List of WCW World Television Champions

The WCW World Television Championship was a professional wrestling world television championship owned by the now-defunct World Championship Wrestling (WCW) promotion. The title was introduced on February 27, 1974 when WCW was named Georgia Championship Wrestling, a subsidiary of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) governing body and also a part of Jim Crockett Promotions. The promotion was renamed WCW in the early 1980s. In March 2001, WCW was sold by AOL Time Warner to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) promotion, now World Wrestling Entertainment. As such all assets, including the rights to the WCW World Television Championship, which had been deactivated on April 10, 2000, were now WWF property.[1] Before it was known as the WCW World Television Championship (starting in 1991 and continuing until the title's deactivation), it was known as the "NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Championship" (from the 1974 to 1977), the "NWA Television Championship" (from 1977 to 1985), and the "NWA World Television Championship" (from 1985 to 1991).

Being a professional wrestling championship, it was not won legitimately; it was instead won via a scripted ending to a match or awarded to a wrestler because of a storyline. All title changes occurred at NWA- or WCW-promoted events. The inaugural champion was Danny Miller, who defeated Ole Anderson on February 27, 1974, in the finals of a tournament. Booker T holds the record for most reigns, with six. Rick Steamboat's second reign ended due to vacancy for unknown reasons. The day on which the reign ended is also unknown, although it is known that the reign began on June 10, 1978, and came to a close sometime in 1980. As such, if the reign ended on January 1, 1980, or any later time during 1980, then Steamboat's second reign is the longest in the title's history, at over 570 days.[N 1] Five different reigns are tied for the record for shortest reign in the title's history, at one day. Hacksaw Jim Duggan was the last champion in his only reign. At the time, then-champion Scott Hall did not want to be champion, and after unsuccessfully trying to give the title to Kevin Nash, he abandoned the title by throwing the championship belt into a trashcan on the November 29, 1999, episode of one of WCW's television programs, Nitro.[2] Duggan later found the championship belt in a dumpster on the February 16, 2000, episode of another of WCW's television programs, WCW Saturday Night and named himself champion.[3] The championship was later retired on the April 10, 2000, episode of Nitro, after a storyline reboot by WCW authority figures Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo. Overall, there were 107 reigns shared among 55 wrestlers, with 11 vacancies.

Title history

# Order in reign history
Reign The reign number for the specific set of wrestlers listed
Event The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the titles were won
Used for vacated reigns so as not to count it as an official reign
N/A
The information is not available or is unknown

Names

Name Duration
NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Championship 1974–1977
NWA Television Championship 1977–1985
NWA World Television Championship 1985–1991
WCW World Television Championship 1991–2000

