World Title

[Guest Closer]

Hogan beat Inoki in the first IWGP League in 1983. The IWGP Heavyweight Title didn't come into existence until 1987, when the winner of that year's IWGP League (Inoki) was awarded the title.

 

 

Verfifed at wrestling-titles.com. The PWI Almanac always (at least in the first few, don't know about now) listed Hogan as the first champion in '83. I wish I could remember what they listed between then and '87.

 

I'll be damned. I never knew that.

[Perfxion 0]

I believe the lure, maybe started by Hogan, was that he KOed Inoki and a week later returned the job to make Inoki IWGP champion. The finish of the second match was the what the first match should've been.

[Bruce Blank 0]

BTW, as of last year, Hogan is also a two-time AWA Champion.

How can he be "as of last year" when the AWA folded in like 90 or 91?

 

I think that until 87 there wasn't a title as such in the IWGP but an annual tournament, a wrestling grand prix if you will which is also why the NJPW title is called the "IWGP" title isn't it?

[daileyxplanet 0]

BTW, as of last year, Hogan is also a two-time AWA Champion.

How can he be "as of last year" when the AWA folded in like 90 or 91?

 

I think that until 87 there wasn't a title as such in the IWGP but an annual tournament, a wrestling grand prix if you will which is also why the NJPW title is called the "IWGP" title isn't it?

 

The new AWA recognizes Hogan as a two time champ. Most likely to get notoriety with Zero-1, etc.

[Bruce Blank 0]

Shame that it's nothing but fiction then. Just like the "new AWA" having any kind of lineage to the original AWA is a work of fiction really too.

[daileyxplanet 0]

Well, the thing is, Hogan got "screwed" out of two title shots. AWA Stars.com says:

 

9. During this match, manager Bobby Heenan hit Hogan with a foreign object. When he attempted to throw it to Bockwinkle a second time, Hogan caught it and used it himself. Since both men had used the object, the ref allowed the victory to stand.

 

But then again, this is the same AWA that booked Horshu and Evan Karagias as champions, the latter being a two time champion.

[razazteca 0]

When Dan Severn was the NWA champ was he working for Inoki?

[Bruce Blank 0]

Well, the thing is, Hogan got "screwed" out of two title shots. AWA Stars.com says:

 

9. During this match, manager Bobby Heenan hit Hogan with a foreign object. When he attempted to throw it to Bockwinkle a second time, Hogan caught it and used it himself. Since both men had used the object, the ref allowed the victory to stand.

 

But then again, this is the same AWA that booked Horshu and Evan Karagias as champions, the latter being a two time champion.

Bleh that's just faulty logic

 

if the first foreign object shot had been caught = DQ win for Hogan

 

so no title change, nothing "screwed" there. but it's kinda funny they'll try and siphon a little spotlight off what Hogan did in the early 80ties

[pochorenella 0]

Shame that it's nothing but fiction then. Just like the "new AWA" having any kind of lineage to the original AWA is a work of fiction really too.

 

Not that I disagree with you or anything, but why can't it have the lineage? Just like the NWA Title that TNA uses has the prestigious history why can't this "New AWA" have the old AWA history? Where does one differ from the other? I know that the original AWA folded years ago so that should be enough grounds to dismiss this new Title, but wasn't the NWA Title also abandoned/ignored for some time in the past? This is an honest question since I have a hard time accepting the fact that guys like Mike Rapada or Chris Candido having won the NWA Title should be recognized as WORLD champs.

[Black Lushus 0]

niave question: how do these companies just ressurect defunct fed. titles and claim them as their own? Is there something legal done so that TNA can say "this really IS the NWA World Title, the SAME NWA World Title that died way back when" or do these feds. just say it's so and we just accept it?

[World's Worst Man 0]

TNA bought the rights to the NWA title from the NWA, so they can claim its lineage. The NWA might be rather small-time at this point, but they still have legitimate hold on their title lineage.

[daileyxplanet 0]

In response to Lushus and Poch...

 

1) There is a major difference between AWA and NWA's cases.

 

When the AWA folded, their championship was already vacant thanks to Mr. Zbysko leaving for WCW. The championship remained stagnate until AWA's re-opening in 1996 where Johnnie Stewart won the title. That is 6 years of inactivity. Mr. Stewart was champion until '99 when he lost to King Kong Bundy and it is not known if he was entirely active, as his OWW profile is quite thin.

 

When the NWA lost its champion in Ric Flair when WCW left it attempted (see: Rise and Fall of ECW) crown a champion less than a year later. Then, Chris Candido won the championship in another tournament. Henceforth, the NWA World Heavyweight Championship has been consistently to this day.

 

2) I guess in AWA and NWA/TNA's cases it's their credentials. AWA was resurrected by Dale Gagne, son of Verne Gagne. TNA was originally presented as NWA-TNA, plus, TNA has a contract until 2004.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I don't think that Dale is any way related to Verne.

[daileyxplanet 0]

Well, if he isn't, he was still employed by the original AWA, so it's still slightly plausible.

[pochorenella 0]

Thanks for that clarification, daileyxplanet.

[Papacita 0]

The International Title doesn't come into play in the count because Flair was the last NWA champ, and "became" the International champion in a horrible angle.

Are you referring to the time he beat Windham for the belt at Beach Blast 93 (which, IIRC, WCW at the time counted as his 10th reign).

[Perfxion 0]

Well, WCW ignored his two WWF title reigns then.

 

As for the NWA/TNA world championship: Flair was WCW/NWA world Champion when he was fired. Since he owned the NWA title, he kept it when he went to the WWF. WCW title was won by Luger and the NWA bought the title from Flair and did a tournament to crown a new champion. Douglas threw it to the ground and ECW was born. They did yet another one and this time Skip became NWA world Champion. The title lived as an indy/Japan prop until they stripped The Beast and Shamrock became TNA world Champion.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

I remember a radio interview conducted during WWE's RAW tour of Europe in 2003 that Flair was a guest on promoting it, he said he was really a 23-time world champion altogether, but they cut it down to 16 because it would be easier to follow since some of the unrecognized title changes happened within the same week and weren't even televised and / or recorded.

 

so Flair's "official" world title history (I copied and pasted this to my comp off WWE.com a long tme ago):

 

NWA World Heavyweight Championship (8 Times)

 

def. Dusty Rhodes, Sept. 17, 1981

 

def. Harley Race, Nov. 24, 1983 [starrcade]

 

def. Kerry von Erich, May 24, 1984

 

def. Dusty Rhodes, Aug. 7, 1986

 

def. Ron Garvin, Nov. 26, 1987 [starrcade]

 

def. Ricky Steamboat, May 7, 1989 [Wrestle War]

 

def. Sting, Jan. 11, 1991

 

def. Barry Windham, July 18, 1993 [beach Blast]

 

WCW Championship (6 Times)

 

def. Vader, Dec. 27, 1993 [starrcade]

 

def. Randy Savage, Dec. 25, 1995 [starrcade]

 

def. Randy Savage, Feb. 11, 1996 [superbrawl VI]

 

def. Hollywood Hogan, March 14, 1999 [uncensored]

 

def. Jeff Jarrett, May 15, 2000 [Monday Nitro]

 

awarded to by "WCW Commisioner" Kevin Nash, May 29, 2000 [Monday Nitro]

 

WWF Championship (2 Times)

 

by winning the 1992 Royal Rumble on Jan 19th

 

def. Randy Savage, Sept. 1, 1992