5.1. What was the NWA and how did it get started?
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This article is from the Pro-Wrestling FAQ, by macika@emunix.emich.edu (Dominic Macika) with numerous contributions by others.
5.1. What was the NWA and how did it get started?
The NWA was and is the National Wrestling Alliance. In 1948, a
group of mid-western promoters joined forces as the NWA with the
idea of working together instead of working in competition.
Orville Brown was named the first NWA champion on July 14, 1948.
It should be noted that any attempts to trace the NWA World
Heavyweight title back further than this are necessarily
fictitious. The organization simply did not exist. Any attempt to
trace a contiguous world heavyweight title back further than this
is simply a combination of various world champions as recognized
by a number of different promoters and commissions. The myth of a
NWA title history dating back to 1905 was perpetuated in early
NWA programs, which listed just such a title history, in an
attempt to build credibility for the title. It should also be
noted that this history also omits Orville Brown. The NWA's
immediate predecessor as the most widely recognized world title
was the National Wrestling Association championship which was
held by Lou Thesz at the time of the formation of the NWA. A
title unification match was scheduled for November 25, 1949
between Thesz and Brown and it is believed that Brown was
scheduled to win that match. However, Brown suffered a career
ending injury in a car accident prior to the match. On November
27, 1949, Thesz was awarded the NWA title.
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