| Promotion: | Vendetta Pro Wrestling, January 2015[1] - September 2017[2] |
| Created: | 1969 |
| Titleretired: | 1981 (Western States Sports) September 2017 (Vendetta Pro Wrestling) |
| Firstchamp: | Dory Funk, Sr. |
The NWA Western States Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling title in the National Wrestling Alliance's Amarillo, Texas territory, Western States Sports.[3]
The title was in use from 1969, when it replaced Amarillo's version of the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship,[4] through the promotion's 1981 closure.[5]
The title was revived in 2015 by NWA Vendetta Pro Wrestling, with a new champion being crowned via a tournament held in Santa Maria, California. This was an eight-man, single-elimination tournament, won by "Loverboy" Matt Riviera.[6] Though created as a "new" title, all previous champions have received recognition.
The original title was not related to the NWA Western States Heritage Championship, which was used in Jim Crockett Promotions from 1987 to 1989, though the 2015 version does use the same title belt design, and as such, is often referred to as the Western States "Heritage" Championship.[7]
Title retired once again as of September 8, 2017 when titleholder Rik Luxury defeated Vendetta Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Champion Apostle Judah Mathew to unify the two titles into the new Vendetta Pro Wrestling Western States Heavyweight Championship.
Silver areas in the history indicate periods of unknown lineage. An indicates that a title changes occurred no later than the listed date.
| width=20% | Wrestler: | width=0% | Times: | width=17% | Date: | width=20% | Location: | width=43% | Notes: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dory Funk, Sr. | 1 | June 12, 1969 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Tex McKenzie | 1 | November 13, 1969 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| The Beast | 1 | November 24, 1969 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Ricky Romero | 1 | February 2, 1970 | |||||||
| Title vacated on February 20, 1970 when Romero wins the Rocky Mountain Heavyweight Championship. | |||||||||
| Terry Funk | 1 | March 19, 1970 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| The Beast | 2 | March 1970 | |||||||
| Terry Funk | 2 | May 7, 1970 | Amarillo, Texas | [8] | |||||
| Bull Ramos | 1 | July 1, 1970 | Lubbock, Texas | [9] | |||||
| Terry Funk | 3 | July 7, 1970 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Pak Song | 1 | July 16, 1970 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| The Spartan (Ricky Hunter) | 1 | February 25, 1971 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| The Spartan (Ricky Hunter) | 2 | April 14, 1971 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Terry Funk | 4 | April 29, 1971 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Mr. Wrestling (Gordon Nelson) | 1 | June 21, 1971 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Terry Funk | 5 | June 28, 1971 | |||||||
| Ciclón Negro | 1 | July 6, 1971 | |||||||
| Terry Funk | 6 | August 3, 1971 | Odessa, Texas | ||||||
| Pak Song | 2 | August 5, 1971 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Terry Funk | 7 | August 12, 1971 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Ciclón Negro | 2 | August 26, 1971 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Dory Funk | 2 | September 9, 1971 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Title vacated when Funk is injured during the match. Ciclón Negro and Terry Funk wrestle to a draw for the vacant title on September 16, 1971 in Amarillo, Texas. | |||||||||
| Ciclón Negro | 3 | September 30, 1971 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Lord Alfred Hayes | 1 | December 2, 1971 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Duke Myers | 1 | March 13, 1972 | Abilene, Texas | ||||||
| Lord Alfred Hayes | 2 | March 20, 1972 | |||||||
| Ciclón Negro | 4 | June 13, 1972 | |||||||
| Lord Alfred Hayes | 3 | June 20, 1972 | Odessa, Texas | ||||||
