| Wrestler: |
Times: |
Date: |
Location: |
Notes: |
| Ken Fenelon |
1 |
ca. 1945 |
N/A |
Fenelon was awarded the title by Pinkie George, founder of the NWA. |
| Marshall Estep |
1 |
May 30, 1945 |
Toronto, IA |
| Larry Tillman |
1 |
January 1, 1946 |
Unknown |
| Ken Fenelon |
2 |
March 11, 1946 |
Des Moines, IA |
| Marshall Estep |
2 |
January 6, 1947 |
Des Moines, IA |
| Ray Steele |
1 |
March 24, 1947 |
Des Moines, IA |
| Marshall Estep |
3 |
April 28, 1947 |
Des Moines, IA |
| Billy Goelz |
1 |
ca. March 16, 1948 |
Unknown |
| Leroy McGuirk |
1 |
December 28, 1949 |
Des Moines, IA |
Unifies National Boxing/Wrestling Association's World Junior Heavyweight Championship into National Wrestling Alliance title. |
| Vacated on February 7, 1950 when McGuirk is blinded in a car accident. |
| Verne Gagne |
1 |
November 13, 1950 |
Tulsa, OK |
Defeats Sonny Myers in a tournament final. |
| Danny McShain |
1 |
November 19, 1951 |
Memphis, TN |
| Baron Michele Leone |
1 |
August 1953 |
Los Angeles, CA |
| Ed Francis |
1 |
1956 |
Tulsa, OK |
| Mike DiBiase |
1 |
1956 |
Oklahoma City, OK |
| Mike Clancy |
1 |
1957 |
Little Rock, AR |
| Fred Blassie |
1 |
March 26, 1957 |
Nashville, TN |
| Immediately held up due to a controversial finish. |
| Mike Clancy |
2 |
April 9, 1957 |
Nashville, TN |
Defeated Fred Blassie in a rematch. |
| Angelo Savoldi |
1 |
February 1958 |
Oklahoma City, OK |
| Dory Funk |
1 |
June 5, 1958 |
Amarillo, TX |
| Angelo Savoldi |
2 |
July 11, 1958 |
Oklahoma City, OK |
| Ivan the Terrible |
1 |
February 20, 1959 |
Oklahoma City, OK |
| Angelo Savoldi |
3 |
March 6, 1959 |
Oklahoma City, OK |
| Danny Hodge |
1 |
July 22, 1960 |
Oklahoma City, OK |
| Hiro Matsuda |
1 |
July 11, 1964 |
Tampa, FL |
| Danny Hodge |
2 |
April 23, 1965 |
Tulsa, OK |
| Lorenzo Parente |
1 |
November 23, 1965 |
Little Rock, AR |
| Danny Hodge |
3 |
ca. January 1966 |
Little Rock, AR |
| Lorenzo Parente |
2 |
January 14, 1966 |
Tulsa, OK |
| Joe McCarthy |
1 |
February 12, 1966 |
Unknown |
| Danny Hodge |
4 |
May 1966 |
Little Rock, AR |
| Umanosuke Ueda |
1 |
January 23, 1970 |
Tulsa, OK |
| Danny Hodge |
5 |
January 30, 1970 |
Unknown |
| Sputnik Monroe |
1 |
July 13, 1970 |
Shreveport, LA |
| Danny Hodge |
6 |
1970 |
Unknown |
| Roger Kirby |
1 |
May 20, 1971 |
New Orleans, LA |
| Ramon Torres |
1 |
September 10, 1971 |
Monroe, LA |
| Dr. X |
1 |
December 3, 1971 |
Oklahoma City, OK |
| Danny Hodge |
7 |
March 20, 1972 |
Shreveport, LA |
| Ken Mantell |
1 |
December 19, 1973 |
Jackson, MS |
On September 17, 1974, Mantell lost a title match to Wrestling Pro via a disputed decision; this title change is only recognized in the Gulf Coast territory. Mantell defeated Pro on November 5, 1974 to become the undisputed champion. |
| Hiro Matsuda |
2 |
June 14, 1975 |
St. Petersburg, FL |
| Danny Hodge |
8 |
March 2, 1976 |
Shreveport, LA |
| Vacated on March 15, 1976 when Hodge retires after suffering a broken neck in a car accident. |
| Pat Barret |
1 |
September 28, 1976 |
New Orleans, LA |
Defeated Nelson Royal in a tournament final. |
| Ron Starr |
1 |
December 2, 1976 |
New Orleans, LA |
| Nelson Royal |
1 |
December 6, 1976 |
New Orleans, LA |
Royal lost a title match to Chavo Guerrero in April 1978 and regained it later that year; whether these changes are official is disputed. |
| Al Madril |
1 |
June 25, 1978 |
Houston, TX |
| Nelson Royal |
2 |
July 28, 1979 |
Unknown |
Royal won via forfeit when Madril was too sick to attend a rematch. |
| Vacated in December, 1979 when Royal retires. |
| Ron Starr |
2 |
February 11, 1980 |
Tulsa, OK |
Defeated Les Thornton in a tournament final. |
| Les Thornton |
1 |
March 1980 |
Unknown |
Thornton won via forfeit. |
| Jerry Stubbs |
1 |
January 26, 1981 |
Mobile, AL |
| Les Thornton |
2 |
January 31, 1981 |
Dothan, AL |
| Terry Taylor |
1 |
June 7, 1981 |
Roanoke, VA |
| Les Thornton |
3 |
June 20, 1981 |
Roanoke, VA |
| Gerald Brisco |
1 |
September 16, 1981 |
Miami, FL |
| Les Thornton |
4 |
October 16, 1981 |
Knoxville, TN |
During a tour of Puerto Rico's World Wrestling Council, Thornton lost to and then defeated Joe Lightfoot on November 7 and 14; whether these matches were for the NWA or WWC junior heavyweight title is disputed. |
| Tiger Mask |
1 |
May 25, 1982 |
Shizuoka, Japan |
In 1982, some North American promoters declared the title vacant due to Tiger Mask wrestling for the WWF; however, during an annual meeting between the NWA and New Japan Pro Wrestling, it's announced that Tiger Mask is still recognized as the official champion. |
| Vacated on April 3, 1983 when Tiger Mask is injured two days prior. |
| Tiger Mask |
2 |
June 2, 1983 |
Tokyo, Japan |
Defeated Kuniaki Kobayashi in a decision match. |
| Vacated on August 12, 1983 when Tiger Mask retires. |
| The Cobra |
1 |
November 3, 1983 |
Tokyo, Japan |
Defeated Davey Boy Smith in a decision match. Around this time, Les Thornton is recognized by promoters in the US as champion; this unofficial lineage eventually comes to Denny Brown, who wins the title on November 22, 1984. |
| Hiro Saito |
1 |
July 28, 1985 |
Osaka, Japan |
| The Cobra |
2 |
July 28, 1985 |
Osaka, Japan |
| Vacated on August 1, 1985. |
| Denny Brown |
1 |
August 1985 |
N/A |
Recognized as champion by NWA vice president Shohei Baba due to his disputed status as champion in America. |
| Gary Royal |
1 |
August 15, 1985 |
St. Louis, MO |
| Denny Brown |
2 |
September 15, 1985 |
Atlanta, GA |
| Steve Regal |
1 |
August 2, 1986 |
Atlanta, GA |
| Denny Brown |
3 |
September 1, 1986 |
Greenville, SC |
| Lazer Tron |
1 |
March 7, 1987 |
Atlanta, GA |
| Vacated in 1987 when Tron leaves World Championship Wrestling. |
| Nelson Royal |
3 |
October 16, 1987 |
N/A |
Royal was awarded the title. Leaves WCW in 1988, at which point Masanobu Fuchi, the reigning AJPW Junior Champion, is disputably recognized as the new champion; however, Royal continues defending the title across the country until 1989, when it is abandoned. |
| Abandoned in 1989. |
| Masayoshi Motegi |
1 |
August 30, 1995 |
Tokyo, Japan |
Defeated El Hijo del Santo in a tournament final when the NWA revives the title. |
| The Great Sasuke |
1 |
August 2, 1996 |
Tokyo, Japan |
Wins an 8-man tournament to decide the first J-Crown holder, a combination of eight junior heavyweight titles. These titles are still technically considered separate, as opposed to one unified championship, and continue to be defended. |
| Ultimo Dragon |
1 |
October 11, 1996 |
Osaka, Japan |
| Jushin Liger |
1 |
January 4, 1997 |
Tokyo, Japan |
| El Samurai |
1 |
July 6, 1997 |
Sapporo, Japan |
| Shinjiro Ohtani |
1 |
August 10, 1997 |
Nagoya, Japan |
| Vacated on November 5, 1997 when the J-Crown is dematerialized. |
| Logan Caine |
1 |
March 5, 1999 |
Parkersburg, WV |
Defeated Viper in a tournament final. |
| Stripped on October 28, 1999 due to no-showing a title defense against Vince Kaplack. |
| Vince Kaplack |
1 |
October 28, 1999 |
Pittsburgh, PA |
Defeated Chris Hero as a replacement for Logan Caine. |
| Tony Kozina |
1 |
January 14, 2000 |
North Versailles, PA |
| Rockford 2000 |
1 |
July 22, 2000 |
Surrey, BC |
| Tony Kozina |
2 |
August 30, 2000 |
N/A |
Awarded when NWA officials review the tape of a title match between Rockford and Kozina on August 26. |
| Vince Kaplack |
2 |
October 14, 2000 |
Nashville, TN |
| Rocky Reynolds |
1 |
April 7, 2001 |
Pennsboro, WV |
| Mike Thunder |
1 |
May 4, 2001 |
North Richland Hills, TX |
| Lex Lovett |
1 |
August 21, 2001 |
Tampa, FL |
| Jason Rumble |
1 |
October 13, 2001 |
Saint Petersburg, FL |
Defeated Lovett, Jimmy Rave, Brandon K & BJ Turner in a five-way match. |
| Rocky Reynolds |
2 |
February 2, 2002 |
Titusville, PA |
| Jason Rumble |
2 |
February 16, 2002 |
Malden, MA |
| Rocky Reynolds |
3 |
April 6, 2002 |
Parkersburg, WV |
| Jimmy Rave |
1 |
June 29, 2002 |
Cornelia, GA |
Defeated Reynolds and Jeremy Lopez in a three-way match. |
| Star |
1 |
August 10, 2002 |
Columbia, TN |
| Jimmy Rave |
2 |
August 17, 2002 |
Columbia, TN |
| Brother Love |
1 |
January 18, 2003 |
Greenville, MS |
| Rocky Reynolds |
4 |
June 7, 2003 |
Parkersburg, WV |
| Chris Draven |
1 |
August 2, 2003 |
Parkersburg, WV |
| Jerrelle Clark |
1 |
January 10, 2004 |
Saint Petersburg, FL |
| Jason Rumble |
3 |
October 17, 2004 |
Winnipeg, MB |
Defeated Clark and Vance Desmond in a three-way match. |
| Black Tiger |
1 |
August 25, 2005 |
Columbia, TN |
Wins IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship on October 8. |
| Tiger Mask IV |
1 |
February 19, 2006 |
Tokyo, Japan |
Also wins IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. |
| Mike Quackenbush |
1 |
May 11, 2007 |
Portage, IN |
