NWA United States Heavyweight Championship

Years Active 1975 — 1991

Promotion NWA

Brand N/A

Total Reigns 42

Total Champions 23

Last Champion Lex Luger

Longest Reign

Lex Luger

523 days as the NWA United States Heavyweight Champion

Won on House show against Michael Hayes on May 22, 1989 and held title until October 27, 1990.

Most Reigns

Longest Reigns

Lex Luger (523 days)
Nikita Koloff (328 days)
Barry Windham (283 days)

About This Championship

The NWA United States Heavyweight Championship was a major singles title introduced by Jim Crockett Promotions in 1975. It was tied to the Mid-Atlantic territory and became one of the most important championships below the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Harley Race was the first champion after defeating Johnny Weaver, giving the title an immediate association with one of the top names in wrestling at the time.

The championship was first known as the Mid-Atlantic version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship. As other regional United States titles faded, this version became the main United States title connected to the NWA. It was defended by many of the biggest names in Jim Crockett Promotions, including Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, Greg Valentine, Wahoo McDaniel, Sgt. Slaughter, Magnum T.A., Tully Blanchard, Dusty Rhodes, and Lex Luger.

The title remained part of Jim Crockett Promotions as the company expanded beyond its Mid-Atlantic base and became a national wrestling promotion. When World Championship Wrestling (WCW) moved away from NWA branding in the early 1990s, the championship continued under the WCW name. Its lineage carried forward as the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship.

Championship Name History

NWA United States Heavyweight Championship 1975 – 1991

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WCW United States Heavyweight Championship 1991 – 2001

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WCW United States Championship 2001 – 2001

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WWE United States Championship 1975 – Present

