Title History
| Wrestler: | Times: | Date: | Location: | Notes: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Fenelon | 1 | ca. 1945 | N/A | |
| Marshall Esteppe | 1 | May 30, 1945 | Toronto, IA | |
| Larry Tillman | 1 | January 1, 1946 | Unknown | |
| Ken Fenelon | 2 | March 11, 1946 | Des Moines, IA | |
| Marshall Esteppe | 2 | January 6, 1947 | Des Moines, IA | |
| Ray Steele | 1 | March 24, 1947 | Des Moines, IA | |
| Marshall Esteppe | 3 | April 28, 1947 | Des Moines, IA | |
| Billy Goelz | 1 | ca. March 16, 1948 | Unknown | |
| Leroy McGuirk | 1 | December 28, 1949 | Des Moines, IA | Unifies National Boxing/Wrestling Association's World Junior Heavyweight Championship into National Wrestling Alliance title. |
| Vacated on February 7, 1950 when McGuirk is blinded in a car accident. | ||||
| Verne Gagne | 1 | November 13, 1950 | Tulsa, OK | Defeats Sonny Myers in a tournament final. |
| Danny McShain | 1 | November 19, 1951 | Memphis, TN | |
| Baron Michele Leone | 1 | August 1953 | Los Angeles, CA | |
| Ed Francis | 1 | 1956 | Tulsa, OK | |
| Mike DiBiase | 1 | 1956 | Oklahoma City, OK | |
| Mike Clancy | 1 | 1957 | Little Rock, AR | |
| Fred Blassie | 1 | March 26, 1957 | Nashville, TN | |
| Immediately held up due to a controversial finish. | ||||
| Mike Clancy | 2 | April 9, 1957 | Nashville, TN | Defeated Fred Blassie in a rematch. |
| Angelo Savoldi | 1 | February 1958 | Oklahoma City, OK | |
| Dory Funk | 1 | June 5, 1958 | Amarillo, TX | |
| Angelo Savoldi | 2 | July 11, 1958 | Oklahoma City, OK | |
| Ivan the Terrible | 1 | February 20, 1959 | Oklahoma City, OK | |
| Angelo Savoldi | 3 | March 6, 1959 | Oklahoma City, OK | |
| Danny Hodge | 1 | July 22, 1960 | Oklahoma City, OK | |
| Hiro Matsuda | 1 | July 11, 1964 | Tampa, FL | |
| Danny Hodge | 2 | April 23, 1965 | Tulsa, OK | |
| Lorenzo Parente | 1 | November 23, 1965 | Little Rock, AR | |
| Danny Hodge | 3 | ca. January 1966 | Little Rock, AR | |
| Lorenzo Parente | 2 | January 14, 1966 | Tulsa, OK | |
| Joe McCarthy | 1 | February 12, 1966 | Unknown | |
| Danny Hodge | 4 | May 1966 | Little Rock, AR | |
| Umanosuke Ueda | 1 | January 23, 1970 | Tulsa, OK | |
| Danny Hodge | 5 | January 30, 1970 | Unknown | |
| Sputnik Monroe | 1 | July 13, 1970 | Shreveport, LA | |
| Danny Hodge | 6 | 1970 | Unknown | |
| Roger Kirby | 1 | May 20, 1971 | New Orleans, LA | |
| Ramon Torres | 1 | September 10, 1971 | Monroe, LA | |
| Dr. X | 1 | December 3, 1971 | Oklahoma City, OK | |
| Danny Hodge | 7 | March 20, 1972 | Shreveport, LA | |
| Ken Mantell | 1 | December 19, 1973 | Jackson, MS | On September 17, 1974, Mantell lost a title match to Wrestling Pro via a disputed decision; this title change is only recognized in the Gulf Coast territory. Mantell defeated Pro on November 5, 1974 to become the undisputed champion. |
| Hiro Matsuda | 2 | June 14, 1975 | St. Petersburg, FL | |
| Danny Hodge | 8 | March 2, 1976 | Shreveport, LA | |
| Vacated on March 15, 1976 when Hodge retires after suffering a broken neck in a car accident. | ||||
| Pat Barret | 1 | September 28, 1976 | New Orleans, LA | Defeated Nelson Royal in a tournament final. |
| Ron Starr | 1 | December 2, 1976 | New Orleans, LA | |
| Nelson Royal | 1 | December 6, 1976 | New Orleans, LA | Royal lost a title match to Chavo Guerrero, Sr. in April 1978 and regained it later that year; whether these changes are official is disputed. |
| Al Madril | 1 | June 25, 1978 | Houston, TX | |
