The title 's creation came as a result of Patterson defeating Ted DiBiase to win the WWF North American Championship and defending the title in a fictional tournament held in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil to be unified with a South American Championship . The title 's creation came as a result of Patterson defeating Ted DiBiase to win the WWF North American Heavyweight Championship and defending the title in an apocryphal tournament to be unified with a South American Heavyweight Championship in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil .