WOOOOOOOOOO: the Tangled History of the Oldest Wrestling Championship
June 23, 2016 7:50 AM Subscribe
Regional rivalries, bad business decisions, money, television, big egos, and sweaty, shirtless men: the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.
1. Original Version of the Championship (to 1957).
2. From the Territories, a championship.
3. Side trip 1, the AWA: Frustrated by Verne Gagne's business decisions, Hogan accepted an offer from rival promoter McMahon to wrestle for the WWF.
4. List of champions (some will surprise you!).
5. The artifacts: Big Gold Belt and 10 Ugly Championship Belts.
6. Side Trip 2, WCW: "Diamond Dallas Page holding the WCW World Heavyweight Championship upside-down."
7. Champions in action: Lou Thesz vs. Verne Gagne (1951).
1. Original Version of the Championship (to 1957).
2. From the Territories, a championship.
3. Side trip 1, the AWA: Frustrated by Verne Gagne's business decisions, Hogan accepted an offer from rival promoter McMahon to wrestle for the WWF.
4. List of champions (some will surprise you!).
5. The artifacts: Big Gold Belt and 10 Ugly Championship Belts.
6. Side Trip 2, WCW: "Diamond Dallas Page holding the WCW World Heavyweight Championship upside-down."
7. Champions in action: Lou Thesz vs. Verne Gagne (1951).
This post encompasses about 70% of my childhood.
posted by sanka at 8:44 AM on June 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by sanka at 8:44 AM on June 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
The Lou Thesz vs. Verne Gagne match was like 50 minutes long. 50 minutes!
Impressive. But Iron Man matches are one of the better types of gimmick match (Lucha Underground had a good recent 60 minute match between Prince Puma (Ricochet) and Johnny Mundo (John Morrison) this season).
posted by Francis at 9:38 AM on June 23, 2016
Impressive. But Iron Man matches are one of the better types of gimmick match (Lucha Underground had a good recent 60 minute match between Prince Puma (Ricochet) and Johnny Mundo (John Morrison) this season).
posted by Francis at 9:38 AM on June 23, 2016
But Iron Man matches are one of the better types of gimmick match (Lucha Underground had a good recent 60 minute match between Prince Puma (Ricochet) and Johnny Mundo (John Morrison) this season).
Last season. And aside from that one, it doesn't look like there's been a 60-minute iron man match in the big leagues in this decade.
posted by Etrigan at 9:55 AM on June 23, 2016
Last season. And aside from that one, it doesn't look like there's been a 60-minute iron man match in the big leagues in this decade.
posted by Etrigan at 9:55 AM on June 23, 2016
The NWA WHC has nothing on Dramatic Dream Team's Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship, which was created in 2000 under 24/7 defense rules, and has changed hands over 1000 times.
Title holders include: Rey Misterio Jr., Most Dangerous Kana, Colt Cabana, a pint of beer, three schoolgirls, a ladder, a taxicab and in a superbly meta moment, the title itself.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 9:58 AM on June 23, 2016 [5 favorites]
Title holders include: Rey Misterio Jr., Most Dangerous Kana, Colt Cabana, a pint of beer, three schoolgirls, a ladder, a taxicab and in a superbly meta moment, the title itself.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 9:58 AM on June 23, 2016 [5 favorites]
I have been wondering if the ubiquity & dominance of the WWE is leading us to something like a new territories era. It seems like there is a growth of smaller promotions that have a small but national footprint because of the internet (ROH, Chitara, LU, etc) There seems to be a lot of room for other non-WWE styles of rasslin', & they are slowly finding an audience.
posted by Burgoo at 10:45 AM on June 23, 2016
posted by Burgoo at 10:45 AM on June 23, 2016
It seems like there is a growth of smaller promotions that have a small but national footprint because of the internet (ROH, Chitara, LU, etc)
Some people are working on that, but not very well. But even apart from that, I can watch six different promotions on my TV without resorting to the Internet. It's pretty awesome, even if a couple of them are third-tier at best.
posted by Etrigan at 10:53 AM on June 23, 2016
Some people are working on that, but not very well. But even apart from that, I can watch six different promotions on my TV without resorting to the Internet. It's pretty awesome, even if a couple of them are third-tier at best.
posted by Etrigan at 10:53 AM on June 23, 2016
> The NWA WHC has nothing on Dramatic Dream Team's Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship, which was created in 2000 under 24/7 defense rules, and has changed hands over 1000 times.
Title holders include: Rey Misterio Jr., Most Dangerous Kana, Colt Cabana, a pint of beer, three schoolgirls, a ladder, a taxicab and in a superbly meta moment, the title itself.
I do not have words for how happy I am knowing that this exists.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 12:51 PM on June 23, 2016 [3 favorites]
Title holders include: Rey Misterio Jr., Most Dangerous Kana, Colt Cabana, a pint of beer, three schoolgirls, a ladder, a taxicab and in a superbly meta moment, the title itself.