Reigns

# Wrestlers Reign Date Days
held
Location Event Notes
1 Danny Miller 1 February 27, 1974 72 Raleigh, North Carolina Live event Miller defeated Ole Anderson in a tournament final to become the first NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Champion.
2 Ivan Koloff 1 May 10, 1974 59 Richmond, Virginia Live event
3 Paul Jones 1 July 8, 1974 108 Charlotte, North Carolina Live event
4 Ivan Koloff 2 October 24, 1974 63 Anderson, South Carolina Live event
5 Paul Jones 2 December 26, 1974 44 Greensboro, North Carolina Live event
6 Ric Flair 1 February 8, 1975 181 Winston-Salem, North Carolina Live event [4]
7 Paul Jones 3 August 8, 1975 117 Richmond, Virginia Live event
Vacated December 3, 1975 N/A N/A Jones gave up the TV Title after he won the NWA Mid-Atlantic United States Heavyweight Championship on November 27, 1975.
8 Angelo Mosca 1 April 14, 1976 77 Raleigh, North Carolina Live event Mosca defeated Tim Woods in a tournament final to win the vacant championship.
9 Paul Jones 4 June 30, 1976 42 Raleigh, North Carolina Live event
10 Angelo Mosca 2 August 11, 1976 66 Raleigh, North Carolina Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
This title change aired on broadcast delay.
11 Mr. Wrestling 1 October 16, 1976 23 Greensboro, North Carolina Live event
12 Greg Valentine 1 November 8, 1976 22 Fayetteville, North Carolina Live event
13 Rufus R. Jones 1 November 30, 1976 50 Charleston, South Carolina Live event
14 Greg Valentine 2 January 19, 1977 27 Raleigh, North Carolina Live event
15 Rufus R. Jones 2 February 15, 1977 48 Raleigh, North Carolina Live event
16 Ric Flair 2 April 4, 1977 72 Greenville, South Carolina Live event [5]
17 Rick Steamboat 1 June 15, 1977 119 Raleigh, North Carolina Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
This title change aired on broadcast delay.
18 Baron Von Raschke 1 October 12, 1977 144 Raleigh, North Carolina Live event During Von Raschke's reign, the championship was renamed the "NWA Television Championship" after he was billed as having won a tournament for all the regional NWA Televison Champions.
19 Johnny Weaver 1 March 5, 1978 21 Charlotte, North Carolina Live event
20 Baron Von Raschke 2 March 26, 1978 73 Greensboro, North Carolina Live event
21 Paul Jones 5 June 7, 1978 3 Raleigh, North Carolina Live event
22 Rick Steamboat 2 June 10, 1978 [N 1] Asheville, North Carolina Live event
Vacated
1980
N/A N/A
23 Masked Superstar 1 April 1, 1980 [N 2] Raleigh, North Carolina Live event Masked Superstar won a tournament to win the vacant championship.
Vacated October 1980 N/A N/A
24 Roddy Piper 1 November 1, 1980 87 Richmond, Virginia Live event
Vacated January 27, 1981 N/A N/A The championship was vacanted after Piper won the NWA Mid-Atlantic United States Heavyweight Championship.
25 Sweet Ebony Diamond 1 April 29, 1981 [N 3] Raleigh, North Carolina Live event Sweet Ebony Diamond won a tournament to win the vacant championship.[6]
26 Greg Valentine 3 April 29, 1981 [N 4] N/A Live event
27 Sweet Ebony Diamond 2 May 30, 1981 [N 5] Charlotte, North Carolina Live event [6]
28 Greg Valentine 4 1981 [N 6] N/A Live event
29 Ron Bass 1 September 6, 1981 58 Asheville, North Carolina Live event
30 Ivan Koloff 3 November 3, 1981 60 Charlotte, North Carolina Live event
31 Jimmy Valiant 1 January 2, 1982 [N 7] Hampton, Virginia Live event
32 Ivan Koloff 4 1982 [N 8] N/A Live event
33 Jimmy Valiant 2 June 6, 1982 [N 9] Toronto, Ontario, Canada Live event
34 Ivan Koloff 5 1982 [N 10] N/A Live event
35 Jimmy Valiant 3 October 17, 1982 [N 11] Toronto, Ontario, Canada Live event
36 Jos LeDuc 1 1982 [N 12] N/A Live event
Vacated 1982 N/A N/A Leduc was stripped of the championship due to cheating.
