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NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship History

Complete list of every NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship reign — who held it, when they won it, and how long they kept it. Established May 1, 1957.

Current Champion
Jeremiah Plunkett
Since Jun 1, 2024 · 742+ days
123
Total Reigns
71
Champions
4,816
Longest (days)
Tor Yamata
13×
Most Reigns
Dutch Mantel

Full Title Lineage

#ChampionWonReign
123 Jeremiah Plunkett CURRENT Jun 1, 2024 742+ days
122 Jerry Lawler3rd reign ↳ The title was deactivated when it merged with the AWA International and AWA Southern Heavyweight Championships to form the CWA Heavyweight Championship; the NWA revived it in 2024. Dec 7, 1987House showMemphis, TN 343 days
121 Jeff Jarrett5th reign Nov 9, 1987House showMemphis, TN 28 days
120 Jimmy Jack Funk He previously held the title under the ring name Jesse Barr. Nov 2, 1987House showMemphis, TN 7 days
119 Jeff Jarrett4th reign Sep 14, 1987House showMemphis, TN 49 days
118 Carl Fergie Sep 7, 1987House showMemphis, TN 7 days
117 Jeff Jarrett3rd reign Jun 22, 1987House showMemphis, TN 77 days
116 Moondog Spot3rd reign Jun 8, 1987House showMemphis, TN 14 days
115 Jeff Jarrett2nd reign Jun 1, 1987House showMemphis, TN 7 days
114 Moondog Spot2nd reign Won the title via disqualification. May 25, 1987House showMemphis, TN 7 days
113 Jeff Jarrett1st reign May 11, 1987House showMemphis, TN 14 days
112 Moondog Spot1st reign Billed as champion on arrival. May 1, 1987House show 10 days
111 The Great Kabuki Defeated Paul Diamond in a tournament final for the vacant title. ↳ The title was vacated when The Great Kabuki left the CWA. Nov 1, 1986House showJackson, TN 44 days
110 Big Bubba ↳ The title was vacated for undocumented reasons. Oct 27, 1986House showMemphis, TN 5 days
109 Tracy Smothers2nd reign Oct 20, 1986House showMemphis, TN 7 days
108 Boy Tony Oct 7, 1986House showMemphis, TN 13 days
107 Tracy Smothers1st reign Aug 11, 1986House showMemphis, TN 57 days
106 Dutch Mantel13th reign ↳ The title was vacated when Dutch Mantel left the CWA. Jun 18, 1986House showMemphis, TN 13 days
105 Rip Rogers May 19, 1986House showMemphis, TN 30 days
104 Dutch Mantel12th reign Apr 7, 1986House showMemphis, TN 42 days
103 Buddy Landel4th reign Feb 18, 1986House showMemphis, TN 48 days
102 Dirty Rhodes Feb 2, 1986House showMemphis, TN 16 days
101 Buddy Landel3rd reign Jan 21, 1986House showLouisville, KY 12 days
100 Koko Ware3rd reign Nov 16, 1985House showMemphis, TN 66 days
99 Tom Branch Nov 1, 1985House showKansas City, MO 15 days
98 Harley Race3rd reign Oct 7, 1985House showMemphis, TN 25 days
97 Koko Ware2nd reign Sep 1, 1985House showNorth Vernon, IN 36 days
96 Bota the Witch Doctor Aug 15, 1985House showRichmond, IN 17 days
95 Koko Ware1st reign Defeated Bota the Witch Doctor in a tournament final for the vacant title. Aug 12, 1985House showMemphis, TN 3 days
94 Jerry Lawler2nd reign ↳ The title was vacated when Jerry Lawler won the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship. Jul 15, 1985House showMemphis, TN 14 days
93 Man Mountain Link Awarded the title. Jul 1, 1985House show 14 days
92 Jimmy Valiant Feb 11, 1985House showMemphis, TN 140 days
91 Mike Sharpe Dec 17, 1984House show 56 days
90 Korstia Korchenko Defeated Jacques Rougeau to win the title. Nov 19, 1984House showMemphis, TN 28 days
89 Jerry Lawler1st reign Apr 9, 1984House showLexington, KY 224 days
88 Randy Savage3rd reign Dec 26, 1983House showMemphis, TN 105 days
87 Terry Taylor Dec 1, 1983House showLexington, KY 25 days
86 Buddy Landel2nd reign Sep 10, 1983House showMemphis, TN 82 days
85 Stagger Lee2nd reign Unmasked before the match, revealing Koko Ware. Aug 22, 1983House showMemphis, TN 19 days