I do not have words for how happy I am knowing that this exists.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 12:51 PM on June 23, 2016 [3 favorites]
DDT is an amazing wrestling federation and takes great pleasure in being unusual. This is where Kota Ibushi wrestled a blow-up doll for thirty minutes (said doll having held the aforementioned title belt seven times), matches have taken place on campgrounds with wrestlers shooting fireworks at each other, going door-to-door in an apartment complex, and where a ladder has successfully defended its belt in a ten-minute match against several competitors. (Though, spoilers -- it doesn't leave the entire video as champion.)
posted by delfin at 2:01 PM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by delfin at 2:01 PM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
The history of wrestling championships is littered with unrecognized champions as it wasn't uncommon for a champion to "lose" the title to a local hero only to have the local hero show up at the next show and claim that he lost said championship in a match that never actually took place. It was really the fan magazines that sprouted up in the '80s that put an end to this practice since a reader in LA now could follow the events in Georgia or Chicago.
It's not exclusive to the NWA either. Bob Backlund once "lost" the WWWF Championship in Japan to Antonio Inoki then returned to Madison Square Garden where he competed in the title event against another wrestler (whose name slips my mind at the moment [Stasiak?]) even though Inoki was not only available, but even appeared on the same card. (To his credit, Backlund himself privately recognizes the change and even refused to wear the championship belt to the ring prior to the MSG match.) And there exists video of the Rockers winning the WWF/E Tag Team belts at a television taping, even though to this day it has never been mentioned (AFAIK) on any WWE broadcast.
posted by dances with hamsters at 2:17 PM on June 23, 2016
It's not exclusive to the NWA either. Bob Backlund once "lost" the WWWF Championship in Japan to Antonio Inoki then returned to Madison Square Garden where he competed in the title event against another wrestler (whose name slips my mind at the moment [Stasiak?]) even though Inoki was not only available, but even appeared on the same card. (To his credit, Backlund himself privately recognizes the change and even refused to wear the championship belt to the ring prior to the MSG match.) And there exists video of the Rockers winning the WWF/E Tag Team belts at a television taping, even though to this day it has never been mentioned (AFAIK) on any WWE broadcast.
posted by dances with hamsters at 2:17 PM on June 23, 2016
No one says WOOOO around here but me!
What?
posted by vrakatar at 4:39 PM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
What?
posted by vrakatar at 4:39 PM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
No one says WOOOO around here but me!
Kurt Angle, you may be an incredible athlete, but when it comes to out-Flairing the Nature Boy, you are no Jay Lethal.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 5:08 PM on June 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
Kurt Angle, you may be an incredible athlete, but when it comes to out-Flairing the Nature Boy, you are no Jay Lethal.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 5:08 PM on June 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
Thank you parasite, I can die a happy man. I never saw that, barely remember Lethal, but holy moly his Flair impersonation is SCARY.
posted by vrakatar at 5:49 PM on June 23, 2016
posted by vrakatar at 5:49 PM on June 23, 2016
This is where Kota Ibushi wrestled a blow-up doll yt for thirty minutes (said doll having held the aforementioned title belt seven times)
I know next to nothing about wrestling, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say I'd imagine it takes more skill to wrestle a blow-up doll that convincingly for a half-hour than it does to wrestle another actual human.
posted by Itaxpica at 6:01 PM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
I know next to nothing about wrestling, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say I'd imagine it takes more skill to wrestle a blow-up doll that convincingly for a half-hour than it does to wrestle another actual human.
posted by Itaxpica at 6:01 PM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
Depends on where you put Sheamus on that scale.
posted by Etrigan at 6:46 PM on June 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Etrigan at 6:46 PM on June 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
I never saw that, barely remember Lethal, but holy moly his Flair impersonation is SCARY.
In a perfect universe, we'd have a feud for the titles between Jay Lethal as Ric Flair and Dean Ambrose as Dusty Rhodes.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 11:40 PM on June 23, 2016
In a perfect universe, we'd have a feud for the titles between Jay Lethal as Ric Flair and Dean Ambrose as Dusty Rhodes.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 11:40 PM on June 23, 2016
I know next to nothing about wrestling, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say I'd imagine it takes more skill to wrestle a blow-up doll that convincingly for a half-hour than it does to wrestle another actual human.
The term in wrestling is "He could wrestle a broomstick to a five-star match." I am amazed that no broomstick has managed to capture the Ironman Heavymetakweight Championship, so I assume that Dramatic Dream Team is saving that for their big PPV.
posted by Etrigan at 8:31 AM on June 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
The term in wrestling is "He could wrestle a broomstick to a five-star match." I am amazed that no broomstick has managed to capture the Ironman Heavymetakweight Championship, so I assume that Dramatic Dream Team is saving that for their big PPV.
posted by Etrigan at 8:31 AM on June 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
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posted by alex_skazat at 8:06 AM on June 23, 2016