With its roots dating back to 1905 and George Hackenshmidt, on July 14, 1948, Orville Brown became the first-ever World Champion for the National Wrestling Alliance. With 74 years of heritage and lineage, it is the oldest World title in the history of the sport, predating the WWE World title by 15 years. Sometimes it truly was the richest prize you could win in wrestling, but in the past thirty years, the NWA wasn’t anywhere near the glory it once was.
That doesn’t mean that some NWA Champions haven’t gone down in history as some of the best wrestlers ever, no matter the era. Generally, only the best get to be a part of WrestleMania someday. Even if they were already part of The Show Of Shows, some superstars got the chance to return to WrestleMania, now as a former NWA Champion.
13 Terry & Dory (Hoss) Funk, Jr. - WrestleMania 2
To date, The Funk Brothers are the only pair of wrestling brothers to hold the NWA Championship. Terry had defeated Jack Brisco in 1975 and his brother Dory pulled off the same feat six years earlier when he defeated Gene Kiniski in 1969. Together as a team, Terry and Dory (working as Hoss) teamed up to defeat the makeshift team of the Junkyard Dog and Tito Santana at WrestleMania 2.
12 Harley Race - WrestleMania 3
One of the true legends of professional wrestling, Harley Race was well respected by anyone who ever laced up a pair of boots. As a seven-time NWA Champion, Harley was able to do the honors for Ric Flair at the inaugural Starrcade.
Several years later, Harley was the King of WWE. He did battle with the Junkyard Dog at WrestleMania 3, and after his victory, attempted to get the dog to kiss his royal feet.
11 Rugged Ronnie Garvin - WrestleMania 5
A superstar like Rugged Ronnie Garvin was a throwback to another era, even when arrived in WWE in the late-eighties. The small but stout barrel-chested no nonsense competitor would have fit right in wrestling guys your grandfather loved like Edouard Carpentier and Bruno Sammartino. He actually had a decent feud with Ric Flair before defeating him for the NWA Championship. Afterward, he took on Dino Bravo at WrestleMania 5 in a losing effort.
10 Dusty Rhodes - WrestleMania 6
For seemingly a thousand years, Dusty Rhodes was not just a thorn in the side of The Four Horsemen, but one of the bookers that had worked for WWE's competition and came up with several unique ideas to counter program against them. However, mid-1989 he was one of the first big names to jump ship to WWE. He was rewarded with polka dots, Sapphire, and the very-first mixed tag team match against The Macho King and Sensational Queen Sherri at WrestleMania 6 for his trouble. In American Dream fashion, he was able to get it all over.
9 Kerry Von Erich - WrestleMania 7
While he tapped to defeat Ric Flair due to the untimely demise of his brother, David, that didn’t mean that Kerry Von Erich was any less capable. Unfortunately, that prior sentence is generally how his NWA Championship reign is regarded.
However, he was still the only Von Erich to get to WWE. At his first WrestleMania, he was able to make short work of the Canadian Strongman Dino Bravo at WrestleMania 7.
8 Ric Flair - WrestleMania 8
Quite possibly the most well-known and certainly final NWA touring World Champion was Ric Flair. After years of being the biggest name in wrestling not associated with WWE, and after a contract dispute, Flair decided it was time to head to WWE. He got the megastar treatment and was able to walk into his first WrestleMania not just as a former NWA Champion but as the defending WWE Champion.
7 Barry Windham - WrestleMania 13
Barry Windham is a rare breed of talent. Similar to another second-generation star, Randy Orton, Windham was just so smooth in the ring, that when he was on there was simply no one better. After his brief stint in WWE, teaming up with brother-in-law Mike Rotunda, which including losing the Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania, he headed back to the NWA where he became a Horsemen and eventual champion. After his run at the top, he came back to WWE and formed The New Blackjacks with Bradshaw, making his return at WrestleMania 13.
6 Sabu - WrestleMania 23
Unfortunately, by the year 2000, the once richest prize in all the land had lost a lot of luster. But the NWA Championship was still being defended. Sabu had won it at a house show from indy star, The Colorado Kid. Just a few years later, The Extreme Icon would make his one and only WrestleMania appearance in his hometown of Detroit at WrestleMania 23. He teamed up with fellow ECW alums, RVD, Sandman, and Tommy Dreamer to defeat The New Breed.
5 Ricky Steamboat - WrestleMania 25
One of WrestleMania’s earliest heroes was Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. He and the Macho Man were the first match to steal the show at WrestleMania and The Dragon became the Intercontinental Champion. After his brief run with the title, he headed to the NWA and had a now classic trilogy of matches with Ric Flair over the NWA Championship. Years after retiring, The Dragon returned to breath fire once more at WrestleMania 25, as part of a trio of legends attempting to shut Chris Jericho up. Wouldn't you know it, once again, just like against Randy Savage, Steamboat stole the show.
4 Christian - WrestleMania 26
After becoming a tag team legend at WrestleMania, Christian set off on his own. As a singles star, he landed in TNA during the promotion’s early years and was able to defeat Jeff Jarrett at Against All Odds 2006 to become NWA Champion. He would find his way back to WWE in time for WrestleMania 26, where he was part of the Money In The Bank ladder match.
3 R-Truth - WrestleMania 26
WWE fans love R-Truth for his ability to put smiles on faces, but back in 2002, Ron Killings was thought of more as a formidable foe than a court jester. He even defeated premier NWA TNA Champion Ken Shamrock to claim his first NWA title, becoming the first Black man to do so in the process. Like Christian, he also returned to the WWE for WrestleMania 26, where he opened the show, teaming with John Morrison against Show-Miz.
2 Sting - WrestleMania 31
Sting is the only superstar to have won both the TNA and Crockett / WCW versions of the NWA Championship. With his reigns being 16 years apart, The Stinger still hadn’t stepped foot in a WWE ring until WrestleMania 31, where he finally made his long-awaited debut.
Unfortunately, his match with Triple H became a moment of consternation for fans instead of a triumphant one.
1 AJ Styles - WrestleMania 32
Perhaps it’s fitting that the last NWA Champion to work a WrestleMania is TNA’s first homegrown star. From the moment that the weekly TNA PPV specials began, it was clear that AJ Styles was being groomed to be the stalwart of TNA. He cemented his name by becoming TNA Champion, defeating Jeff Jarrett and feuding with him. It would take 13 more years for Styles to make the jump to WWE, debuting at the biggest WrestleMania of all time in a losing effort against Chris Jericho, but it was also a sign of things to come for Styles.