The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
world tag team championship
The world tag team championship is the name usually given to the primary tag team championship (professional wrestling), championships in professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotions, promotions.
Nomenclature
The name of the promo ...
created by the
National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed
member promotions to create their own territorial version of the "NWA World Tag Team Championship" without oversight from the board of directors. The first of these NWA World Tag Team Championships was created in 1950 in the
San Francisco territory, which while billed as a "World" title was essentially restricted to the specific
NWA territory. In 1957 as many as 13 versions of the NWA World Tag Team Championship were confirmed to be in existence. In 1982 Big Time Wrestling, based in Los Angeles, closed and abandoned
their version of the championship. The following year, the
World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...
, an NWA member at the time and which had
its own World Tag Team Championship, split from the NWA in acrimony. This meant that only the
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promot ...
'
NWA World Tag Team Championship
The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed member promotions to create their own territorial version of the "NWA World ...
was active within the NWA, but still being controlled by JCP, not the NWA board of directors. In 1991 that championship was renamed the WCW World Tag Team Championship.
In 1992 the NWA board of directors decided to sanction one world-level NWA World Tag Team Championship, working with WCW to hold a tournament to determine the inaugural officially recognized, NWA World Tag Team Championship. In 1993, the NWA and WCW severed their relationship and the NWA took with it the tag team championship. The NWA would briefly allow the
World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...
to control the championship in 1998 but by 1999 that collaboration ended. In 2002 the NWA gave control of the NWA World Tag Team Championship to the newly formed
NWA Total Nonstop Action
Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment.
Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promoti ...
(NWA-TNA) promotion. TNA's control of the championship ended in 2007, with TNA creating the
TNA World Tag Team Championship TNA may refer to:
Organisations
* Tamil National Alliance, a political coalition in Sri Lanka
* The National Alliance, a political party in Kenya
* The National Archives (United Kingdom), a UK public body
* Tonga Nurses' Association, a trade union ...
as a result. In subsequent years the championship has been defended on various continents including a period of time where it was held by several teams working for
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
(NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV ...
.
The Skullcrushers (Rasche Brown and
Keith Walker) held the championship for 777 days, making them the longest reigning champions in the history of the NWA board-recognized championship. Three teams have held the championship for just one day:
David Flair
David Richard Fliehr (born March 6, 1979), better known by the ring name David Flair, is an American retired rofessional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he held the WCW United States ...
and Dan Factor,
Glacier
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...
and Jason Sugarman, and The Heatseekers (Sigmon and Elliot Russel).
History
Territory years (1950–1982)
![NWA Professional Wrestling Territories](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/NWA_Professional_Wrestling_Territories.png)
In 1948 six
professional wrestling promoter
A promoter works with event production and entertainment industries to promote their productions, including in music and sports. Promoters are individuals or organizations engaged in the business of marketing and promoting live, or pay-per-view ...
s in the United States joined together to form the
National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as a governing body for a number of different wrestling promotions, which then became known as the
NWA territories.
The promoters, (
Pinkie George
Paul "Pinkie" George (born Paul Lloyd Georgeacopoulos; January 22, 1905 – November 1, 1993) was an American professional wrestling promoter, boxer and businessman best known as the visionary behind, and first president of, the National Wrestli ...
,
Al Haft
Albert C. Haft (November 13, 1886 - 10 November 1976) was a wrestler (both professional and amateur), wrestling and boxing promoter and wrestling trainer who was a prominent promoter in the United States from the late 1910s until the 1960s, runnin ...
, Tony Stecher,
Harry Light
Harold Lecht, known professionally as Harry Light (September 17, 1898 - October 29, 1971) was a French/American professional wrestling promoter. He is best known for running the Harry Light Wrestling Office in Detroit, Michigan from 1945 to 1959. ...
,
Orville Brown
Orville Brown (March 10, 1908 – January 24, 1981) was an American professional wrestler. He is a thirteen-time world champion and was recognized as the first NWA World Heavyweight Champion in 1948. Brown's professional wrestling career ended ...
and
Sam Muchnick
Samuel Muchnick (born Jeshua Muchnick, August 22, 1905 – December 30, 1998) was an American professional wrestling promoter from St. Louis, Missouri. He is often regarded as wrestling's equivalent of Pete Rozelle (the forward-thinking commission ...
