Awesome / Lou Thesz

• His six reigns as NWA World Heavyweight Champion established the title and gave it legitimacy. Harley Race (8) and Ric Flair (10) would hold the title more times, but Thesz set the standard.
• His reigns spanned from 1937 to 1966, nearly 29 years. Put into perspective, his first reign began in the latter years of the Great Depression and lasted through World War II, the first two decades of the Cold War, the Korean War, the introduction of television, polio vaccine and rock and roll music; the first men in space, the Kennedy assasination and the rise of the Vietnam War, not to mention societal change in general.
• He has been inducted into, appropriately enough, six major Halls of Fame in pro wrestling.
  • The Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame.
  • The WCW Hall of Fame (1993)
  • The Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (1996)
  • The International Wrestling Institute Hall of Fame (1999)
  • The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (2002)
  • The National Wrestling Alliance Hall of Fame (2005)
  • The WWE Hall of Fame, as part of the inaugural class of their new Legacy Wing (2016)