NWA United States Heavyweight Championship Complete Reign History

= Reign Distinction = Includes Reign Notes

# Click to sort	Wrestler Click to sort	Date Won Click to sort	Opponent(s) Click to sort	Event Click to sort	Match Type Click to sort	Partner(s) Click to sort
42	Lex Luger	Dec 16, 1990	Stan Hansen	Starrcade 1990	Texas Bullrope Match	210
During Luger’s reign, the title was renamed from the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship to the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship. He later vacated it after winning the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
41	Stan Hansen	Oct 27, 1990	Lex Luger	Halloween Havoc 1990	Singles Match	50
40	Lex Luger	May 22, 1989	Michael Hayes	House show	Singles Match	523
39	Michael Hayes	May 7, 1989	Lex Luger	WrestleWar 1989	Singles Match	15
38	Lex Luger	Feb 20, 1989	Barry Windham	Chi-Town Rumble 1989	Singles Match	76
37	Barry Windham	May 13, 1988	Nikita Koloff	House show	Tournament Final Match	283
—	Title Vacated from April 9, 1988 to May 13, 1988 (34 days)
36	Dusty Rhodes	Nov 26, 1987	Lex Luger	Starrcade '87: Chi-Town Heat	Steel Cage Match	135
Dusty Rhodes was stripped of the title after attacking NWA President Jim Crockett with a baseball bat. He was also suspended for 120 days.
35	Lex Luger	Jul 11, 1987	Nikita Koloff	Great American Bash 1987	Steel Cage Match	138
34	Nikita Koloff	Aug 17, 1986	Magnum T.A.	House show	Vacant Title Match	328
—	Title Vacated from May 29, 1986 to August 17, 1986 (80 days)
33	Magnum T.A.	Nov 28, 1985	Tully Blanchard	Starrcade '85: The Gathering	I Quit Steel Cage Match	182
Magnum T.A. was stripped of the belt after attacking NWA president Bob Geigel.
32	Tully Blanchard	Jul 21, 1985	Magnum T.A.	House show	Singles Match	130
31	Magnum T.A.	Mar 23, 1985	Wahoo McDaniel	World Wide Wrestling	Singles Match	120
30	Wahoo McDaniel	Oct 7, 1984	Manny Fernandez	House show	Tournament Final Match	167
—	Title Vacated from July 1, 1984 to October 7, 1984 (98 days)
29	Wahoo McDaniel	Jun 24, 1984	Ricky Steamboat	House show	Singles Match	7
Wahoo McDaniel was stripped of the title due to Tully Blanchard interfering in his title victory over Ricky Steamboat.
28	Ricky Steamboat	Apr 21, 1984	Dick Slater	House show	Singles Match	64
27	Dick Slater	Dec 14, 1983	Greg Valentine	House show	Singles Match	129
26	Greg Valentine	May 1, 1983	Roddy Piper	House show	Singles Match	227
25	Roddy Piper	Apr 16, 1983	Greg Valentine	House show	Singles Match	15
24	Greg Valentine	Nov 4, 1982	Wahoo McDaniel	House show	Singles Match	163
23	Wahoo McDaniel	Aug 22, 1982	Sgt. Slaughter	House show	Singles Match	74
22	Sgt. Slaughter	Jun 7, 1982		House show	Singles Match	76
21	Wahoo McDaniel	May 21, 1982	Sgt. Slaughter	House show	Singles Match	17
20	Sgt. Slaughter	Oct 4, 1981	Ricky Steamboat	House show	Tournament Final Match	229
—	Title Vacated from September 8, 1981 to October 4, 1981 (26 days)
19	Wahoo McDaniel	Aug 8, 1981	Roddy Piper	House show	Singles Match	31
Wahoo McDaniel’s reign ended when the NWA held up the title after Abdullah the Butcher injured him, preventing McDaniel from giving Roddy Piper his contractually required rematch within the 20-day deadline.
18	Roddy Piper	Jan 27, 1981	Ric Flair	House show	Singles Match	193
–	Ric Flair	Nov 24, 1980	Greg Valentine	House show	Singles Match	64
–	Greg Valentine	Jul 26, 1980	Ric Flair	House show	Singles Match	121
17	Ric Flair	Apr 19, 1980	Jimmy Snuka	House show	Singles Match	98
16	Jimmy Snuka	Sep 1, 1979	Ricky Steamboat	House show	Tournament Final Match	231
—	Title Vacated from August 12, 1979 to September 1, 1979 (20 days)
15	Ric Flair	Apr 1, 1979	Ricky Steamboat	House show	Singles Match	133
Flair’s reign ended on August 12, 1979 when the title was vacated after he and Blackjack Mulligan won the NWA World Tag Team Championship.
14	Ricky Steamboat	Dec 17, 1978	Ric Flair	House show	Singles Match	105
13	Ric Flair	Apr 9, 1978	Mr. Wrestling	House show	Singles Match	252
12	Mr. Wrestling	Mar 19, 1978	Blackjack Mulligan	House show	Singles Match	21
11	Blackjack Mulligan	Jan 1, 1978	Ricky Steamboat	House show	Singles Match	77
10	Ricky Steamboat	Oct 21, 1977	Ric Flair	House show	Singles Match	72
9	Ric Flair	Jul 29, 1977	Bobo Brazil	House show	Singles Match	84
8	Bobo Brazil	Jul 7, 1977	Blackjack Mulligan	House show	Singles Match	22
7	Blackjack Mulligan	Dec 15, 1976	Paul Jones	House show	Singles Match	204
–	Paul Jones	Dec 9, 1976	Blackjack Mulligan	House show	Singles Match	6
–	Blackjack Mulligan	Nov 28, 1976	Paul Jones	House show	Singles Match	11
6	Paul Jones	Oct 16, 1976	Blackjack Mulligan	House show	Singles Match	43
5	Blackjack Mulligan	Mar 13, 1976	Paul Jones	House show	Singles Match	217
4	Paul Jones	Nov 27, 1975	Terry Funk	House show	Singles Match	107
3	Terry Funk	Nov 9, 1975	Paul Jones	House show	Tournament Final Match	18
—	Title Vacated from October 4, 1975 to November 9, 1975 (36 days)
2	Johnny Valentine	Jul 3, 1975	Harley Race	House show	Singles Match	93
Valentine’s reign ended when the title was vacated after the injuries he suffered in an October 4, 1975 plane crash ended his wrestling career.
1	Harley Race	Jan 1, 1975	Johnny Weaver	House show	Tournament Final Match	183

NWA does not recognize these title reigns.

NWA United States Heavyweight Championship Historical Reign Leaders

#	Champion	Reigns	Total Days Held	Longest Reign (Days)	Avg. Reign (Days)	% of Career Title Held
1	Wahoo McDaniel	5	296	167	59	2.3%
2	Lex Luger	4	947	523	237	11.8%
2	Ric Flair	4	567	252	142	4.2%
4	Blackjack Mulligan	3	498	217	166	5.1%
4	Ricky Steamboat	3	241	105	80	3.5%
6	Greg Valentine	2	390	227	195	2.1%
6	Sgt. Slaughter	2	305	229	153	1.9%
6	Magnum T.A.	2	302	182	151	13.8%
6	Roddy Piper	2	208	193	104	1.3%
6	Paul Jones	2	150	107	75	1.3%
11	Nikita Koloff	1	328	328	328	10%
11	Barry Windham	1	283	283	283	2.4%
11	Jimmy Snuka	1	231	231	231	1.4%
11	Harley Race	1	183	183	183	1.6%
11	Dusty Rhodes	1	135	135	135	0.9%
11	Tully Blanchard	1	130	130	130	1.1%
11	Dick Slater	1	129	129	129	1.4%
11	Johnny Valentine	1	93	93	93	0.88%
11	Stan Hansen	1	50	50	50	0.47%
11	Bobo Brazil	1	22	22	22	0.13%
11	Mr. Wrestling	1	21	21	21	0.26%
11	Terry Funk	1	18	18	18	0.09%
11	Michael Hayes	1	15	15	15	0.18%

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