[tps_title]Controversy Over The NWA World Heavyweight Championship[/tps_title]

NWA World Heavyweight Championship (July 14th, 1948 – Present)

The NWA World Heavyweight Championship is the oldest surviving wrestling championship in the world. And it was a dispute over this championship that ostensibly contributed to the creation of the WWE, and therefore the WWE Championship.

Here’s what happened.

Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, Jess McMahon’s Capitol Wrestling Corporation controlled approximately 70% of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). But things quickly unraveled when Lou Thesz beat “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers to become NWA Champion in January 1963.

At the time, NWA World Heavyweight Championship matches were traditionally contested under 2-out-of-3 falls rules. However, the NWA made the decision to book Rogers to lose the title in one fall.

Capitol Wrestling Corporation executives took exception to the booking and seceded from the NWA. They subsequently formed the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), awarded the brand new WWWF World Heavyweight Championship to Rogers, and the rest is history.

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