Tommy Rich NWA Champion

Hey, Scott, I was wondering what the point was of giving Tommy Rich a
5 day footnote of an NWA title reign? Especially considering the
damage it did to his career.

​Because he was super duper hot at the time and they wanted to give the territory a bit of a reward, but no one in their right mind would have wanted Rich as a touring NWA champion outside of the south. ​And then Rich was forever a "former NWA World champion" who could headline in Georgia. Plus it wasn’t the title reign that hurt him, it was the endless feud with Buzz Sawyer and changing standards of the wrestling business as a tandem. He was still a draw in the south for years afterwards, but when things went national he just wasn’t the guy to be featured near the top.