WWWF United States Heavyweight Championship
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| WWWF United States Heavyweight Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 One version of the belt that represented the championship in the 1960s and 1970s | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | World Wide Wrestling Federation | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | April 20, 1960 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Date retired | March 1, 1976 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other name(s) | |||||||||||||||||||||
NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Northeast version) (1960–1961) | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The WWWF United States Heavyweight Championship was a singles title used sporadically in the World Wide Wrestling Federation between 1960 and 1976. During the variable periods in which it was used, the title served as the promotion's secondary singles championship to the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship. Three years after the title was retired for good, it was replaced by the WWF North American Heavyweight Championship as the promotion's secondary title.
History[edit]
Prior to Capitol Wrestling leaving the National Wrestling Alliance and becoming the WWWF, the company hosted a version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship for several months in 1960-1961. The only known holder of this title was Buddy Rogers, who vacated the title upon winning the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Pat O'Connor in Chicago in June 1961.[1]
This title has no connection to the current WWE United States Championship, the lineage of which dates back to the NWA/WCW United States Heavyweight Championship originally created in 1975 in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling.
Reigns[edit]
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | ||||
| 1 | Buddy Rogers | April 20, 1960 | — | — | 1 | 436 | Rogers was recognized as the inaugural holder of the Northeast version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship. | [1] |
| — | Vacated | June 30, 1961 | — | — | — | — | Rogers vacated the championship after defeating Pat O'Connor for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. | |
| 2 | Bobo Brazil | April 6, 1963 | House Show | California | 1 | 63 | The championship was renamed to the WWWF United States Heavyweight Championship during this reign. | [2][1] |
| 3 | Johnny Barend | June 8, 1963 | House Show | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1 | 31 | [2][1] | |
| 4 | Bobo Brazil | July 9, 1963 | House Show | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 2 | 64 | [2][1] | |
| 5 | Johnny Barend | September 11, 1963 | House Show | Landover, Maryland | 2 | 41 | [2][1] | |
| 6 | Bobo Brazil | October 22, 1963 | House Show | Quakertown, Pennsylvania | 3 | 1,335 | [2][1] | |
| 7 | Ray Stevens | June 18, 1967 | House Show | [Note 1] | 1 | 67 | [2][1] | |
| 8 | Bobo Brazil | August 24, 1967 | House Show | Trenton, New Jersey | 4 | 29 | [2][1] | |
| 9 | The Sheik | September 22, 1967 | House Show | Detroit, Michigan | 1 | 429 | [2][1] | |
| 10 | Bobo Brazil | November 24, 1968 | House Show | [Note 1] | 5 | 57 | [2][1] | |
| 11 | The Sheik | January 20, 1969 | House Show | Boston, Massachusetts | 2 | 21 | [2][1] | |
| 12 | Bobo Brazil | February 10, 1969 | House Show | Washington D.C. | 6 | 687 | [2][1] | |
| — | Vacated | December 29, 1970 | — | — | — | — | Championship vacated because of injury. | [2][1] |
| 13 | Pedro Morales | January 7, 1971 | House Show | Los Angeles, California | 1 | 32 | Defeated Freddie Blassie in a tournament final. | [2][1] |
| — | Vacated | February 8, 1971 | — | — | — | — | Pedro Morales vacated the WWWF United States Heavyweight Championship after winning the WWWF Championship. | [2][1] |
| 14 | Bobo Brazil | February 19, 1971 | House Show | Harrisburg, PA | 7 | 1,837 | Brazil was awarded the title by the WWWF. | [2][1] |
| — | Deactivated | March 1, 1976 | — | — | — | — | Brazil was the final champion after the WWWF abandoned the title on March 1, 1976. Seven weeks later on April 21, Brazil won the Detroit NWA version of the title. | [2][1] |
Combined reigns[edit]
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns | Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bobo Brazil | 7 | 4,072 |
| 2 | The Sheik | 2 | 450 |
| 3 | Buddy Rogers | 1 | 436 |
| 4 | Johnny Barend | 2 | 72 |
| 5 | Ray Stevens | 1 | 67 |
| 6 | Pedro Morales | 1 | 32 |
See also[edit]
- WWE United States Championship
- World Wrestling Entertainment
- Professional wrestling in the United States
Notes[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "United States Heavyweight Title - World Wide Wrestling Federation ( 1963 - 1970s ) World Wrestling Entertainment ( 2003/07 - )". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (1994). "United States: 19th Century & Widely defended Titles - NWA, WWF, AWA, IWA, ECW, NWA WWWF United States Heavyweight Title [McMahon]". Wrestling Title Histories (3 ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 27. ISBN 0-9698161-1-1.