NWA Central States Television Championship

The NWA Central States Television Championship was the secondary singles championship for the Heart of America Sports Attractions / Central States Wrestling promotion from 1977 until the promotion ceased to exist in 1988. Because the championship is a professional wrestling championship, it is not won or lost competitively but instead by the decision of the bookers of a wrestling promotion. The championship is awarded after the chosen team "wins" a match to maintain the illusion that professional wrestling is a competitive sport.[1]

NWA Central States Television Championship
Marty Jannetty, the 24th Central States Television Champion
Details
Promotion	Heart of America Sports Attractions / Central States Wrestling
Date established	1979
Current champion(s)	Inactive
Date won	1988
Statistics First champion(s) Bob Sweetan Most reigns Art Crews (3 times) Longest reign Vinnie Valentino (500 days)[Note 1] Shortest reign Gypsy Joe (10 days)[Note 2] Oldest champion Gypsy Joe (50 years, 275 days) Youngest champion Bobby Fulton (22 years, 70 days) Heaviest champion Gene Lewis (301 lb (137 kg)) Lightest champion Marty Jannetty (219 lb (99 kg))

Title History

Key

No.	Overall reign number
Reign	Reign number for the specific champion
Days	Number of days held

No.	Champion	Championship change			Reign statistics		Notes	Ref.
		Date	Event	Location	Reign	Days
1	Bob Sweetan	1977	CSW show	[Note 3]	1	[Note 4]	Records do not indicate how Bob Sweetan became the first Television Champion
2	Black Angus Campbell	September 29, 1977	CSW show	Kansas City, Kansas	1	87
3	Bob Sweetan	December 25, 1977	CSW show	Kansas City, Kansas	2	[Note 5]
	Championship history is unrecorded from December 25, 1977 to January 1981.
4	Terry Taylor	January 1981	CSW show	[Note 3]	1	[Note 6]	Defeated Buzz Tyler in a tournament to win the vacant championship.
5	Bobby Jaggers	1981	CSW show	[Note 3]	1	[Note 7]
6	Rufus R. Jones	May 7, 1981	CSW show	Kansas City, Kansas	1	50		[2]
7	Gene Lewis	June 26, 1981	CSW show	Kansas City, Kansas	1	118
8	Dewey Robertson	October 22, 1981	CSW show	Kansas City, Kansas	1	[Note 8]		[3]
9	Sir Oliver Humperdink	1981	CSW show	[Note 3]	1	[Note 9]		[4]
10	Dewey Robertson	1981	CSW show	[Note 3]	2	[Note 10]		[3]
11	Gene Lewis	February 18, 1982	CSW show	Kansas City, Kansas	2	49
12	Mark Romero	April 8, 1982	CSW show	Kansas City, Kansas	1	49
13	Hercules Hernandez	May 27, 1982	CSW show	Kansas City, Kansas	1	200
14	Mark Romero	December 13, 1982	CSW show	Kansas City, Kansas	2	31
15	Roger Kirby	January 13, 1983	CSW show	Kansas City, Kansas	1	112		[5]
16	Jerry Brown	May 5, 1983	CSW show	Kansas City, Kansas	1	[Note 11]		[6]
17	Roger Kirby	July 1983	CSW show	[Note 3]	2	[Note 12]
18	Bobby Fulton	December 1, 1983	CSW show	Kansas City, Kansas	1	[Note 13]
—	Vacated	January 1984	—	—	—	—	Championship was vacated when Bobby Fulton left the promotion.
19	Buck Robley	January 18, 1984	CSW show	Des Moines, Iowa	1	[Note 14]
—	Vacated	March 1984	—	—	—	—	Championship was vacated when Buck Robley left the promotion.
20	Art Crews	May 21, 1984	CSW show	Topeka, Kansas	1	[Note 15]	Defeats Luke Graham in a tournament final
—	Vacated	1984	—	—	—	—	No sources document why the championship was vacated
21	Art Crews	August 21, 1984	CSW show	Topeka, Kansas	2	12
22	Gypsy Joe	September 2, 1984	CSW show	Kansas City, Kansas	1	10
23	Buzz Tyler	September 12, 1984	CSW show	Lincoln, Missouri	1	31
24	Marty Jannetty	October 13, 1984	CSW show	Des Moines, Iowa	1	145		[7]
25	Gary Royal	March 7, 1985	CSW show	Kansas City, Kansas	1	253		[8]
26	Art Crews	November 15, 1985	CSW show	Wichita, Kansas	3	[Note 16]
—	Vacated	January 1986	—	—	—	—	Championship was vacated when Art Crews left the promotion.
27	Akio Sato	March 13, 1986	CSW show	Kansas City, Kansas	1	71	Wins a 14-man battle royal, eliminating Tommy Wright.
28	Mike George	May 23, 1986	CSW show	St. Joseph, Missouri	1	[Note 17]
—	Vacated	1986	—	—	—	—	No documented explanation found for why the championship was vacated.
29	Vinnie Valentino	June 16, 1986	CSW show	Kansas City, Kansas	1	530
30	Rip Rogers	November 28, 1987	CSW show	Des Moines, Iowa	1	[Note 18]
31	Mike George	December 1987	CSW show	[Note 3]	2	[Note 19]	Awarded the Championship when Rogers left the promotion
32	Masa Chono	January 1, 1988	CSW show	Des Moines, Iowa	1	[Note 20]
—	Deactivated	N/A	—	—	—	—	Promotion closed

