Arn held the NWA World Television title for the first time from January 4^th to September 9^th, 1986. He won it by beating Wahoo McDaniel in the final round of a tournament. The reason there even was a tournament was that Dusty Rhodes was forced to give up the title due to an ankle injury suffered at the Omni at the hands of the Four Horsemen. Dusty couldn't defend the title within the required 30-day period, so he had to surrender the belt to the promotion. Young and cocky, Arn didn't want to wait. So, before the tournament, Arn and Tully kicked Dusty's crutches out and he grabbed the belt for himself.