Monday, January 5, 2026

Three Card Trick: The Disgruntled's Real Tertiary Champions

 *Blog started on January 4, 2026.

The advantage of getting unfairly fired from Binny's Beverage Depot (They could have at least asked me to pay for the difference of a 1.75 L bottle of Hennessy that I entered in as a 375 mL.) just before the holidays means there will be lots of hours to be gained at my part-time retail job. I wish I could say sadly, but they are the holidays in retail, those hours do have to come to an end. Thus, my finances are going to be nonexistent.

But why panic? I now have the time to play "Pokemon Legends Z-A". My comic con tour has little employer resistance. And I can bless the world with a new edition of the "Disgruntled's Real World Championship" title history.

Have I been watching as much wrestling as I should be? Probably not. I decided to cancel my NJPW World subscription until Wrestle Kingdom 20. (They do not let you change your method of payment while you are subscribed.) The Royal Rumble will be the only WWE show that I will watch this year...or will I? Here is hoping Bron Breakker will keep CM Flunk off that card.

Speaking of Punk-free wrestling, for the most part, my schedule allows me to watch AEW Collision, but Saturdays are supposed to be social nights. The same goes for Friday nights. Would I have maintained my virginity after I graduated high school in 1999 if there was no "ECW on TNN"? Paul Heyman added five years to my V Card.

I am definitely getting old. To make sure V Card was still a term, a Google search had Virtual Card come up as the top result. What happen to slang for virginity (verified by Urban Dictionary)?

It appears that I am in an existential mess. Just look at how many questions I am asking. I best get to answering some of them, so lets get to this guide to the best wrestling in the world.

The Disgruntled's Real World Champions of Pro-Wrestling:


Title Histories from June 22, 2025 to January 4, 2026.

The 110th Disgruntled's Real Men's World Champion:

And there has got to be a pause on this list because I am still watching Wrestle Kingdom 20. I am not going to spoil the results. This blog was started during the cluster muck matches on the card. Thus, this blog needs to be paused, despite punching Aaron Wolf into Wikipedia giving me the result of the NEVER Openweight Championship match. It at least gives me a chance to look into what the best Tertiary Championship is in pro-wrestling.

Blog post resumed on January 5, 2026.

The History of the Disgruntled's Real Tertiary Wrestling Champions

This title history starts at Starrcade '83: A Flair for the Gold, November 24, 1983.

Yes, I have concluded watching Wrestle Kingdom 20, but there is still New Year's Dash to watch. Why declare champions until we know the result of TMDK vs. The House of Torture?

We start at Starrcade since this was essentially the first wrestling pay-per-view. I also grew up with USA as my primary cable channel, so WWF was the primary product I watched growing up. My little brother rented some WCW videos from Blockbuster back in the day, and I would occasionally check out WCW Saturday Night, but Jim Crockett Promotions was more of a concept that wrestling can be different, and that is a good thing. Was I going to make time for it? I was 12.

The point I am trying to make is that, I grew up with only three championships: The Men's World, The Men's World Tag Team, and The Intercontinental. Territories were something I did not understand. If it was not for my little brother renting those tapes, I would not have known there are promotions with more than three belts. NWA needed extra belts, so that is why I will set the date of the first Starrcade date to kick off this title history.

This history will not allow for any vacancies.

Tully Blanchard with the NWA Television Championship

1st Disgruntled's Real Television Champion: NWA TV Champ: The Great Kabuki.

Kabuki's reign began on May 23, 1983.

This was the only singles' championship defended at the event outside of the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship. That may make you think that it should be the number 2 belt, but Roddy Piper faced NWA U.S. Champion Greg Valentine in a dog-collar grudge match. Their hate was stronger than the championship.

2nd Disgruntled's Real Television Champion: NWA TV Champ: Charlie Brown (aka Jimmy Valiant).

Brown's reign began on November 24, 1983, when he defeated the Great Kabuki.

3rd Disgruntled's Real Southern Television Champion: AWA Southern Heavyweight Champ: Jerry Lawler.