| Nelson Royal | 2 | July 28, 1979 | Unknown | Royal won via forfeit when Madril was too sick to attend a rematch. |
| Vacated in December, 1979 when Royal retires; Steve Keirn defeats Chavo Guerrero, Sr. in Los Angeles, CA on December 10 to seemingly win the vacant title, but NWA does not recognize the win as being for the title, though it is recognized by New Japan Pro Wrestling as well as Los Angeles and Florida; this version is later renamed the NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship. | ||||
| Ron Starr | 2 | February 11, 1980 | Tulsa, OK | Defeated Les Thornton in a tournament final. |
| Les Thornton | 1 | March 1980 | Unknown | Thornton won via forfeit. |
| Jerry Stubbs | 1 | January 26, 1981 | Mobile, AL | |
| Les Thornton | 2 | January 31, 1981 | Dothan, AL | |
| Terry Taylor | 1 | June 7, 1981 | Roanoke, VA | |
| Les Thornton | 3 | June 20, 1981 | Roanoke, VA | |
| Gerald Brisco | 1 | September 16, 1981 | Miami, FL | |
| Les Thornton | 4 | October 16, 1981 | Knoxville, TN | During a tour of Puerto Rico's World Wrestling Council, Thornton lost to and then defeated Joe Lightfoot on November 7 and 14; whether these matches were for the NWA or WWC junior heavyweight title is disputed. |
| Tiger Mask | 1 | May 25, 1982 | Shizuoka, Japan | In 1982, some North American promoters declared the title vacant due to Tiger Mask wrestling for the WWF; however, during an annual meeting between the NWA and New Japan Pro Wrestling, it's announced that Tiger Mask is still recognized as the official champion. |
| Vacated on April 3, 1983 when Tiger Mask is injured two days prior. | ||||
| Tiger Mask | 2 | June 2, 1983 | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated Kuniaki Kobayashi in a decision match. |
| Vacated on August 12, 1983 when Tiger Mask retires. | ||||
| The Cobra | 1 | November 3, 1983 | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated Davey Boy Smith in a decision match. Around this time, Les Thornton is recognized by promoters in the US as champion. |
| Hiro Saito | 1 | July 28, 1985 | Osaka, Japan | |
| The Cobra | 2 | July 28, 1985 | Osaka, Japan | |
| Vacated on August 1, 1985. | ||||
| Denny Brown | 1 | August 1985 | N/A | Won disputed version of title at Starrcade 1984 by defeating Mike Davis; recognized as champion by NWA vice president Shohei Baba, promoter of All Japan Pro Wrestling, after rival promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling withdraws from the NWA. |
| Gary Royal | 1 | August 15, 1985 | St. Louis, MO | |
| Denny Brown | 2 | September 15, 1985 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Steve Regal | 1 | August 2, 1986 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Denny Brown | 3 | September 1, 1986 | Greenville, SC | |
| Lazor Tron | 1 | March 7, 1987 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Vacated in 1987 when Tron leaves World Championship Wrestling. | ||||
| Nelson Royal | 3 | October 16, 1987 | N/A | Royal was awarded the title. Leaves WCW in 1988, at which point Masanobu Fuchi, the reigning AJPW Junior Champion, is disputably recognized as the new champion; however, Royal continues defending the title across the country until 1989, when it is abandoned. |
| Abandoned in 1989. | ||||
| Masayoshi Motegi | 1 | August 30, 1995 | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated El Hijo del Santo in a tournament final when the NWA revives the title. |