37 Bad Leroy Brown 1 November 27, 1982 28 Greensboro, North Carolina Live event Brown won a 20-man battle royal to win the vacant championship.
38 Mike Rotundo 1 December 25, 1982 59 Charlotte, North Carolina Live event
39 Dick Slater 1 February 22, 1983 33 Columbia, South Carolina Live event
40 Roddy Piper 2 March 27, 1983 7 Asheville, North Carolina Live event
41 Dick Slater 2 April 3, 1983 27 Greensboro, North Carolina Live event
42 Jos LeDuc 2 April 30, 1983 23 Richmond, Virginia Live event
43 The Great Kabuki 1 May 23, 1983 185 Greenville, South Carolina Live event
44 Charlie Brown 4 November 24, 1983 [N 13] Greensboro, North Carolina Starrcade (1983)
Vacated January 1984 N/A N/A Valiant dropped the "Charlie Brown" alias and vacated the title.
45 Mark Youngblood 1 March 7, 1984 21 Spartanburg, South Carolina Live event Youngblood won a tournament final to win the vacant championship.
46 Tully Blanchard 1 March 28, 1984 353 Spartanburg, South Carolina Live event
47 Dusty Rhodes 1 March 16, 1985 43 Greensboro, North Carolina Live event During Rhodes' reign, the title was renamed the "NWA World Television Championship".
48 Tully Blanchard 2 April 28, 1985 69 Charlotte, North Carolina Live event
49 Dusty Rhodes 2 July 6, 1985 105 Charlotte, North Carolina The Great American Bash (1985)
Vacated October 19, 1985 N/A N/A Rhodes was stripped of the title due to an injury.
50 Arn Anderson 1 January 4, 1986 248 Greensboro, North Carolina Live event Anderson defeated Wahoo McDaniel in a tournament final to claim the vacant championship.
51 Dusty Rhodes 3 September 9, 1986 79 Columbia, South Carolina Live event
52 Tully Blanchard 3 November 27, 1986 263 Greensboro, North Carolina Starrcade (1986)
53 Nikita Koloff 1 August 17, 1987 162 Fayetteville, North Carolina Live event On November 27, 1987 at Starrcade, Koloff defeated Terry Taylor to unify the UWF Television Championship and the NWA World Television Championship.
54 Mike Rotunda 2 January 26, 1988 335 Raleigh, North Carolina Live event
55 Rick Steiner 1 December 26, 1988 56 Norfolk, Virginia Starrcade (1988)
56 Mike Rotunda 3 February 20, 1989 39 Chicago, Illinois Chi-Town Rumble
57 Sting 1 March 31, 1989 114 Atlanta, Georgia Live event [7]
Vacated July 23, 1989 Baltimore, Maryland The Great American Bash (1989) The championship was vacated after a controversial finish to a match between Sting and The Great Muta.
58 The Great Muta 1 September 3, 1989 121 Atlanta, Georgia Live event Muta defeated Sting to win the vacant title.
59 Arn Anderson 2 January 2, 1990 336 Gainesville, Georgia NWA Power Hour
60 The Z-Man 1 December 4, 1990 41 Gainesville, Georgia Live event
61 Arn Anderson 3 January 14, 1991 125 Marietta, Georgia Live event During Anderson's reign, the title was renamed the "WCW World Television Championship" following WCW's withdrawal from the NWA.
62 Bobby Eaton 1 May 19, 1991 15 St. Petersburg, Florida SuperBrawl I
63 Steve Austin 1 June 3, 1991 329 Birmingham, Alabama WCW Worldwide This episode aired on tape delay on June 29, 1991.[8]
64 Barry Windham 1 April 27, 1992 26 Atlanta, Georgia WCW Saturday Night This episode aired on tape delay on May 9, 1992.
65 Steve Austin 2 May 23, 1992 102 Chattanooga, Tennessee This episode aired on tape delay on June 13, 1992.
66 Ricky Steamboat 3 September 2, 1992 27 Atlanta, Georgia Clash of the Champions XX
67 Scott Steiner 1 September 29, 1992 [N 14] Columbus, Georgia WCW Worldwide This episode aired on tape delay on October 10, 1992.
Vacated November 1992 N/A N/A Steiner was stripped of the title after he and his brother Rick Steiner leave for the World Wrestling Federation.
