, the M.P.W. British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight, the W.W.F. World Light-Heavyweight, the U.W.A. World Junior Light-Heavyweight, the W.W.A. World Junior Light-Heavyweight and the N.W.A. World Welterweight.
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Ultimo Dragon | Oct 11, 1996 | Osaka Crush Night! | Osaka, Japan | 85 days |
Jushin "Thunder" Liger | Jan 4, 1997 | Wrestling World | Tokyo, Japan | 183 days |
El Samurai | Jul 6, 1997 | Summer Struggle | Sapporo, Japan | 35 days |
Shinjiro Otani | Aug 10, 1997 | The Four Heaven | Nagoya, Japan | 87 days |
** Vacated ** | Nov 5, 1997 | -- | -- | |
Vacated when the J-Crown was decommissioned and all titles are returned to their home promotions
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Logan Caine | Mar 5, 1999 | Live Event | Parkersburg, USA | 237 days |
Caine defeated Viper in the finals of a 4-man tournament for the vacant title.
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** Vacated ** | Oct 28, 1999 | -- | -- | |
Caine is stripped of the title after no-showing a title defense against Vince Kaplack.
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Vince Kaplack | Oct 28, 1999 | Live Event | McKeesport, USA | 78 days |
Tony Kozina | Jan 14, 2000 | Live Event | North Versailles, USA | 190 days |
Rockford 2000 | Jul 22, 2000 | Live Event | Surrey, Canada | 39 days |
Tony Kozina [2] | Aug 30, 2000 | -- | -- | 45 days |
The N.W.A. awards the title to Kozina after a review of a match between him and Rockford 2000 on August 26.
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Vince Kaplack [2] | Oct 14, 2000 | Anniversary Show | Nashville, USA | 175 days |
Rocky Reynolds | Apr 7, 2001 | Live Event | Pennsboro, USA | 27 days |
Mike Thunder | May 4, 2001 | Live Event | North Richland Hills, USA | 109 days |
Lex Lovett | Aug 21, 2001 | Live Event | Tampa, USA | 53 days |
Jason Rumble | Oct 13, 2001 | Anniversary Show | St. Petersburg, USA | 112 days |
Rumble defeated Lex Lovett, Jimmy Rave, Brandon K and B.J. Turner in a 5-way match for the title.
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Rocky Reynolds [2] | Feb 2, 2002 | Live Event | Titusville, USA | 14 days |
Jason Rumble [2] | Feb 16, 2002 | Live Event | Malden, USA | 49 days |
Rocky Reynolds [3] | Apr 6, 2002 | Live Event | Parkersburg, USA | 84 days |
Jimmy Rave | Jun 29, 2002 | Freedom Fight | Cornelia, USA | 42 days |
Rave defeated Rocky Reynolds and Jeremy Lopez in a 3-way match for the title.
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Star | Aug 10, 2002 | Live Event | Columbia, USA | 7 days |
Jimmy Rave [2] | Aug 17, 2002 | Live Event | Columbia, USA | 154 days |
Brother Love | Jan 18, 2003 | Live Event | Greenville, USA | 140 days |
Rocky Reynolds [4] | Jun 7, 2003 | Live Event | Parkersburg, USA | 56 days |
Chris Draven | Aug 2, 2003 | Live Event | Parkersburg, USA | 161 days |
Jerrelle Clark | Jan 10, 2004 | Live Event | St. Petersburg, USA | 281 days |
Jason Rumble [3] | Oct 17, 2004 | Anniversary Show | Winnipeg, Canada | 312 days |
Rumble defeated Jerrelle Clark and Vance Desmond in a 3-way match for the title.
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Black Tiger IV | Aug 25, 2005 | Live Event | Columbia, USA | 178 days |
Tiger Mask IV | Feb 19, 2006 | Acceleration Ci… | Tokyo, Japan | 446 days |
Mike Quackenbush | May 11, 2007 | Chapter Two | Portage, USA | 1275 days |
Craig Classic | Nov 6, 2010 | November Coming… | Fort Pierce, USA | 247 days |
** Vacated ** | Jul 11, 2011 | -- | -- | |
Classic vacated the title in protest of The Sheik being stripped of the N.W.A. World Heavyweight Championship. Classic joins Pro Wrestling Zero1 and defends a new version of the title.
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Kevin Douglas | Oct 7, 2011 | Revival | Charlotte, USA | 372 days |
Douglas defeated Chase Owens in the finals for the vacant title. Other competitors in the tournament included Alex Payne, Caleb Konley, Chris Taylor, Mike Posey, Scorpio Sky and Steven Walters.
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** Vacated ** | Oct 13, 2012 | -- | -- | |
Douglas was stripped of the title for no-showing a scheduled title defense on October 13, 2012 against Chase Owens
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Chase Owens | Oct 13, 2012 | Stand Your Ground | Thomson, USA | 301 days |
Owens defeated Matt Conard and Zac Vincent in a triple threat final for the vacant title. Other competitors in the tournament included Gavin Darring, Shawn Schultz, and Skylar Kruze
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Jason Kincaid | Aug 10, 2013 | Fire On The Mou… | Kingsport, USA | 69 days |
Chase Owens [2] | Oct 18, 2013 | Live Event | Houston, USA | 78 days |
Ricky Morton | Jan 4, 2014 | House Party | Kingsport, USA | 62 days |
-- Mar 7, 2014 -- CHAMPIONSHIP RECORDS UNCLEAR -- Mar 7, 2014 -- | ||||
Chase Owens [3] | Mar 7, 2014 | Benefit Show | Church Hill, USA | 246 days |
Jushin "Thunder" Liger [2] | Nov 8, 2014 | Power Struggle | Osaka, Japan | 156 days |
Steve Anthony | Apr 13, 2015 | Casino Royale | Las Vegas, USA | 163 days |
Tiger Mask IV [2] | Sep 23, 2015 | Destruction | Okayama, Japan | 178 days |
Steve Anthony [2] | Mar 19, 2016 | Road to Invasio… | Nagoya, Japan | 112 days |
John Saxon | Jul 9, 2016 | Live Event | Pensacola, USA | 273 days |
Arrick Andrews | Apr 8, 2017 | Live Event | Dyersburg, USA | 41 days |
Mr. U.S.A. | May 19, 2017 | Live Event | Franklin, USA | 85 days |
Barrett Brown | Aug 12, 2017 | Live Event | Dyersburg, USA | 49 days |
** Deactivated ** | Sep 30, 2017 | -- | -- | |
Homicide | Mar 20, 2022 | Crockett Cup | Nashville, USA | 237 days |
Defeated Austin Aries, Colby Corino, and Darius Lockhart in a four-way match for the reactivated the title.
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Kerry Morton | Nov 12, 2022 | Hard Times | Chalmette, USA | 287 days |
Colby Corino | Aug 26, 2023 | Anniversary Show | St. Louis, USA | 358 days |