NWA United National Championship
The NWA United National Championship (often abbreviated to UN Championship) was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance, and best known for being defended in All Japan Pro Wrestling. It was unified into the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, along with the PWF Heavyweight Championship and the NWA International Heavyweight Championship, in 1989. The original belt remained in use for the Triple Crown until 2013.[1]
Title history
| #: |
Name(s): |
Reigns: |
Date: |
Location: |
Notes: |
|---|
| 1 | Dale Lewis | 1 | October 1970 | St. Louis, Missouri, United States | Won a tournament to crown the first champion. |
| 2 | Pantera Negra | 1 | October 23, 1970 | Los Angeles, California, United States |
|
| 3 | John Tolos | 1 | November 20, 1970 | Los Angeles, California, United States |
|
| 4 | Ray Mendoza | 1 | December 4, 1970 | Los Angeles, California, United States |
|
| 5 | John Tolos | 2 | March 1971 | n/a | Tolos returned the championship when the NWA decided the referee used a fast count during his title defense against Mendoza. |
| 6 | Antonio Inoki | 1 | March 26, 1971 | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Vacated on December 13, 1971 when Inoki is fired from the JWA, the promotion to which he had brought the title from the United States. |
| 7 | King Krow | 1 | January 1972 | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | Defeated Sailor Thomas in a fictitious tournament final. |
| 8 | Seiji Sakaguchi | 1 | February 11, 1972 | Los Angeles, California, United States |
|
| 9 | The Sheik | 1 | September 6, 1972 | Tokyo, Japan |
| 10 | Seiji Sakaguchi | 2 | September 7, 1972 | Osaka, Japan |
| 11 | Johnny Valentine | 1 | February 3, 1973 | Yokohama, Japan |
| 12 | Akihisa Takachiho | 1 | March 8, 1973 | Sano, Japan |
| Deactivated on April 14, 1973 when the JWA closed. |
| 13 | Jumbo Tsuruta | 1 | August 28, 1976 | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated Jack Brisco in an AJPW tournament final to revive the championship. |
| 14 | Billy Robinson | 1 | March 5, 1977 | Akita, Japan |
|
| 15 | Jumbo Tsuruta | 2 | March 23, 1977 | Miami, Florida, United States |
|
| 16 | Dick Murdoch | 1 | February 23, 1980 | Kagoshima, Japan |
|
| 17 | Jumbo Tsuruta | 3 | March 5, 1980 | Kuroiso, Japan |
|
| 18 | Abdullah the Butcher | 1 | October 13, 1980 | Nagoya, Japan |
|
| 19 | Jumbo Tsuruta | 4 | January 22, 1981 | Nirasaki, Japan |
|
| 20 | Harley Race | 1 | August 1, 1982 | Tokyo, Japan |
|
| 21 | Jumbo Tsuruta | 5 | October 24, 1982 | Kitami, Japan |
| Vacated on June 17, 1983 so Tsuruta could focus on winning the NWA International Heavyweight Championship. |
| 22 | Ted DiBiase | 1 | October 14, 1983 | Sasebo, Japan | Defeated Jerry Lawler in a tournament final via forfeit; wrestled Genichiro Tenryu for his first title defense instead. |
| 23 | Michael Hayes | 1 | January 28, 1984 | Athens, Georgia, United States |
|
| 24 | David Von Erich | 1 | February 3, 1984 | Dallas, Texas, United States |
| Vacated on February 10, 1984 when Von Erich dies of an apparent heart attack. |
| 25 | Genichiro Tenryu | 1 | February 23, 1984 | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated Ricky Steamboat in a tournament final. |
| Voluntarily vacated in February 1986 when Tenryu is pinned by Yoshiaki Yatsu in a tag team match. |
| 26 | Genichiro Tenryu | 2 | April 26, 1986 | Ōmiya-ku, Japan | Defeated Ted DiBiase in a tournament final. Tenryu won the PWF Heavyweight Championship on March 9, 1988. |
| 27 | Stan Hansen | 1 | July 27, 1988 | Nagano, Japan | Also won the PWF Heavyweight Championship. |
| 28 | Jumbo Tsuruta | 6 | April 18, 1989 | Tokyo, Japan | Retained the NWA International Heavyweight Championship and won the PWF Heavyweight Championship and the UN Championship. |
|
| Title was unified with Tsuruta's NWA International Heavyweight Championship and with Hansen's PWF Heavyweight Championship and UN championship to create the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship. |
|
List of combined reigns
| Rank |
Wrestler |
# of Reigns |
Combined Days |
|---|
| 1 | Jumbo Tsuruta | 6 | 2,270 |
| 2 | Genichiro Tenryu | 2 | 1,531 |
| 3 | Seiji Sakaguchi | 2 | 357 |
| 4 | Stan Hansen | 1 | 265 |
| 5 | Antonio Inoki | 1 | 262 |
| 6 | Ted DiBiase | 1 | 106 |
| 7 | Abdullah the Butcher | 1 | 101 |
| 8 | Ray Mendonza | 1 | 87 |
| 9 | Harley Race | 1 | 84 |
| 10 | King Krow | 1 | 42 |
| 11 | John Tolos | 2 | 40 |
| 12 | Akihisa Takachiho | 1 | 37 |
| 13 | Johnny Valentine | 1 | 33 |
| 14 | Pantera Negra | 1 | 28 |
| 15 | Dale Lewis | 1 | 23 |
| 16 | Billy Robinson | 1 | 18 |
| 17 | Dick Murdoch | 1 | 11 |
| 18 | David Von Erich | 1 | 7 |
| 19 | Michael Hayes | 1 | 6 |
| 20 | The Sheik | 1 | 1 |
See also
References
- ↑ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
External links