84 Buddy Landel1st reign Aug 15, 1983House showMemphis, TN 7 days
83 Dutch Mantel11th reign Jul 18, 1983House showMemphis, TN 28 days
82 Frankie Laine Jul 4, 1983House showMemphis, TN 14 days
81 Stagger Lee1st reign Mar 7, 1983House showMemphis, TN 119 days
80 Bobby Eaton10th reign A loser-leaves-town match; Sweet Brown Sugar later returned as the masked Stagger Lee. Feb 28, 1983House showMemphis, TN 7 days
79 Sweet Brown Sugar Feb 21, 1983House showTupelo, MS 7 days
78 Bobby Eaton9th reign Defeated Sweet Brown Sugar in a tournament final for the vacant title. Feb 14, 1983House showMemphis, TN 7 days
77 Bobby Eaton8th reign The primary source leaves this reign unnamed; other title histories identify the champion as Bobby Eaton. ↳ The title was vacated for undocumented reasons. Jan 10, 1983House showMemphis, TN 21 days
76 Jacques Rougeau2nd reign Jan 2, 1983House showMemphis, TN 8 days
75 Sabu the Wildman Dec 27, 1982House showMemphis, TN 6 days
74 Jacques Rougeau1st reign Dec 5, 1982House showMemphis, TN 22 days
73 Apocalypse Nov 29, 1982House showMemphis, TN 6 days
72 Dutch Mantel10th reign Nov 22, 1982House showMemphis, TN 7 days
71 Jesse Barr Nov 15, 1982House showMemphis, TN 7 days
70 Dutch Mantel9th reign Sep 6, 1982House showMemphis, TN 70 days
69 Bill Dundee Jul 24, 1982House showMemphis, TN 44 days
68 Bobby Eaton7th reign Jul 12, 1982House showMemphis, TN 12 days
67 Dutch Mantel8th reign Jul 5, 1982House showMemphis, TN 7 days
66 King Cobra May 31, 1982House showMemphis, TN 35 days
65 Bobby Eaton6th reign May 24, 1982House showMemphis, TN 7 days
64 Dutch Mantel7th reign May 17, 1982House showMemphis, TN 7 days
63 The Dream Machine Won the revived title. Apr 19, 1982House showMemphis, TN 28 days
62 Dutch Mantel6th reign ↳ The title was vacated and deactivated after Dutch Mantel won the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship; it was revived in 1982. Sep 21, 1981House showMemphis, TN 35 days
61 Steve Keirn2nd reign Sep 7, 1981House showMemphis, TN 14 days
60 Bugsy McGraw Aug 24, 1981House showMemphis, TN 14 days
59 Steve Keirn1st reign Jul 6, 1981House showMemphis, TN 49 days
58 Ron Bass The Continental Wrestling Association took control of the vacant title and awarded it to Bass. Jul 1, 1981House showSeymour, IN 5 days
57 Bobby Eaton5th reign ↳ The title was vacated when NWA Mid-America ceased operating and Jerry Jarrett gained control of it. Jul 23, 1980House showNashville, TN 70 days
56 Robert Gibson Jun 25, 1980House showNashville, TN 28 days
55 The Great Togo May 15, 1980House showLouisville, KY 41 days
54 Rocky Johnson May 10, 1980House showChattanooga, TN 5 days
53 Roger Mason Apr 5, 1980House showChattanooga, TN 35 days
52 Steve Travis Apr 1, 1980House showLexington, KY 4 days
51 Tojo Yamamoto Feb 25, 1980House showVersailles, IN 36 days
50 Bobby Eaton4th reign Feb 20, 1980House showMadison, IN 5 days
49 Gorgeous George Jr. Feb 17, 1980House showChattanooga, TN 3 days
48 Bobby Eaton3rd reign Dec 1, 1979House showMiami, FL 78 days
47 Chris Colt2nd reign Nov 25, 1979House showNashville, TN 6 days
46 Bobby Eaton2nd reign Oct 24, 1979House showNashville, TN 32 days
45 Dutch Mantel5th reign Oct 20, 1979House showChattanooga, TN 4 days
44 Dennis Condrey Jun 2, 1979House showChattanooga, TN 140 days
43 Ron Garfield May 23, 1979House showNashville, TN 10 days
42 Chris Colt1st reign Apr 29, 1979House showNashville, TN 24 days
41 Bobby Eaton1st reign Feb 1, 1979House show 87 days
40 Randy Savage2nd reign Nov 11, 1978House showNashville, TN 82 days
39 Dutch Mantel4th reign Nov 11, 1978House showNashville, TN <1 day
38 Mexican Angel Won a tournament for the vacant title. Sep 20, 1978House showNashville, TN 52 days
37 Blue Yankee ↳ The title was vacated after a match between Blue Yankee and Dutch Mantel. Aug 12, 1978House showChattanooga, TN 20 days