| The Great Sasuke | 1 | August 2, 1996 | Tokyo, Japan | Wins an 8-man tournament to decide the first J-Crown holder, a combination of eight junior heavyweight titles. These titles are still technically considered separate, as opposed to one unified championship, and continue to be defended. |
| Último Dragón | 1 | October 11, 1996 | Osaka, Japan | |
| Jushin Liger | 1 | January 4, 1997 | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated Dragón at Wrestling World. |
| El Samurai | 1 | July 6, 1997 | Sapporo, Japan | |
| Shinjiro Otani | 1 | August 10, 1997 | Nagoya, Japan | |
| Vacated on November 5, 1997 when the J-Crown is dematerialized. | ||||
| Logan Caine | 1 | March 5, 1999 | Parkersburg, WV | Defeated Viper in a tournament final. |
| Stripped on October 28, 1999 due to no-showing a title defense against Vince Kaplack. | ||||
| Vince Kaplack | 1 | October 28, 1999 | Pittsburgh, PA | Defeated Chris Hero as a replacement for Logan Caine. |
| Tony Kozina | 1 | January 14, 2000 | North Versailles, PA | |
| Rockford 2000 | 1 | July 22, 2000 | Surrey, BC | |
| Tony Kozina | 2 | August 30, 2000 | N/A | Awarded when NWA officials review the tape of a title match between Rockford and Kozina on August 26. |
| Vince Kaplack | 2 | October 14, 2000 | Nashville, TN | Won the title at the NWA 52nd Anniversary Show. |
| Rocky Reynolds | 1 | April 7, 2001 | Pennsboro, WV | |
| Mike Thunder | 1 | May 4, 2001 | North Richland Hills, TX | |
| Lex Lovett | 1 | August 21, 2001 | Tampa, FL | |
| Jason Rumble | 1 | October 13, 2001 | Saint Petersburg, FL | Defeated Lovett, Jimmy Rave, Brandon K & BJ Turner in a five-way match at the NWA 53rd Anniversary Show. |
| Rocky Reynolds | 2 | February 2, 2002 | Titusville, PA | |
| Jason Rumble | 2 | February 16, 2002 | Malden, MA | |
| Rocky Reynolds | 3 | April 6, 2002 | Parkersburg, WV | |
| Jimmy Rave | 1 | June 29, 2002 | Cornelia, GA | Defeated Reynolds and Jeremy Lopez in a three-way match. |
| Star | 1 | August 10, 2002 | Columbia, TN | |
| Jimmy Rave | 2 | August 17, 2002 | Columbia, TN | |
| Brother Love | 1 | January 18, 2003 | Greenville, MS | |
| Rocky Reynolds | 4 | June 7, 2003 | Parkersburg, WV | |
| Chris Draven | 1 | August 2, 2003 | Parkersburg, WV | |
| Jerrelle Clark | 1 | January 10, 2004 | Saint Petersburg, FL | |
| Jason Rumble | 3 | October 17, 2004 | Winnipeg, MB | Defeated Clark and Vance Desmond in a three-way match at the NWA 56th Anniversary Show. |
| Black Tiger | 1 | August 25, 2005 | Columbia, TN | Wins IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship on October 8. |
| Tiger Mask IV | 1 | February 19, 2006 | Tokyo, Japan | Also wins IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. |
| Mike Quackenbush | 1 | May 11, 2007 | Portage, IN | |
| Craig Classic | 1 | November 6, 2010 | Fort Pierce, FL | |
| Craig Classic relinquished the title on July 11, 2011, in protest of The Sheik being stripped of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Classic continues to defend his own version of the title in Pro Wrestling Zero1. | ||||
| Kevin Douglas | 1 | October 7, 2011 | Charlotte, NC | Defeated Chase Owens in Tournament Finals. |
| Douglas was stripped of the title for no-showing a scheduled title defense on October 13, 2012 against Chase Owens. A one-night tournament was held in Kingsport, TN in lieu of the Douglas-Owens match. | ||||
| Chase Owens | 1 | October 13, 2012 | Kingsport, TN | Defeated Matt Conard and Zac Vincent in Tournament Final. |
Read more about this topic: NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship
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