Lawler's reign began when Jimmy Valiant vacated the championship on January 18, 1984, by revealing his true identity.

The American Wrestling Association was based in Minneapolis, so why would they need a Southern Championship. It was created just to draw attention to the promotion in Memphis.

4th Disgruntled's Real Southern Television Champion: NWA  Television Champion: Tully Blanchard.

Blanchard's reign began when Jimmy Lawler was defeated by Lord Humongous on April 30, 1984.

Memphis characters should not be taken as anything more than a cheap pop culture rip off. They are not as glorious as Tiger Mask or Jushin Thunder Liger.

5th Disgruntled's Real Southern Television Champion: NWA Television Champion: Dusty Rhodes.

His title reign began when he defeated Blanchard for the championship on March 16, 1985.

I typically do not like to include hot potato scenarios with the belt, but this was one of the most memorable feuds of the 1980s.

6th Disgruntled's Real Southern Television Champion: NWA World Television Champion: Tully Blanchard (2).

His title reign began when he defeated Rhodes for the championship on April 28, 1985.

7th Disgruntled's Real Southern Television Champion: NWA World Television Champion: Dusty Rhodes (2).

His title reign began when he defeated Blanchard for the championship on July 6, 1985.

8th Disgruntled's Real Southern Television Champion: AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion: Bill Dundee.

His title reign began when Rhodes had to vacate the championship on October 19, 1985 due to injury. Coincidently, he also defeated Lawler for the AWA championship on the same day.

9th Disgruntled's Real Southern Television Champion: AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion: Jerry Lawler (2).

His title reign began when he defeated Dundee for the championship on December 21, 1985.

This feud made the Continental Wrestling Association in the 1980s, so we will pardon the hot potato, at least until the NWA fills the TV champ spot.

10th Disgruntled's Real Southern Television Champion: AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion: Bill Dundee (2).

His title reign began when he defeated Lawler for the championship on December 30, 1985.

11th Disgruntled's Real Southern Television Champion: NWA World Television Champion: Arn Anderson.

His title reign began when Lawler defeated Dundee for the championship on April 8, 1986. This will soon transition back to Rhodes vs. The 4 Horsemen.

12th Disgruntled's Real Southern Television Champion: NWA World Television Champion: Dusty Rhodes (3).

His title reign began when he defeated Anderson for the championship on September 9, 1986.

13th Disgruntled's Real Southern Television Champion: NWA World Television Champion: Tully Blanchard (3).

His title reign began when he defeated Rhodes for the championship on November 27, 1986.

14th Disgruntled's Real Southern Television Champion: NWA World Television Champion: Nikita Koloff (3).

His title reign began when he defeated Blanchard for the championship on August 17, 1987.

15th Disgruntled's Real Southern Television Champion: NWA World Television Champion: Mike Rotundo.

His title reign began when he defeated Koloff for the championship on January 26, 1988.

16th Disgruntled's Real Southern Television Champion: NWA World Television Champion: Rick Steiner.

His title reign began when he defeated Rotundo for the championship on December 26, 1988.

17th Disgruntled's Real Southern Television Champion: NWA World Television Champion: Mike Rotundo (2).

His title reign began when he defeated Steiner for the championship on February 20, 1989.

I know this is a hot potato and it is not as grand as Rhodes vs. The Horsemen, but the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship was unified with the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship to create the CWA Heavyweight Championship.

Why go to Japan when the NWA is not vacating the championship?

19th Disgruntled's Real Southern Television Openweight Champion: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion: Jushin Thunder Liger.

His title reign began when Sting vacated the championship due to injuy on July 23, 1989.

What I like best about tertiarys title is that they typically have a different rule set. If you are over 100 kg (220 lbs.), you cannot compete for this belt. Television championships have their television time limits.

Being able to thrive in these rule sets make you seem like a specialist, and in turn, explains why you do not chase the big belt. Niche rules allow you to have a title and argue why it is necessary.

This is why, you cannot have too many title, just a lack of creativity to justify them.