National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) History

Founded in 1948 by Paul "Pinkie" George and other promoters, the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) was the premier governing body for pro wrestling in North America for decades. It operated through a territorial system, where members recognized a single world heavyweight champion, collaborated on booking, and controlled specific regions. 

Key historical points include:

• Establishment & Structure: Founded to unify fragmented wrestling territories under one banner, the NWA Board of Directors controlled the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.
• Golden Age (1950s–1970s): The NWA dominated the industry, expanding globally to Japan, Mexico, and Canada. Key champions like Lou Thesz helped establish the prestige of the title.
• Territorial Decline: The 1980s saw the rise of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), which broke the territorial model by going national. Many NWA territories closed or merged during this time.
• Modern Era: In 2017, the NWA was purchased by Billy Corgan, evolving from a governing body into a standalone promotion. 

The NWA Championship started with Orville Brown on July 14, 1948. 

By early 1985, with Ric Flair as Champion, Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) controlled many NWA territories attempting to go national, thus limiting championship matches primarily to performers under contract with JCP. On November 21, 1988, again while Ric Flair was Champion, the NWA's flagship promotion Jim Crockett Promotions was purchased by Ted Turner and renamed World Championship Wrestling (WCW). This further limited championship matches to performers primarily within the company. Yet again while Ric Flair was Champion, WCW withdrew from the NWA on September 1, 1993. The NWA declared their championship vacant.

Shane Douglas won the vacant NWA Championship on August 27, 1994. Douglas, immediately upon winning it, refused the NWA championship and declared the ECW Championship, of which he was already in possession, to be a world championship. ECW then withdrew from the NWA.

In June 2002, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) worked out a licensing deal with the NWA to control and feature the NWA Championship. On June 19, 2002, Shamrock defeated Malice to win the title. Dan Severn was stripped of the title after refusing to defend the championship on the inaugural NWA: Total Nonstop Action pay-per-view. Christian Cage won the NWA Championship on January 14, 2007, but was stripped of the championship when the NWA ended its business agreement with TNA.

On October 1, 2017, Billy Corgan's company Lightning One, Inc. purchased the NWA, including the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. During this reign, the NWA's licensing model was abolished and championship matches were limited primarily to performers under contract with Lightning One, Inc. Additionally, the title was renamed to the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship. 

Sidenote: both Adam Pearce and Nick Aldis were NWA World Champions.