NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship

NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship

An American wrestler with short blond pompadour-styled hair wearing a blue and black robe poses in the middle of a wrestling ring.

Ric Flair held the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship four times and had the eight-longest combined reign, at 408 days.

Details

Current champion(s)

Lance Erikson

Date won

July 4, 2015

Date established

October 13, 1970 (Re-established in 1996)

Date retired

December 26, 1986

Promotion

National Wrestling Alliance
Jim Crockett Promotions
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling

Other name(s)

NWA Eastern Heavyweight Championship

Statistics
First champion(s)	Pat O'Connor
Most reigns	Wahoo McDaniel (7 times)
Longest reign	Buff Bagwell (1,807 days)
Shortest reign	Pat O'Connor (1 day)^{[Note 1]}

The NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship contested for in Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), a territory-promotion governed by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The title was only contestable by male individual wrestlers. Since 1974, JCP was also known as "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" (MACW), which is why all of its championships included "Mid-Atlantic" in their names.^[1] 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. In 1970, the championship was introduced as the NWA Eastern Heavyweight Championship during a taping of Championship Wrestling^{[Note 2]} on October 13, 1970. It was announced that the Missouri Mauler had defeated the defending champion Pat O'Connor in New York to win the title; this title change was fictitious and a storyline to introduce the championship to the promotion; nevertheless, O'Connor's reign is denoted as the first official reign. Because it was fictitious, further information regarding O'Connor's reign is unavailable.

On the September 6, 1973 taping of Championship Wrestling,^{[Note 2]} JCP owner Jim Crockett, Jr. announced the retirement of the NWA Eastern Heavyweight Championship and the establishment of the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship; this coincided with the rebranding of JCP as MACW.^[1] At the time of this change, Jerry Brisco was in his fourth reign as the NWA Eastern Heavyweight Champion, and as a result of never losing the title, he was recognized as the first NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion. Because Brisco's fourth reign did not end, being awarded the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title is not counted as a new reign overall in the title's history.^[2] On December 26, 1986, Ron Garvin, after winning JCP's version of the NWA United States Tag Team Championship with Barry Windham, vacated the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title and handed the belt to Crockett, Jr. on a taping of World Championship Wrestling.^{[Note 3]} Crockett, Jr. deactivated the championship for unknown reasons, and eventually, JCP was sold to Ted Turner in 1988.^[3] As a result, Garvin was the final wrestler to hold the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title. In the late 1990s, a group of promoters was given permission by the NWA to establish a territory called "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (MACW)"; however, this territory has not claimed any connection to the original JCP/MACW. As a result, their prime championship, called the MACW Heavyweight Championship,^[4] has no connection to this original JCP/MACW championship.

Overall, there were 60 reigns shared between 29 wrestlers. Fifteen of those reigns occurred while the title was called the "NWA Eastern Heavyweight Championship", while 46 occurred under the "NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship" name. The title had only one official vacancy, which occurred in July 1985. Jack Brisco and Wahoo McDaniel had the most reigns as champion, with six; Jerry Brisco and Rip Hawk had the second-most, with four. Ken Patera's second reign was the longest in the title's history, at 334 days; the Missouri Mauler had the second-longest, at 275 days. Johnny Valentine ranks first in combined reigns by length, at 504 days with 2 reigns; Patera ranks second, at 495 days with 4 reigns. All title changes occurred at JCP–promoted events: live events, pay-per-view events, and on televised events that aired on broadcast delay.

Title history

NWA Eastern Heavyweight Championship

Key

Symbol	Meaning
#	The overall championship reign
Reign	The reign number for the specific tag team listed
Event	The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the title changed hands
N/A	The specific information is not known or applicable.
—	Used for vacated reigns so as not to count it as an official reign

#	Wrestler	Reign	Date	Days held	Location	Event	Notes
01 !1	O'Connor, PatPat O'Connor	01 !1	000000001970-01-01-00001970	7000100000000000000♠1 !^{[Note 1]}	- !N/A	Live event	It was announced in local advertisements that O'Connor was the reigning Eastern Heavyweight Champion until October 13, 1970, when he lost the championship to the Missouri Mauler; this reign was a storyline to introduce the championship to JCP, and as a result, further information regarding how O'Connor won the title is unavailable.^[5]
02 !2	Missouri Mauler	01 !1	000000001970-10-13-0000October 13, 1970	7002275000000000000♠275	- !N/A	Championship Wrestling^{[Note 2]}	The Missouri Mauler announced on local television from WGHP television studios that he had defeated O'Connor for the title in New York; the title change was a continuation of the storyline to introduce the championship to JCP, and as a result, further information regarding the title change is unavailable. This title change aired on broadcast delay.^[5]
03 !3	Miller !Danny Miller	01 !1	000000001971-07-15-0000July 15, 1971	7001670000000000000♠67	Greensboro, North Carolina	Live event
04 !4	Missouri Mauler	02 !2	000000001971-09-20-0000September 20, 1971	7001720000000000000♠72	Charlotte, North Carolina	Live event
05 !5	Brisco, JackJack Brisco	01 !1	000000001971-11-31-0000November 31, 1971	7001750000000000000♠75	High Point, North Carolina	Championship Wrestling ^{[Note 2]}	This title change aired on broadcast delay.
06 !6	Hawk, RipRip Hawk	01 !1	000000001972-02-14-0000February 14, 1972	7001560000000000000♠56	Charlotte, North Carolina	Live event
07 !7	Brisco, JackJack Brisco	02 !2	000000001972-04-10-0000April 10, 1972	7001150000000000000♠15 !^{[Note 4]}	Charlotte, North Carolina	Live event
08 !8	Hawk, RipRip Hawk	02 !2	000000001972-04-25-0000April 25, 1972 !^{[Note 5]}	7001490000000000000♠49 !^{[Note 5]}	San Juan, Puerto Rico	Live event	The exact date on which Rip Hawk won his second reign is unknown, however, it is confirmed by sources that he won the title from Jack Brisco between April 25 and May 25, 1972 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
09 !9	Brisco, JerryJerry Brisco	01 !1	000000001972-06-13-0000June 13, 1972	7001760000000000000♠76	Columbia, South Carolina	Live event
10	Hawk, RipRip Hawk	03 !3	000000001972-08-28-0000August 28, 1972	7000700000000000000♠7	Greenville, South Carolina	Live event
11	Brisco, JerryJerry Brisco	02 !2	000000001972-09-04-0000September 4, 1972	7002115000000000000♠115	Greenville, South Carolina	Live event
12	Hawk, RipRip Hawk	04 !4	000000001972-12-28-0000December 28, 1972	7001650000000000000♠65	Greensboro, North Carolina	Live event
13	Brisco, JerryJerry Brisco	03 !3	000000001973-03-03-0000March 3, 1973	7001670000000000000♠67	Salem, North Carolina	Live vent
14	Anderson, OleOle Anderson	01 !1	000000001973-05-09-0000May 9, 1973	7001550000000000000♠55	Raleigh, North Carolina	All Star Wrestling ^{[Note 6]}	This title change aired on broadcast delay.
15	Brisco, JerryJerry Brisco	04 !4	000000001973-07-03-0000July 3, 1973	7002182000000000000♠182 !^{[Note 7]}	Columbia, South Carolina	Live event	On September 6, 1973, the NWA retired the NWA Eastern Heavyweight Championship and introduced the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship to JCP as its replacement. As a result, Brisco was the final wrestler to hold the championship under the "NWA Eastern Heavyweight Championship" name.