) formed a board of directors and decided that they would endorse two wrestling championships that all territories would recognize, the
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is i ...
and the
NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship
The NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Created in 1945, the title is competed for by junior heavyweight wrestlers.
History
The first NWA World Junior ...
. Those two championships were controlled by the board, who would meet to vote on who should be given the championship next.
[
At the time ]tag team
Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...
wrestling, or matches where teams of two wrestlers would fight each other, was not popular across all territories, so the board of directors did not sanction a specific NWA World Tag Team Championship. This meant that each territory was free to create their own "World Tag Team Championship" as they saw fit and use it within their territory without board approval. Tag team wrestling first rose to popularity on the west coast of the United States, which led to the Los Angeles territory, promoted by Johnny Doyle, creating the first NWA World Tag Team Championship
The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed member promotions to create their own territorial version of the "NWA World ...
of the territory era when the Dusek Riot Squad ( Emil and Ernie
Ernie is a masculine given name, frequently a short form (hypocorism) of Ernest, Ernald, Ernesto, or Verner. It may refer to:
People
* Ernie Accorsi (born 1941), American football executive
* Ernie Adams (disambiguation)
* Ernie Afaganis (born c ...
) were billed as the champions on a July 14, 1949 show in Long Beach. The following year the San Francisco territory followed suit and created their local version of the championship when Ray Eckert and Hard Boiled Haggerty
Don Stansauk (April 2, 1925 – January 27, 2004) was an American professional wrestler and actor, known by his ring name, Hard Boiled Haggerty. He was previously a professional American football player, and became a successful character actor ...
defeated the team of Ron Etchison and Larry Moquin on April 4, 1950. A month later the Midwest Wrestling Association
Heart of America Sports Attractions, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska ...
territory, covering Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
, Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
, Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
and Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...
, created their own version of the championship on May 26, 1950, as the Dusek Riot Squad (Emil and Joe) won that championship.
In 1953 the Chicago-based promoter Fred Kohler
Fred Kohler (April 20, 1888 – October 28, 1938) was an American actor.
Career
Fred Kohler was born in Kansas City, Missouri or in Dubuque, Iowa. As a teen, he began to pursue a career in vaudeville, but worked other jobs to support himself. ...
introduced the team of Lord James Blears
Lord Blears (born James Ranicar Blears, August 13, 1923 – March 3, 2016) was a British-American professional wrestler, ring announcer, promoter, actor, mariner, and surfing personality.
Early life
Blears was born in Tyldesley, Lancashire, ...
and Lord Lathol Laytham as the local NWA World Tag Team champions, billing them as having won the championship in a different NWA territory before they began working for Kohler. Historic records do not indicate that Blears and Laytham had actually won the championship elsewhere.[ From mid-1953 the championship became the main tag team championship of the Illinois-Wisconsin territory.][ A few months later promoter ]Ed Don George
Edward Nye "Ed Don" George Jr. (June 3, 1905 – September 18, 1985) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, and wrestling promoter. A former Olympic freestyle wrestler, George competed in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics and turned pro ...
brought in the Chicago champions to his Ohio-Upstate New York territory and used them to bring an air of legitimacy to his own version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship, allowing local wrestlers Bill Melby and Billy Darnell to defeat Blears and Martino Angelo (who substituted for an injured Athol).
In 1954 the Canadian Athletic Promotion, based in Montreal, used the NWA World Tag Team Championship name as well, but by the end of the year they had abandoned it. Also in 1954, Georgia Championship Wrestling
Georgia Championship Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades before, the National W ...
introduced the Georgia version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship, using the Chicago version (held by Reggie Lisowki and Art Neilson) to start the Georgia branch.
The following year NWA founders Paul "Pinkie" George and Max Clayton introduced an Iowa-Nebraska version, with the champions splitting their time between George's Iowa territory and Clayton's Nebraska territory. The promoters billed Joe Tangaroa and Guy Brunetti as the local champions, recognizing the championship of the Chicago version up until September 1955, then splitting off in to their own lineage. Also in 1955, the first of two Texas-based NWA World Tag Team Championships was created by the Amarillo, Texas-based Big Time Wrestling, owned by Doc Sarpolis and Dory Funk
Dorrance Wilhelm Funk (May 4, 1919 – June 3, 1973) was an American professional wrestler. He is the father of wrestlers Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk, and was a promoter of the Amarillo, Texas-based Western States Sports promotion.
Early ...
. They followed in the footsteps of other NWA territories by having the Chicago champions (Lisowski and Neilson) travel to their territory to lose a version of the championship to start the local version. In this case Neilson worked regularly in the territory, while Lisowski left after only a brief stay. The promoters chose to have Rip Rogers
Mark Sciarra (born February 7, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Rip Rogers.
Early life
Sciarra was born in Seymour, Indiana on February 7, 1954. He graduated from Seymour High School in 1972 an ...
replace Lisowski for the Amarillo version of the champions. Another version was introduced around 1955–1956 in the Idaho-Utah territory based out of Salt Lake City. The Indianapolis territory soon introduced another local version by recognizing the lineage of the Chicago version, before splitting it off into a separate entity in 1957 when Nicoli and Boris Volkoff won the championship.
Three additional versions of the championship were introduced in 1957, the first of which was in Minneapolis, where the Kalmikoffs
The Kalmikoffs were a professional wrestling group of fictitious soviet brothers. It began as a tag team consisting of Ivan (Edward Bogucki) and Karol (Karol Piwoworczyk) who were later joined by "brothers" Nikita (Nikita Mulkovitch) and Stan (o ...
(Ivan and Karol) won a tournament to become champions. The second new championship was also the second Texas-based championship as the eastern Texas-based Houston-Dallas territory introduced Verne Gagne
Laverne Clarence Gagne (February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, football player, wrestling trainer, and wrestling promoter. He was the owner and promoter of the Minneapolis-based American Wrest ...
and Wilbur Snyder
Wilbur Snyder (September 15, 1929 – December 25, 1991) was an American football player and professional wrestler.
Wrestling career
Snyder's wrestling debut occurred during football's 1953 off-season. He was trained by Sandor Szabo and Warren ...
as their local champions. The third championship introduced in 1957 was used by Nick Gulas
Nick Gulas (September 3, 1914 – January 21, 1991) was an American professional wrestling promoter in the Southern United States, partnered with Tennessee promoter Roy Welch for decades. Gulas was also known as "The King of Managers", "King B", ...
' NWA Mid-America
NWA Mid-America was a professional wrestling promotion territory under the umbrella of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) that promoted shows in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama from the 1940s until 1981. The company was founded in the 1940s by ...
promotion when Gulas introduced the Corsicans ( Corsica Joe and Corsica Jean) as champions when they made their debut for NWA Mid-America.
No new championships were introduced in 1958 or 1959, but with all versions being active but that of Montreal, thirteen versions were being defended across the United States in 1957.[The start and end dates of all reigns are sourced in the table below.] In 1959/1960 the unity of the NWA was strained as several promotions broke away from the NWA, choosing to join with Minnesota promoter Verne Gagne to form the American Wrestling Association.[ This meant that the Minneapolis, Chicago, Iowa-Nebraska, Indianapolis and Idaho-Utah versions of the championship were all abandoned, replaced by the ]AWA World Tag Team Championship
The American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991.
History
When the NWA Minneapoli ...
that was recognized in all of those territories.
While the NWA lost some territories with the exodus to the AWA, others were added and additional NWA World Tag Team Championships were still being introduced. In 1961 Championship Wrestling from Florida
Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ...
created the Florida version of the championship as the Von Brauners
The Von Brauners were a professional wrestling tag team/stable that operated from the 1950s through the 1970s. The teams consisted of Karl Von Brauner (Doug Donnan), Kurt Von Brauner #1 (Jimmy Brawner), Eric Von Brauner (Ron Donnan), and Kurt Von ...
( Kurt and Karl Von Brauner Karl may refer to:
People
* Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name
* Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne
* Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer
* Karl of Austria, last Austri ...
) became regular performers in Florida. In 1964 the Detroit-based Big Time Wrestling announced that Chris
Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common.
People with the given name
*Chris Abani (born 1966), Nige ...
and John Tolos
John Tolos, nicknamed "The Golden Greek", (September 18, 1930 – May 28, 2009) was a Canadian professional wrestler, and professional wrestling manager.
Professional wrestling career
Tolos was born on September 18, 1930, in Hamilton, Ontario ...
had won the newly created Detroit version of the championship on February 16, 1965. In 1966 NWA All-Star Wrestling
NWA All Star Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Vancouver) is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. All-Star Wrestling folded in 1989 but returned in 2007 no longer affiliated with the National Wr ...
introduced their own version, but by mid-1968 the promotion discontinued using them in favor of the NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship
The NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship is a National Wrestling Alliance-sanctioned tag team professional wrestling championship based mainly in the Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling promotion, although the title has been contested for in the ...
.
In 1968 the Amarillo territory stopped using their version of the world championship, favoring the NWA Western States Tag Team Championship
The NWA International Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling title, originally created as the NWA Western States Tag Team Championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Amarillo, Texas territory, Western States Sports. The title wa ...
instead.[ Only months later the Eastern Texas version was abandoned as well, once more in favor of a more regional championship name, the ]NWA Texas Tag Team Championship
The WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship was the secondary professional wrestling tag team championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area-based World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The championship was originally known as the NW ...
.[ Georgia Championship Wrestling followed the trend in 1969, with the ]NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship
The NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship was the top tag team championship in Georgia Championship Wrestling from 1968 to 1980, when it was replaced with the NWA National Tag Team Championship.
The title was revived in 1998 by Music City Wrestling ...
.[ By 1970 the Ohio-Upstate New York territory left the NWA and became known as the ]National Wrestling Federation
The original National Wrestling Federation (NWF) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Buffalo, New York and owned by promoter Pedro Martínez. It ran from 1970 to 1974. The promotion was then revived in 1986 by Robert Raskin. The revive ...
, in the process they rebranded the tag team championship as it became known as the NWF World Tag Team Championship.[ No territory created a new world tag team championship until 1975 where the ]NWA Mid-Atlantic
Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promo ...
promotion in the Carolinas introduced the Mid-Atlantic version, the first new championship in nine years. This championship would later also be recognized by Georgia Championship Wrestling.[ In 1977 the NWA Mid-America territory was split in two as ]Jerry Lawler
Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "The King" Lawler, is an American color commentator and professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, although he has not performed as a full-time commentator since Ap ...
and Jerry Jarrett
Jerry Winston Jarrett (born September 4, 1942) is an American retired professional wrestling promoter and professional wrestler. Along with his long-term business partner Jerry Lawler, Jarrett is a key figure in the history of professional wrestl ...
took over a large part of the territory when they created the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA). After the territory splits NWA Mid-America abandoned their version of the world tag team championship.[
In 1979 the San Francisco version of the championship was abandoned, while Hollywood Wrestling reintroduced the Los Angeles version of the championship shortly afterwards.][ The same year the Central States version was abandoned, in favor of the ]NWA Central States Tag Team Championship
The NWA Central States Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team championship for the Heart of America Sports Attractions / Central States Wrestling promotion from 1979 until the promotion ceased to exist in 1988. The Central States Tag Team ...
.[ The Detroit territory closed its doors in 1980, ending their version of the championship.][ In 1981 ]World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA) (1986–1991) was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed ...
briefly brought back the east Texas version of the championship, but later abandoned it in favor of the NWA Americas Tag Team Championship
The NWA Americas Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Hollywood Wrestling based out of Los Angeles, California.
The championship began as the WWA World Tag Team Championship ...
.[
;Territorial versions of the NWA World Tag Team Championship
]
One championship (1982–1991)
In 1982 the Los Angeles territory closed, abandoning their version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship.[ This meant that the Mid-Atlantic version of the championship became the only NWA World Tag Team Championship that was still active from that point forward.][Please see the "Territory versions of the NWA World Tag Team Championship " table above for full overview of dates and sources.] In 1980 MACW owner and promoter Jim Crockett Jr. became president of the NWA and started to consolidate the south eastern promotion, branding them as the "National Wrestling Alliance" while officially being known as Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promot ...
. The consolidation of the Crockett brand was done in part to combat the country-wide expansion of the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...
(WWF) in the early 1980s, breaking with the territory approach of the NWA. With JCP gaining national television deals the Mid-Atlantic version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship became a de facto "World" championship, moving from a regional championship and later recognized as a "World Championship" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...
, the premier wrestling magazine at the time.
