10 High Profile Wrestlers With Forgotten NWA Championship Runs
6. Steve Corino
When Steve Corino lost his ECW Championship to The Sandman on the final ECW PPV, Guilty as Charged 2001, Corino immediately went on to sign with WCW straight after. Unfortunately for Corino, WCW wouldn't last either and WWF bought out the Atlanta company before he ever had chance to debut.
As such, Corino switched to the indies where he would ply his trade for several years. During this time, "The King of Old School" made appearances for a number of independent promotions, most notably Japan's Zero1 and several branches of the NWA. The latter saw Corino defeat Mike Rapada on 24 April 2001, to once again become World's Heavyweight Champion, this time of the NWA.
Corino proved to be a fighting champion, defending the title against several opponents during his reign, including Sabu, Pat Tanaka, and even David Flair. However, Corino would eventually meet his match in Shinya Hashimoto and the two would engage in a physical bout at the NWA 53rd Anniversary Show.
The match ended in a no contest and the title was held up, bringing an end to Corino's sole reign as NWA Champion. The rematch came in a round robin "Iron Man" challenge, also involving former NWA Champ, Gary Steele. Corino was unable to regain the title and Hashimoto walked away victorious.