10 of the best NWA/WCW Television Champions of all time.
A unique experiment resulted in some great champions and reigns. Here are ten standouts.
The NWA world television championship was envisioned by JC Productions as a tertiary title to compliment its United States and World Heavyweight championships. Their reasoning was the television title could be defended more frequently than the other major titles, and match lengths would be kept to ten or fifteen minutes, often with the caveat of 'television time remaining.'
Everything about the title was meant to be television friendly. For one, it was rendered with silver on red leather, which showed up quite well on the non-HD television sets of the era. For another, the four major networks were emblazoned on the side plates. There was also a sort of unofficial accolade that went along with the belt, that the man holding it was ostensibly 'the best wrestler on television.'
The short time limits encouraged a faster paced match, and often the title was contested between journeymen wrestlers of great skill who were being groomed for the main event. The result was one of the most popular championships in wrestling history. Until its sad decline under the leadership of Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo, the World TV title was always of great interest to wrestling fans.
Here are ten of the best Television champions of all time. Some of the names may surprise you.
1.Dan Miller--first NWA Television champion.
A rough and tumble no-nonsense grappler, Miller was on the waning years of his career when he captured the first ever NWA TV title reign.
He defeated the journeyman Ole Anderson to win a tournament and crown the first ever TV champion. Though he would only hold the title for a few months, the accolade of first ever champion belongs to him.