The first recognized Texas based NWA United States Champion was Fritz Von Erich, introducing the championship to his Southwest Sports promotion as the top championship in his territory. Fritz Von Erich would go on to win the championship a record setting 20 times. At the time it was not unusual for the promoter, if he was also an active wrestler, to hold the championship multiple times, being that he would always be available to work shows and face off against various "outsiders". Fritz' last reign was on June 4, 1982 16 years after his first title victory. Rick Rude was the last WCCW American Heavyweight Champion and announced as the first WCWA World Heavyweight Champion on February 21, 1986. Jerry Lawler was the final champion, winning it on April 14, 1989, followed by the announcement that the championship had been unified with the AWA World Heavyweight Champion in September 1990. The longest confirmed reign, Fritz Von Erich's fifth reign over all, lasted from March 27, 1967 to April 5, 1968 for a total of 375 days. Von Erich's final reign was also the shortest in history, as he vacated moments after winning it in the main event of the Fritz Von Erich Retirement Show. With his last title victory Fritz became the oldest champion, at 52 years of age. Fritz's second-youngest son, Mike Von Erich, was the youngest champion at just (20 years, 5 months, 2 days). At , Mike was the lightest champion, while King Kong Bundy, tipping the scale at was the heaviest.