In 1988 the cost of the rapid expansion of JCP forced Crockett to sell his promotion to Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and philanthropist. He founded the Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he fo ...
. Turner began to rebrand the promotion as World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nati ...
, but still used the NWA prefix for all of their championships at that point in time. In January 1991 WCW officially split from the NWA, spinning off the NWA Championships into WCW championships, which meant that then-reigning champions Doom
Doom is another name for damnation.
Doom may also refer to:
People
* Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed
* Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist
* Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher
* ...
(Ron Simmons
Ronald Nasir Simmons (born May 15, 1958) is an American retired professional wrestler and football player. He performed for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) under his real name, and in the World Wres ...
and Butch Reed
Bruce Franklin Reed (July 11, 1954 – February 5, 2021) was an American professional wrestler and football player, better known by the ring name Butch Reed. He played college football at the University of Central Missouri, was a star in Mid ...
) became the first champions to officially be labeled as WCW World Tag Team Champions. At that point in time the NWA did not determine a new set of NWA World Tag Team Champions.[
]
Officially sanctioned (1992–present)
A year after parting ways with the NWA, the two parties came to an agreement for WCW to host a tournament for the first ever officially board of directors sanctioned NWA World Tag Team Championship. To push the "world" aspect of the championship WCW and the NWA brought in several international teams for the tournament. Teams such as Sliver King and El Texano
Juan Conrado Aguilar Jáuregui (November 26, 1958 – January 15, 2006), better known by his ring name El Texano, was a Mexican '' Luchador'', or professional wrestler. From the early 1970s to the early 2000s, he wrestled under masked and unmask ...
from Mexico, Hiroshi Hase
is a Japanese politician who is currently the governor of Ishikawa Prefecture. He served as the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology under Prime Minister Shinzō Abe. Prior to his appointment in the Cabinet, he also ser ...
and Akira Nogami
is a Japanese professional wrestler and actor, currently working as Akira (occasionally stylised in all-capitals). He has also worked as a trainer.
Professional wrestling career
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1984–2004)
After graduating from high s ...
from Japan, Miguel Perez Jr. and Ricky Santana
Ricardo Santana Ortiz (born November 21, 1958), better known as Ricky Santana, is a professional wrestler of Cuban descent who has worked for World Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Federation, World Wrestling Council and the National Wrestl ...
from Puerto Rico and Joe and Dean Malenko
Dean Simon (born August 4, 1960), better known by the ring name Dean Malenko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a senior producer. He is best known for his time with Extreme ...
representing "Europe".[The Malenko brothers were born in America, and neither worked regularly in Europe, but played off the fact that they were sons of Boris Malenko, who portrayed a Russian character for most of his career.] The first round of the tournament took place on June 22, 1992, at WCW's Clash of the Champions XIX
''Clash of the Champions'' is an American series of professional wrestling television specials that were produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in conjunction with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). ...
show, while the remaining tournament took place at the 1992 Great American Bash
The Great American Bash is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. Created by Dusty Rhodes, the event was established in 1985 and was originally produced by the National ...
. In the period of time between the Clash and the Great American Bash the team of Terry Gordy and Steve Williams had won the WCW World Tag Team Championship from The Steiner Brothers
The Steiner Brothers are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Robert "Rick Steiner" Rechsteiner and Scott "Scott Steiner" Rechsteiner.
The brothers wrestled as amateurs at the University of Michigan. The team ma ...
, and when they won the tournament at the Great American Bash they became double champions, carrying two belts each for their matches.[
WCW had five championship changes happen for the combined WCW/NWA World Tag Team Championships happen between July 1992 and August 1993, after which the NWA broke off their relationship with WCW once more. Then-champions ]Arn Anderson
Martin Anthony Lunde (born September 20, 1958), better known by the ring name Arn Anderson, is an American professional wrestling road agent, author, and retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a ...
and Paul Roma
Paul Centopani (born April 29, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Paul Roma. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling between 1984 an ...
were stripped of the NWA championship, a fact that was not mentioned on TV as they kept defending the WCW championship.[ While the NWA initially recognized the five WCW booked championship reigns, they later removed them from their official history.]
