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Professional wrestling championship From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
| 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 (WWWF) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | April 20, 1960 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Date retired | March 1, 1976 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other name(s) | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Prior to the Capitol Wrestling Corporation 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.
Over the championship's 15-year history, there have been 14 reigns between six champions and three vacancies. Buddy Rogers was the inaugural champion. Bobo Brazil held the record for most reigns at seven times, as well being the last champion. Brazil's seventh reign is the longest at 1,837 days, while The Sheik's second reign is the shortest at 21 days. Brazil was the oldest champion at 46 years old, while Pedro Morales was the youngest at 28 years old.
| 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. Defended the title against Arnold Skaaland on this day on a card in Bridgeport, Connecticut. | [1] |
| — | Vacated | June 30, 1961 | — | — | — | — | Buddy 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, PA | 1 | 31 | [2][1] | |
| 4 | Bobo Brazil | July 9, 1963 | House Show | Philadelphia, PA | 2 | 64 | [2][1] | |
| 5 | Johnny Barend | September 11, 1963 | House Show | Landover, MD | 2 | 41 | [2][1] | |
| 6 | Bobo Brazil | October 22, 1963 | House Show | Quakertown, PA | 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, NJ | 4 | 29 | [2][1] | |
| 9 | The Sheik | September 22, 1967 | House Show | Detroit, MI | 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, MA | 2 | 21 | [2][1] | |
| 12 | Bobo Brazil | February 10, 1969 | House Show | Washington D.C. | 6 | 687 | [2][1] | |
| — | Vacated | December 29, 1970 | — | — | — | — | The championship was vacated after Bobo Brazil sustained an injury. | [2][1] |
| 13 | Pedro Morales | January 7, 1971 | House Show | Los Angeles, CA | 1 | 32 | Defeated Freddie Blassie in a tournament final to win the vacant championship. | [2][1] |
| — | Vacated | February 8, 1971 | — | — | — | — | Pedro Morales vacated the 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 | — | — | — | — | Bobo Brazil was the final champion after the WWWF abandoned the title on March 1, 1976. Seven weeks later on April 21, Brazil won the NWA Detroit version of the title. | [2][1] |
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| 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 |
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