Reigns by combined length

Key

Symbol	Meaning
¤	The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain, so the shortest possible length is used.

Rank	Wrestler	# of reigns	Combined days
1	Vinnie Valentino	1	530
2	Gary Royal	1	253
3	Roger Kirby	2	236¤
4	Hercules Hernandez	1	200
5	Marty Jannetty	1	145
6	Masa Chono	1	91¤
7	Mark Romero	2	80
8	Akio Sato	1	71
9	Dewey Robertson	2	71¤
10	Gene Lewis	2	67
11	Art Crews	3	60¤
12	Jerry Brown	1	57¤
13	Rufus R. Jones	1	50
14	Buck Robley	1	43¤
15	Bobby Fulton	1	31¤
16	Buzz Tyler	1	31
17	Black Angus Campbell	1	29
18	Gypsy Joe	1	10
19	Rip Rogers	1	3¤
20	Bob Sweetan	2	2¤
21	Mike George	2	2¤
22	Bobby Jaggers	1	1¤
23	Oliver Humperdink	1	1¤
24	Terry Taylor	1	1¤

Footnotes

1. With gaps in the championship history it is possible someone else held the championship for a longer period of time but that has not been verified.
2. With gaps in the championship history it is possible someone else held the championship for a shorter period of time but that has not been verified.
3. The location of the match was not captured as part of the championship documentation.
4. The date the championship was won has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 271 days
5. The date the championship was lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 1,133 days
6. The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 125 days
7. The date the championship was won has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 125 days
8. The date the championship was lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 69 days
9. The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 68 days
10. The date the championship was won has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 49 days and 117days
11. The date the championship was lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 57 days and 86 days
12. The date the championship was won has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 124 days and 153 days
13. The date the championship was lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 31 days and 61 days
14. The date the championship was lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 43 days and 73 days
15. The date the championship was lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 91 days
16. The date the championship was WON/ost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 47 days and 77 days
17. The date the championship was lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 23 days
18. The date the championship was lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 3 days and 33 days
19. The date the championship was won has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 31 days
20. The date the championship was abandoned has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 91 days and 120 days

References

General references

• Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "Central States Television Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. pp. 255–256. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
• "NWA Central States Television Title history". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved March 24, 2015.

Specific references

1. Ed Grabianowski. "How Pro Wrestling Works". How Stuff Works. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
2. F4W Staff (May 7, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (May 7): Jeff Jarrett ends David Arquette's WCW title reign, Nick Bockwinkel Vs. Ray Stevens". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
3. Robertson, Dewey; Meredith Renwick (2006). Bang Your Head: The Real Story of The Missing Link. ECW Press. ISBN 1-55022-727-0.
4. Matt Mackinder (January 17, 2008). "Sir Oliver Humperdink recalls career of yesteryear". Slam! Wrestling. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
5. Hoops, Brian (January 13, 2019). "Pro wrestling history (01/13): TNA Genesis 2013". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
6. F4W Staff (May 5, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (May 5): Bruno Vs. Gorilla in Puerto Rico, 2nd annual Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
7. Greg Oliver and Steve Johnson (2005). "The National Era (Mid-1980s to present): The Midnight Rockers". The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-55022-683-6.
8. Hoops, Brian (March 7, 2020). "Daily Pro Wrestling history (03/07): Bruno Sammartino vs. Giant Baba". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved March 8, 2020.

See also

• National Wrestling Alliance
• Central States Wrestling