Should the NWA retroactively recognize Rick Rude as an NWA World champion?

[One to Remember]

Do you think the NWA should recognize Rude's reign as WCW International's World champion as an NWA title reign now that their falling out with the now defunct WCW is nearly two decades behind us? Do you think it would help his legacy?

I read that as late as 2008 the NWA was still making rulings on issues pertaining to WCW and NWA titles backed by them:

In July 1992, the NWA held a tournament to crown an officially sanctioned NWA World Tag Team Championship. The tournament was held by WCW, whose World Tag Team Championship by that time was the only existing claim within the NWA and which had the most widely available television broadcasting. The tournament was won by Terry Gordy & Steve Williams. Gordy & Williams also won the WCW World Tag Team Championship in a non-tournament match on July 5, prior to the NWA tournament final and the two sets of titles remained united until September 1993, when WCW withdrew from the NWA, vacating the NWA World Tag Team Championship.

The NWA title belts were paid for by WCW and after the withdrawal from the NWA, the belts were continued to be used for the WCW World Tag Team Championship. The NWA had to pay for new belts, which were later used in TNA until TNA and the NWA split on May 13, 2007. As of January 17, 2008 the NWA withdrew its recognition of every tag team champion in WCW

The NWA retroactively stripped the NWA Tag team champions from 1992-5 of all recognition and I felt that was unfair because no NWA World champion from 1991-3 was stripped of recognition.

I think it would be great to be able to definitively say Rick Rude was a former World heavyweight champion, how about you all?

 

[ServantofTwilight]

No. As you you yourself have shown in your other thread about the NWA and WCW world titles Rude never actually won the NWA world title. WCW and the NWA parted ways in early Sep 1993, weeks before Rude would defeat Flair at Fall Brawl. As you have said WCW had lost the right to refer to the title as the NWA world championship, which is why at the PPV they refered to it as only 'The Big Gold Belt'. It would then be known as WCW International World Heavyweight Championship, later shortened to the WCW International World Championship.

So no, Rude never won the NWA title and should not be given recognition as a former champ.

 

[Trill Co$by]

No. As you you yourself have shown in your other thread about the NWA and WCW world titles Rude never actually won the NWA world title. WCW and the NWA parted ways in early Sep 1993, weeks before Rude would defeat Flair at Fall Brawl. As you have said WCW had lost the right to refer to the title as the NWA world championship, which is why at the PPV they refered to it as only 'The Big Gold Belt'. It would then be known as WCW International World Heavyweight Championship, later shortened to the WCW International World Championship.

So no, Rude never won the NWA title and should not be given recognition as a former champ.

Pretty much that... I mean if the Big Gold Belt was indication of the NWA title, then they might as well start putting all of the WWE World Heavyweight Champions on their title list...

Besides, after Flair & WCW split from NWA, the NWA went on to crown their own world champion in the land of Extreme... Also, they would start to use the Dome World Championship, which is honestly my favorite NWA title around.

 

[The Suplexer Perfecter]

No. When Rude won it WCW already left. Flair was the last NWA champion under the WCW banner.

He is a former WCW International World Heavyweight Champion though.

 

[One to Remember]

Yes but the NWA recognized the WCW backed NWA tag team titles in 1992 then 16 years later changed its mind and when WCW chose to start taping Rude with the belt they still at that time had the right to make NWA title decisions.

 

[dadubay]

I see what you are saying. NWA really wasn't making decisions at the time, as to who held the title, and it really ceased to exist during these years. However, I think that by giving Rude the title posthumously, that would damage the legacy of the NWA and Rude. After all, they would basically be giving him the title to him because of his legacy. The International title was a joke, that the NWA has nothing to gain from.

 

[GameOver]

Flair also captured the NWA world titles around 6 times between them going back and forth not recognizing and unifying them with the then WCW world title, so should his reigns be added as gospel to his recognized 16 world titles aswell?

does it really matter, it's the past NWA has been non existant for decades.

Stats mean nothing in todays world. as a fan you know the truth and that's all that matters.

 

[FlairFan2003]

No. The fact is that watered down version of a championbship was not a real World's Title. Effectively the real NWA ceased to exist once Jim Crockett Jr sold to Ted Turner, most of the high profile NWA wrestlers were already appearing on WCW Sat Nite on TBS for Crockett and as such became the WCW. The atempts to re-start an NWA promotion in 1992-93 were ill fated from the start since the territories that comprised the original NWA were largely gone.

Personallly, I don't think Flair's reign after beating Barry Whyndam in 93 should be classified a World Title, anyone watching WCW then knew the title that mattered was the WCW World Title held by Vader.

Rude certainly had a nice legacy in the ring, I enjoyed him more in the old NWA circa 86-87 than as the campy, cheesy character in WWE 88-91. In any event he was one of the more succesfull rulebreakers of his time, and like Tully Blanchard & Ted DiBiase and Roddy Piper his legacy is fine without that World Title distinction, especially considering most of his career was in the pre PPV era when wrestlers usually held titles longer to boast house show attendance and you only had one or two signature events per year, not monthly PPV's and weekly live TV specials.

 

[One to Remember]

I see what you are saying. NWA really wasn't making decisions at the time, as to who held the title, and it really ceased to exist during these years. However, I think that by giving Rude the title posthumously, that would damage the legacy of the NWA and Rude. After all, they would basically be giving him the title to him because of his legacy. The International title was a joke, that the NWA has nothing to gain from.

The legacy being damaged? WWE owning everything the NWA offered of note from 1978-87 is damaging. Douglass throwing down the belt in '94 and giving that infamous/famous speach was damaging. Not returning Flair's deposit on the belt or not having the 25 grand plus at all was damaging.. Letting TNA jerk the belt around with guys like Jarrett was damaging. Not controlling the territories and them collapsing was damaging. Every title holder from 1994-2002 was damaging. Chris Candito, Dan Severn, Corino? WTF.. Tjey are really on par with Rude..

As far as what they gain, they gain the dirt to feel that pot hole that existed in their titles lineage from september of '93 til Douglass self-vacates in '94.. The WCW International World title would feel that gap.

Flair also captured the NWA world titles around 6 times between them going back and forth not recognizing and unifying them with the then WCW world title, so should his reigns be added as gospel to his recognized 16 world titles aswell?

does it really matter, it's the past NWA has been non existant for decades.

Stats mean nothing in todays world. as a fan you know the truth and that's all that matters.

Flair is like a 32 time champion. He has unrecognized title switches with everyone from Sting to Victor Jovica to Carlito's papi. I want to recognize his in addition to Bobo Brazil's and a few others. As pro wrestling fanms we crunch numbers and stastics, we are accolade-****es, we love to compare and study those things.

The NWA of today is the same it was in 1948, 1975, and 1986. It does not matter if its not as prominent or big, legally and officially their heritage is their heritage. I dont even like the NWA and even I know i dont have the authority to say they arent the same company from the glory days or that the belt held by Adam Pierce and Xtian was not the one held by Sting, Race, Thesz, Terry Funk and the like.. It isn't just for Rude, its for Flair's title count which is under threat by new punks like Cena and Trips and for Sting's count and Hiroshi Hase is in this too..