68 Paul Orndorff 1 March 2, 1993 169 Macon, Georgia WCW Power Hour Orndorff defeated Erik Watts in a tournament final to become the new champion. This episode aired on tape delay on March 27, 1993.
69 Ricky Steamboat 4 August 18, 1993 32 Daytona Beach, Florida Clash of the Champions XXIV
70 Lord Steven Regal 1 September 19, 1993 225 Houston, Texas Fall Brawl (1993) [9]
71 Larry Zbyszko 1 May 2, 1994 52 Atlanta, Georgia WCW Saturday Night This episode aired on tape delay on May 28, 1994.
72 Lord Steven Regal 2 June 23, 1994 87 Charleston, South Carolina Clash of the Champions XXVII [7]
73 Johnny B. Badd 1 September 18, 1994 112 Roanoke, Virginia Fall Brawl (1994) [7]
74 Arn Anderson 4 January 8, 1995 161 Atlanta, Georgia WCW Main Event
75 The Renegade 1 June 18, 1995 91 Dayton, Ohio The Great American Bash (1995)
76 Diamond Dallas Page 1 September 17, 1995 42 Asheville, North Carolina Fall Brawl (1995)
77 Johnny B. Badd 2 October 29, 1995 111 Detroit, Michigan Halloween Havoc (1995)
78 Lex Luger 1 February 17, 1996 1 Baltimore, Maryland Live event
79 Johnny B. Badd 3 February 18, 1996 17 Norfolk, Virginia Live event
80 Lex Luger 2 March 6, 1996 167 Macon, Georgia WCW Saturday Night
81 Lord Steven Regal 3 August 20, 1996 181 Dalton, Georgia WCW Saturday Night This episode aired on tape delay on August 31, 1996.[7]
82 Prince Iaukea 1 February 17, 1997 49 Tampa, Florida Nitro [7]
83 Último Dragón 1 April 7, 1997 41 Huntsville, Alabama Nitro
84 Lord Steven Regal 4 May 18, 1997 65 Charlotte, North Carolina Slamboree (1997) [7]
85 Último Dragón 2 July 22, 1997 30 Jacksonville, Florida Nitro [7]
86 Alex Wright 1 August 21, 1997 32 Nashville, Tennessee Clash of the Champions XXXV
87 Disco Inferno 1 September 22, 1997 42 Salt Lake City, Utah Nitro
88 Perry Saturn 1 November 3, 1997 35 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Nitro
89 Disco Inferno 2 December 8, 1997 21 Buffalo, New York Nitro
90 Booker T 1 December 29, 1997 49 Baltimore, Maryland Nitro [10]
91 Rick Martel 1 February 16, 1998 6 Tampa, Florida Nitro
92 Booker T 2 February 22, 1998 67 San Francisco, California SuperBrawl VIII
93 Chris Benoit 1 April 30, 1998 1 Augusta, Georgia Live event
94 Booker T 3 May 1, 1998 1 Greenville, South Carolina Live event [11]
95 Chris Benoit 2 May 2, 1998 1 Charleston, South Carolina Live event [11]
96 Booker T 4 May 3, 1998 1 Savannah, Georgia Live event [11]
97 Fit Finlay 1 May 4, 1998 41 Indianapolis, Indiana Nitro [12]
98 Booker T 5 June 14, 1998 30 Baltimore, Maryland The Great American Bash (1998) [10][12]
99 Stevie Ray 1 July 14, 1998 27 Baltimore, Maryland Live event Ray was awarded the championship by Booker T.
100 Chris Jericho 1 August 10, 1998 112 Rapid City, South Dakota Nitro [13]
101 Konnan 1 November 30, 1998 29 Chattanooga, Tennessee Nitro [14]
102 Scott Steiner 2 December 29, 1998 75 Baltimore, Maryland WCW Thunder This episode aired on tape delay on December 31, 1998.
103 Booker T 6 March 14, 1999 56 Louisville, Kentucky Uncensored (1999) [10]
104 Rick Steiner 2 May 9, 1999 127 St. Louis, Missouri Slamboree (1999)
105 Chris Benoit 3 September 13, 1999 41 Chapel Hill, North Carolina Nitro
106 Rick Steiner 3 October 24, 1999 28 Las Vegas, Nevada Halloween Havoc (1999)
107 Scott Hall 1 November 21, 1999 8 Toronto, Ontario, Canada Mayhem (1999) [2]
Vacated November 29, 1999 Denver, Colorado Nitro Hall abandoned the title by throwing the belt into a trashcan.[2]
108 Hacksaw Jim Duggan 1 February 16, 2000 54 Bethlehem, Pennsylvania WCW Saturday Night Duggan found the championship belt in a dumpster and claimed the title.[3]
Retired April 10, 2000 Denver, Colorado Nitro The title was retired after Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff rebooted WCW.