| Ciclón Negro | 5 | June 29, 1972 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Lord Alfred Hayes | 4 | July 6, 1972 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Dory Funk | 3 | August 16, 1972 | Lubbock, Texas | ||||||
| Lord Alfred Hayes | 5 | August 21, 1972 | |||||||
| Ciclón Negro | 6 | August 31, 1972 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Terry Funk | 8 | November 1972 | |||||||
| Karl Von Steiger | 1 | 1972 | |||||||
| Ricky Romero | 2 | 1973 | |||||||
| King Curtis Iaukea | 1 | 1973 | |||||||
| Ciclón Negro | 7 | July 6, 1973 | Abilene, Texas | ||||||
| Terry Funk | 9 | July 10, 1973 | |||||||
| Kung Fu Lee | 1 | October 18, 1973 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Title held up Against Terry Funk. | |||||||||
| Terry Funk | 10 | October 25, 1973 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Buck Robley | 1 | January 24, 1974 | |||||||
| Terry Funk | 11 | March 3, 1974 | Clovis, New Mexico | ||||||
| Karl Von Steiger | 2 | March 1974 | |||||||
| Bob Backlund | 1 | March 9, 1974 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Dick Murdoch | 1 | May 10, 1974 | |||||||
| Bob Backlund | 2 | May 22, 1974 | Lubbock, Texas | ||||||
| Karl Von Steiger | 3 | May 23, 1974 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Dick Murdoch | 2 | May 30, 1974 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Title vacant in June 1974 after winning the NWA International Title. | |||||||||
| Siegfried Stanke | 1 | July 4, 1974 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Akio Sato | 1 | August 16, 1974 | |||||||
| Siegfried Stanke | 2 | August 24, 1974 | |||||||
| Bob Backlund | 3 | September 4, 1974 | |||||||
| Killer Karl Kox | 1 | September 10, 1974 | Odessa, Texas | ||||||
| Bob Backlund | 4 | September 11, 1974 | Lubbock, Texas | ||||||
| Jim Dillon | 1 | September 19, 1974 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Terry Funk | 12 | October 17, 1974 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Title vacated when Funk left for Florida in April 1975. | |||||||||
| Bobby Jaggers | 1 | June 11, 1975 | Lubbock, Texas | ||||||
| Ray Candy | 1 | July 30, 1975 | Lubbock, Texas | ||||||
| Bruiser Brody | 1 | October 17, 1975 | Lubbock, Texas | ||||||
| Scott Casey | 1 | December 18, 1975 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Jerry Brisco | 1 | April 16, 1976 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Scott Casey | 2 | June 4, 1976 | Lubbock, Texas | ||||||
| Tank Patton | 1 | October 13, 1976 | Abilene, Texas | ||||||
| Super Destroyer | 1 | February 24, 1977 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Doug Somers | 1 | April 7, 1977 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Bull Ramos | 2 | September 1977 | |||||||
| Ricky Romero | 3 | December 15, 1977 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Roger Kirby | 1 | April 14, 1978 | |||||||
| Ricky Romero | 4 | July 21, 1978 | |||||||
| Title vacated. | |||||||||
| Bob Morgan | 1 | February 28, 1980 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Larry Lane | 1 | March 6, 1980 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Bob Morgan | 2 | March 7, 1980 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Title vacated. | |||||||||
| Ricky Romero | 5 | August 27, 1981 | Amarillo, Texas | ||||||
| Title retired in 1981 when the promotion closed. Revived in 2015 by Vendetta Pro Wrestling. | |||||||||
| Matt Riviera | 1 | January 17, 2015 | Santa Maria, California | ||||||
| Jeff Jarrett | 1 | May 15, 2015 | King City, California | ||||||
| Matt Riviera | 2 | May 17, 2015 | Chowchilla, California | [10] | |||||
| Ricky Ruffin | 1 | October 30, 2015 | Santa Maria, California | ||||||
| Rik Luxury | 1 | May 20, 2016 | Santa Maria, California | ||||||
| On September 8, 2017, Luxury defeated Apostle Judah Mathew to claim his Vendetta Pro Wrestling Heavyweight title, unifying it with his NWA Western States title to form the Vendetta Pro Wrestling Western States Heavyweight Championship |
January 17, 2015 - Santa Maria, California[11]