| Championshipname: | NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Detroit version) |
| Promotion: | Fred Kohler Enterprises Big Time Wrestling |
| Created: | September 3, 1953 |
| Mostreigns: | The Sheik (12 reigns) |
| Firstchamp: | Verne Gagne |
| Finalchamp: | The Sheik |
| Longestreign: | The Sheik (538 days) |
| Shortestreign: | Pampero Firpo & Bobo Brazil (7 days) |
| Oldest: | The Sheik (53 years, 298 days) |
| Youngest: | Gino Hernandez (19 years, 147 days) |
| Heaviest: | Abdullah the Butcher (430lb) |
| Lightest: | Verne Gagne (215lb) |
| Pastnames: |
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| Titleretired: | October, 1980 |
The NWA Detroit United States Heavyweight Championship was a version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship contested in Big Time Wrestling from 1959 until 1980. It was first introduced as the Chicago version of the championship and contested on shows produced by Fred Kohler Enterprises before moving to Big Time Wrestling in Detroit six years later.[1] While the National Wrestling Alliance recognized only one World Heavyweight Champion, there were multiple "NWA United States Heavyweight Champion"s, as many NWA-affiliated promotions/"territories" across the U.S. each had its own version of an "American" or "United States" championship. For most such territories -- including Detroit -- the U.S. Title was the promotion's primary singles championship. Over its history, the title was held by stars including Bobo Brazil, The Sheik, Wilbur Snyder, Johnny Valentine, and multi-time AWA World Heavyweight Champions Verne Gagne and Dick the Bruiser.
Modern Michigan-based independent wrestling promotion Xtreme Intense Championship Wrestling (XICW) has a U.S. Championship belt used on their shows that is based on the design of the Detroit version of NWA United States Heavyweight Championship.
| Wrestler: | Times: | Date: | Location: | Notes: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Chicago version) | ||||
| Verne Gagne | 1 | September 3, 1953 | Chicago, IL | Gagne was awarded the title.[2] |
| Wilbur Snyder | 1 | April 7, 1956 | Chicago, IL | |
| Hans Schmidt | 1 | October 19, 1956 | Chicago, IL | |
| Wilbur Snyder | 2 | February 19, 1957 | Chicago, IL | |
| Dick the Bruiser | 1 | December 14, 1957 | Chicago, IL | |
| Verne Gagne | 2 | April 12, 1958 | Chicago, IL | During this reign, Gagne creates his own splinter of the championship, later renaming it to the AWA United States Heavyweight Championship. |
| Wilbur Snyder | 3 | November 15, 1958 | Chicago, IL | |
| Angelo Poffo | 1 | December 27, 1958 | Cincinnati, OH | |
| Renamed NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Detroit version) | ||||
| Wilbur Snyder | 4 | May 2, 1959 | Detroit, MI | |
| Dick the Bruiser | 2 | May 23, 1959 | Detroit, MI | |
| Bob Ellis | 1 | June 2, 1960 | Windsor, Ontario | [3] |
| Dick the Bruiser | 3 | June 11, 1960 | Detroit, MI | |
| Bobo Brazil | 1 | January 28, 1961 | Detroit, MI | |
| Dick the Bruiser | 4 | February 28, 1961 | Detroit, MI | [4] |
| Fritz Von Erich | 1 | December 1, 1961 | Detroit, MI | |
| Wilbur Snyder | 5 | 1962 | ? | |
| Dick the Bruiser | 5 | June 2, 1962 | Detroit, MI | |
| Lord Athol Layton | 1 | August 4, 1962 | ? | |
| Fritz Von Erich | 2 | June 9, 1963 | Detroit, MI | |
| Lord Athol Layton | 2 | July 20, 1963 | Detroit, MI | |
| Fritz Von Erich | 3 | October 19, 1963 | Detroit, MI | |
| Johnny Valentine | 1 | June 13, 1964 | Detroit, MI | |
| The Sheik | 1 | February 6, 1965 | Detroit, MI | |
| Bobo Brazil | 2 | August 1967 | ? | |
| The Sheik | 2 | October 1967 | ? | |
| Bobo Brazil | 3 | July 29, 1971 | Detroit, MI | |
| Pampero Firpo | 1 | August 12, 1972 | Detroit, MI | |
| Bobo Brazil | 4 | August 19, 1972 | Detroit, MI | |
| Pampero Firpo | 2 | October 28, 1972 | Detroit, MI | |
| Bobo Brazil | 5 | December 23, 1972 | Detroit, MI | |
| The Sheik | 3 | December 30, 1972 | Detroit, MI | |
| Bobo Brazil | 6 | January 13, 1973 | Detroit, MI | [5] |
| The Sheik | 4 | January 27, 1973 | Detroit, MI | |
| Johnny Valentine | 2 | July 7, 1973 | Detroit, MI | |
| The Sheik | 5 | July 21, 1973 | Detroit, MI | |
| Johnny Valentine | 3 | 1973 | ? | |
| The Sheik | 6 | September 1973 | ? | |
| Tony Marino | 1 | March 2, 1974 | Detroit, MI | |
| The Sheik | 7 | March 16, 1974 | Detroit, MI | |
| Bobo Brazil | 7 | January 25, 1975 | Detroit, MI | Awarded after Sheik no-shows multiple title defenses. |
| Abdullah the Butcher | 1 | February 8, 1975 | Detroit, MI | |
| Bobo Brazil | 8 | April 19, 1975 | Detroit, MI | |
| The Sheik | 8 | July 5, 1975 | Detroit, MI | |
| Mark Lewin | 1 | September 27, 1975 | Detroit, MI | |
| "Bulldog" Don Kent | 1 | November 1, 1975 | Detroit, MI | |
| Mark Lewin | 2 | December 1975 | ? | |
| Vacated | February 14, 1976 | Title declared vacant for unknown reasons. | ||
| Bobo Brazil | 9 | April 21, 1976 | Brazil was awarded the championship when Brute Bernard was unable to compete in a tournament final due to injury. | |
| The Sheik | 9 | May 15, 1976 | Detroit, MI | |
| Pampero Firpo | 3 | July 17, 1976 | Detroit, MI | [6] |
| Don Kent | 2 | October 16, 1976 | Detroit, MI | |
| Gino Hernandez | 1 | January 8, 1977 | Detroit, MI | |
| The Sheik | 10 | April 2, 1977 | Detroit, MI | |
| Ox Baker | 1 | September 1977 | Detroit, MI | |
| The Sheik | 11 | between 1977 & 1980 | ? | |
| Mighty Igor | 1 | between 1977 & 1980 | ? | |
| The Sheik | 12 | May 3, 1980 | Detroit, MI | [7] |
| Title Retired | October 1980 | Promotion closes; Sheik takes the belt to International Championship Wrestling (ICW), where it is used as the ICW United States Heavyweight Championship. The Sheik would later claim a splinter version of the Detroit championship in Tri-State Wrestling Alliance in 1991. | ||