List of combined reigns

¤ The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain, so the shortest possible length is used.
Rank[N 15]
Wrestler # of reigns Combined days
1 Arn Anderson 4 870
2 Rick Steamboat/Ricky Steamboat 4 748¤
[N 1]
3 Tully Blanchard 3 685
4 Lord Steven Regal 4 557
5 Mike Rotunda 3 433
6 Steve Austin 2 431
7 Paul Jones 5 314
8 Ric Flair 2 253
9 Johnny B. Badd 3 240
10 Dusty Rhodes 3 227
11 Baron Von Raschke 2 217
12 Rick Steiner 3 211
13 Booker T 6 204
14 The Great Kabuki 1 185
15 Ivan Koloff 5 182¤
[N 8][N 10]
16 Paul Orndorff 1 169
17 Lex Luger 2 168
18 Nikita Koloff 1 162
19 Angelo Mosca 2 143
20 The Great Muta 1 121
21 Sting 1 114
21 Chris Jericho 1 112
23 Scott Steiner 2 108¤
[N 14]
24 Rufus R. Jones 2 98
25 Roddy Piper 2 94
26 The Renegade 1 91
27 Danny Miller 1 72
27 Último Dragón 2 72
29 Disco Inferno 2 63
30 Dick Slater 2 60
31 Ron Bass 1 58
32 Hacksaw Jim Duggan 1 54
33 Larry Zbyszko 1 52
34 Greg Valentine 4 49¤
[N 4][N 6]
34 Prince Iaukea 1 49
36 Chris Benoit 3 43
37 Diamond Dallas Page 1 42
38 Fit Finlay 1 41
38 The Z-Man 1 41
40 Charlie Brown/Jimmy Valiant 4 38¤
[N 7][N 9][N 11][N 13]
41 Perry Saturn 1 35
42 Alex Wright 1 32
43 Konnan 1 29
44 Bad Leroy Brown 1 28
45 Stevie Ray 1 27
46 Barry Windham 1 26
47 Jos LeDuc 2 23¤
[N 12]
47 Mr. Wrestling 1 23
49 Johnny Weaver 1 21
49 Mark Youngblood 1 21
51 Bobby Eaton 1 15
52 Scott Hall 1 8
53 Rick Martel 1 6
54 Sweet Ebony Diamond 2
[N 3][N 5]
54 Masked Superstar 1
[N 2]

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 The exact date in 1980 on which Rick Steamboat vacated the championship during his second reign is unknown, which means that his reign lasted between 570 and 661 days.
  2. 1 2 The exact day in October 1980 Masked Superstar vacated the title during his only reign is unknown, which means that his reign lasted between 0 and 213 days.
  3. 1 2 The exact date on which Sweet Ebony Diamond lost the title during his first reign is unknown, which means that his reign lasted between 0 and 31 days.
  4. 1 2 The exact date on which Greg Valentine won the title during his third reign is unknown, which means that his reign lasted between 0 and 31 days.
  5. 1 2 The exact date on which Sweet Ebony Diamond lost the title during his second reign is unknown, which means that his reign lasted between 0 and 99 days. Since this day is unknown, the day on which Greg Valentine won the title is also unclear.
  6. 1 2 The exact date on which Greg Valentine won the title during his fourth reign is unknown, which means that his reign lasted between 0 and 99 days.
  7. 1 2 The exact date on which Jimmy Valiant lost the title during his first reign is unknown, which means that his reign lasted between 0 and 155 days.
  8. 1 2 The exact date on which Ivan Koloff won the title during his fourth reign is unknown, which means that his reign lasted between 0 and 155 days.
  9. 1 2 The exact date on which Jimmy Valiant lost the title during his second reign is unknown, which means that his reign lasted between 0 and 133 days.
  10. 1 2 The exact date on which Ivan Koloff won the title during his fifth reign is unknown, which means that his reign lasted between 0 and 133 days.
  11. 1 2 The exact date on which Jimmy Valiant lost the title during his third reign is unknown, which means that his reign lasted between 0 and 41 days.
  12. 1 2 The exact date on which Jos LeDuc won and vacated the title during his first reign is unknown, which means that his reign lasted between 0 and 41 days.
  13. 1 2 The exact date on which Charlie Brown (Jimmy Valiant) lost the title during his fourth reign in January 1984 is unknown, which means that his reign lasted between 38 and 68 days.
  14. 1 2 The exact date on which Scott Steiner was stripped of the title during his first reign is unknown, which means that his reign lasted between 33 and 63 days.
  15. Each reign is ranked highest to lowest; reigns with the exact number mean that they are tied for that certain rank.