36 Dutch Mantel3rd reign Jul 22, 1978House showChattanooga, TN 21 days
35 Whipper Watson Jr. Jul 12, 1978House showNashville, TN 10 days
34 Dutch Mantel2nd reign May 28, 1978House showChattanooga, TN 45 days
33 Don Garfield May 21, 1978House showChattanooga, TN 7 days
32 Dutch Mantel1st reign Mar 26, 1978House showChattanooga, TN 56 days
31 Randy Savage1st reign Jan 3, 1978House showBirmingham, AL 82 days
30 Don Kent4th reign Dec 10, 1977House showChattanooga, TN 24 days
29 Lanny Poffo Oct 9, 1977House showChattanooga, TN 62 days
28 Jackie Fargo3rd reign ↳ The title was vacated when Jackie Fargo was injured. May 28, 1977House showChattanooga, TN 123 days
27 The Executioner Apr 15, 1977House showHuntsville, AL 43 days
26 Ken Lucas Feb 13, 1977House showChattanooga, TN 61 days
25 Russian Stomper Jan 1, 1977House showMadison, IN 43 days
24 Tommy Rich Oct 11, 1976House showBirmingham, AL 82 days
23 Roger Kirby2nd reign Oct 3, 1976House showChattanooga, TN 8 days
22 Bob Armstrong3rd reign Sep 25, 1976House showChattanooga, TN 8 days
21 Big Bad John Sep 8, 1976House showNashville, TN 17 days
20 Bob Armstrong2nd reign Aug 14, 1976House showChattanooga, TN 25 days
19 Roger Kirby1st reign Jun 14, 1976House showBirmingham, AL 61 days
18 Tommy Gilbert Jun 10, 1976House show 4 days
17 Phil Hickerson Apr 29, 1976House showLouisville, KY 42 days
16 Jackie Fargo2nd reign Dec 22, 1975House show 129 days
15 Bob Armstrong1st reign Oct 13, 1975House showMemphis, TN 70 days
14 Harley Race2nd reign Sep 9, 1975House showMemphis, TN 34 days
13 Magnificent Zulu Sep 1, 1975House show 8 days
12 Harley Race1st reign Jul 1, 1975House show 62 days
11 Luke Graham2nd reign May 7, 1975House showNashville, TN 55 days
10 Don Kent3rd reign Apr 1, 1975House showLouisville, KY 36 days
9 Luke Graham1st reign Feb 5, 1975House showNashville, TN 55 days
8 Don Kent2nd reign Jan 15, 1975House show 21 days
7 Jackie Fargo1st reign Jan 4, 1975House showChattanooga, TN 11 days
6 Don Kent1st reign Oct 1, 1974House show 95 days
5 Tony Charles Title history is unrecorded for much of this reign. Jun 1, 1972House show 852 days
4 Len Rossi Jul 1, 1971House show 336 days
3 Tor Yamata Title history is largely unrecorded across this era; the listed reign spans the gap to the next documented change. Apr 24, 1958House showChattanooga, TN 4,816 days
2 Mighty Atlas Apr 1, 1958House show 23 days
1 Buddy Rogers The inaugural champion; title history is unrecorded for much of the early territorial era. May 1, 1957House show 335 days

A storied regional title of the Tennessee and Alabama territory, the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship began in 1957 with Buddy Rogers under Nick Gulas's NWA Mid-America. It was abandoned in 1980 when Jerry Jarrett split off to form the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association, which revived it in 1981, and was deactivated in 1988 when it merged into the CWA Heavyweight Championship. Dutch Mantel holds a record thirteen reigns across the territorial era. After 35 years dormant, the modern NWA revived the title in 2024, with Jeremiah Plunkett becoming the first champion in over three decades. Much of the early lineage is sparsely documented.

NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship — FAQ

Jeremiah Plunkett is the current NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship, having won the title on Jun 1, 2024.

Buddy Rogers was the inaugural NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship, winning it on May 1, 1957 at House show.

Dutch Mantel has the most reigns with 13.

Tor Yamata's reign beginning Apr 24, 1958 is the longest at 4,816 days.

There have been 123 reigns across 71 different champions since the title was established.

← All current champions