6. Jack Veneno - NWA World Champion
Jack Veneno is scarcely known outside of his home country of the Dominican Republic. However, in the Dominican, Veneno is regarded as a superstar. The Dominican star got his start in the 1970s and would continue competing for decades. Eventually, Veneno would begin a political career in the 2000s, being appointed the Vice-Minister of Sports in 2007. However, Veneno has another accolade on his resume. The 59 Dominican wrestler was once the NWA World Heavyweight Champion. On August 29th in 1982, Veneno triumphed over Ric Flair to claim the prize in his home country. The win was not without controversy, though. As Flair describes the tale in his To Be The Man autobiography, Veneno was not supposed to win the bout. A false finish was set up, which saw Flair caught in a sleeper hold. As the referee checked the Nature Boy, his arm dropped for the third time just as the bell rang. Veneno had run out of time, as the 60 minute time limit expired just prior to Flairs arm dropping. Fans, however, thought Veneno had won and stormed the ring to celebrate with their countryman. In a panic, Flair fled the ring, leaving the title with Veneno. The Dominican superstar had become the NWA World Heavyweight Champion -- although his reign would never officially be acknowledged. Furthermore, a rematch took place some time after the initial encounter. Unsurprisingly, the second contest would suffer the same fate as the first. Since Dominican fans believed Veneno was the champion, Jack wore the NWA title to the ring. When it came time for the finish, Roddy Piper -- who stood ringside in Flairs corner -- tripped Veneno. Flair was to screw him out of the title. Instead, Flair states that there were soldiers all over the building, and a good half-dozen of them picked up their rifles and pointed them at Pipers head. Again, Flair panicked. He pulled Veneno on top of him and held him there for the three-count. Not only had Jack defeated Ric Flair for the NWA title, he successfully defended it against him in a rematch. This time, however, Flair got his Ten Pounds of Gold from Veneno in the dressing room and fled the country, never to return.