References

General
Specific
  1. Callis, Don (2001-03-25). "Deal leaves wrestlers out in cold". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2009-11-25.
  2. 1 2 3 Elliott, Brian (2009-04-30). "Scott Hall". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2009-11-21. Two weeks later, he won the Television title from Rick Steiner, when Steiner was unable to defend the title due to injury. In a baffling decision, Hall claimed he had no interest in the TV title, and when he unsuccessfully tried to give it to Kevin Nash, he threw it in the trash instead.
  3. 1 2 "Nitro: The Ultimate Fight". Wayback Machine. WCW.com. Archived from the original on February 29, 2000. Retrieved 2009-11-21. The WCW TV Title has resurfaced after Jim Duggan found the belt in the trash on a recent episode of WCW Saturday Night.
  4. Miller, John; Kamchen, Richard (2004-11-18). "Ric Flair". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
  5. Miller, John; Kamchen, Richard (2008-05-19). "Wrestler Results Archive: Ric Flair". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
  6. 1 2 Nevada, Vance; Farmer, Matt; Taylor, Becky; Witmer, Ron; Zordani, Jim (2008-04-29). "Wrestler Results Archive: Rocky Johnson". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Milner, John; Urena, Steve (2004-11-04). "Sting". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2009-11-21. Although Sting would come up short in his quest to win the NWA World Tagteam titles with Rhodes, he would defeat Mike Rotunda for the NWA Television Championship in March 1989.
  8. Milner, John; Kamchen, Richard (2004-10-13). ""Stone Cold" Steve Austin". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
  9. Milner, John (2005-05-16). "William Regal". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2009-11-21. At Fall Brawl '93, however, he was pushed up the card, defeating Ricky Steamboat for the WCW Television Championship....Regal recovered and regained the title at the Clash of the Champions XXVII in June. Regal would hold that championship until September 18, 1994, when Johnny B. Badd (Marc Mero) defeated him......By the summer of 1996, Regal had set his sights on regaining the WCW Television title, defeating Lex Luger for the belt on August 20, 1996. Prince Iaukea would upset Regal for the title in February 1997, leading to a short program between the two. Regal would regain the title, but not from Iaukea but from Ultimo Dragon at Slamboree '97 in May.....Regal's fourth and final reign as WCW Television Champion would end with Ultimo Dragon regaining the title on July 22, 1997.
  10. 1 2 3 Miller, John; McNamara, Andy; Oliver, Greg; Powell, John (2005-06-02). "Booker T". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
  11. 1 2 3 Miller, John (2005-05-22). "Chris Benoit". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
  12. 1 2 Miller, John; Kamchen, Richard (2006-03-17). "Finlay". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
  13. Milner, John; Kamchen, Richard (2005-03-22). "Chris Jericho". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2009-11-21. Jericho would feud with Dean Malenko, Booker T (over the WCW Television title, a belt Jericho won from Booker's brother, Stevie Ray) and Bill Goldberg. Or rather, Jericho tried to feud with Goldberg, cutting several promos but the match never actually took place.
  14. Milner, John; Molinaro, John (2005-10-21). "Konnan". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2009-11-21. Konnan would join forces with the NWO and eventually defeat Jericho< for the WCW Television Championship on November 30, 1998.

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