The NWA did not hold a tournament for the vacant NWA World Tag Team Championship until almost two years later, holding a one night tournament on April 11, 1995.[ The tournament was won by ]The Rock 'n' Roll Express
The Rock 'n' Roll Express is a professional wrestling tag team consisting of professional wrestlers Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton. The duo began teaming together in Memphis in the early 1980s, followed by Mid-South Wrestling (later to be known ...
(Ricky Morton
Richard Wendell Morton (born September 21, 1956) is an American professional wrestler, currently performing on the independent circuit. He is the current GCW Television Champion, after pinning Matt Cardona at GCW Say You Will. For most of his care ...
and Robert Gibson), defeating the team of Dick Murdoch
Hoyt Richard Murdoch (August 16, 1946 – June 15, 1996) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names "Dirty" Dick Murdoch and "Captain Redneck". He was best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation and New Jap ...
and Randy Rhodes in the finals.[
]
World Wrestling Federation (1998)
In 1998 the NWA board of directors reached an agreement with the World Wrestling Federation to feature several of the NWA championships on WWF television as part of an "Invasion" storyline. For the purposes of the storyline the then-champions Pat and C. W. Anderson were stripped of the championship and instead the Rock 'n' Roll Express were named the new champions so they could work with the WWF.[ The storyline saw WWF wrestler ]Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and promoter. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he also serves as Director of Business Development.
Beginning his career in his father ...
lead a group of "Old School" wrestlers representing the NWA, including Jarrett winning the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship
The NWA North American Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance in 1994 after World Championship Wrestling withdrew from the NWA. There were various regional versions of the No ...
. As part of the storyline the Rock 'n' Roll Express lost the tag team championship to WWF regulars The Headbangers
The Headbangers are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Mosh (Charles Warrington) and Thrasher (Glenn Ruth). As the name of the team implies, their gimmick is that they are a pair of metalheads, complete with heavy metal related T-sh ...
(Mosh
Moshing (also known as slam dancing or simply slamming) is an extreme style of dancing in which participants push or slam into each other, typically performed to "aggressive" live music such as heavy metal and punk rock. Moshing usually happen ...
and Thrasher
Thrashers are a New World group of perching bird, passerine birds related to mockingbirds and New World catbirds. Like these, they are in the family (biology), family Mimidae. There are 15 species in one large and 4 monotypic genus, genera.
T ...
) on February 17, 1998, during an episode of ''Raw is War
''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show f ...
''.[ The Headbangers later lost the championship to The Midnight Express (]Bombastic Bob
Robert William Howard (born January 29, 1963) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and former auto racer and wrestling trainer/ host, better known by the ring name Hardcore Holly or Bob Holly. He is best known for his 16-year career wi ...
and Bodacious Bart) as the NWA Invasion angle was being phased out.[
On August 14, 1998, the Midnight Express lost the championship to The Border Patrol (Agent Gunn and Agent Maxx), ending the association with the WWF. Over the following years the championship changed hands at various minor shows as well as the NWA 50th Anniversary Show where The Brotherhood (]Knuckles Nelson
Brendan Higgins (born September 26, 1963),Pro Wrestling Illustrated. "Statistics for Professional Wrestlers." ''2001 Wrestling Almanac and Book of Facts''. 6th ed. Fort Washington, PA: London Publishing Company, 2001. (pg. 47) best known by his ri ...
and Erich Sbraccia) won the championship.[ In 2002 ]The Shane Twins
The Shane Twins (born December 21, 1967) are a professional wrestling tag team that consist of twin brothers Mike and Todd Shane. They were best known for their appearances in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as Gymini.
History Independe ...
(Mike
Mike may refer to:
Animals
* Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum
* Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off
* Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and docume ...
and Todd
Todd or Todds may refer to:
Places
;Australia:
* Todd River, an ephemeral river
;United States:
* Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community
* Todd, Missouri, a ghost town
* Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporated ...
) won the championship from The New Heavenly Bodies
The Heavenly Bodies is a professional wrestling tag team famous for having worked in Smoky Mountain Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation, and various independent promotions. Over the years, there have been multiple variations of the team, ...
( Chris Nelson and Vito DeNucci).[
]
Total Nonstop Action (2002–2007)
In early 2002, Jeff Jarrett and his father Jerry Jarrett
Jerry Winston Jarrett (born September 4, 1942) is an American retired professional wrestling promoter and professional wrestler. Along with his long-term business partner Jerry Lawler, Jarrett is a key figure in the history of professional wrestl ...
started a new promotion called NWA Total Nonstop Action
Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment.
Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promoti ...
(NWA-TNA) based in Nashville. The Jarretts reached an agreement with the NWA board of directors to allow NWA-TNA to control both the singles and tag team versions of the world heavyweight championship. Both championships were vacated to allow NWA-TNA to hold tournaments for the new champions.[ On July 3, 2002 ]A.J. Styles
Allen Neal Jones (born June 2, 1977), better known by his ring name AJ Styles (also stylized as A.J. Styles), is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Regarded as one of the best ...
and Jerry Lynn
Jeremy Lynn (born June 12, 1963), better known by the ring name Jerry Lynn, is an American retired professional wrestler currently signed with All Elite Wrestling as a producer and coach. He has worked for promotions such as World Championship ...
defeated The Rainbow Express Bruce
The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...
and Lenny in the finals of a tournament to win the championship. TNA controlled the championship from 2002 until May 2007, crowning a total of 32 champions in that period of time. At that point the NWA withdrew its recognition of NWA:TNA, which then rebranded itself "Total Nonstop Action Wrestling" and created the TNA World Tag Team Championship TNA may refer to:
Organisations
* Tamil National Alliance, a political coalition in Sri Lanka
* The National Alliance, a political party in Kenya
* The National Archives (United Kingdom), a UK public body
* Tonga Nurses' Association, a trade union ...
.
Post TNA (2007–2017)
With the championship vacant after the split from TNA, the National Wrestling Alliance arranged a three team tournament to determine the new champions. On July 8, 2007, The Real American Heroes ( Karl Anderson and Joey Ryan defeated the teams of Billy Kidman
Peter Alan Gruner Jr. (born May 11, 1974) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Billy Kidman. He is currently employed by WWE as a producer.
As a wrestler, Kidman is best known for his work with World Champi ...
/Sean Waltman
Sean Michael Waltman (born July 13, 1972) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his appearances for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) under the ring names 1–2– ...
and Incognito
Incognito is an English adjective meaning "in disguise", "having taken steps to conceal one's identity".
Incognito may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Incognito'' (1937 film), a Danish film
* ''Incognito'' (1997 film), an American crime ...
/ Sicodelico Jr. in a three-way match to win the championship. On October 4, 2008, The Skullcrushers (Rache Brown and Keith Walker) defeated '' Los Luchas'' (Phoenix Star and Zokre) to win the championship. This marked the start of a 777 day long reign, the longest in the championships history, lasting until November 20, 2010, where The Skullcrushers were defeated by The Dark City Fight Club
The Dark City Fight Club are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Jon Davis and Kory Chavis.
History
In March 2008, Jon Davis teamed with up Kory Chavis as The Dark City Fight Club (DCFC) in Full Impact Pro (FIP). They were revealed ...
( Jon Davis and Kory Chavis
Kory Chavis is a professional wrestler, also known by the ring name Rainman. He works for several independent promotions, including Dragon Gate USA, Full Impact Pro, and Evolve. Chavis wrestled with tag team partner Jon Davis as The Dark Cit ...
.
In 2013 the NWA began working closely together with New Japan Pro-Wrestling
(NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV ...
(NJPW), co-promoting shows and NJPW hosting several championship matches for both the heavyweight and tag team championships. On April 20, 2013, the Killer Elite Squad
Killer Elite Squad, often abbreviated to K.E.S., was the professional wrestling tag team of Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer. The team made its debut in the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion in September 2012 and have since worked to ...
(Davey Boy Smith Jr.
Harry Francis Smith (born August 2, 1985) is a Canadian professional wrestler,
best known under the ring name Davey Boy Smith Jr. and his real name Harry Smith. He currently performs for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where he was o ...
and Lance Archer
Lance Hoyt (born February 28, 1977) is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Lance Archer. He also makes sporadic appearance for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is also known for ...
) defeated Scott Summers and Ryan Genesis to win the championship, the Killer Elite Squad was also the IWGP Tag Team Champions
The is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of the NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on December 12, 1985 at an NJPW live event. The ...
at the time of the title victory. On November 3, 2013 The IronGodz ( Jax Dane and Rob Conway) won the NWA World Tag Team Championship in a special two falls match that saw Tencozy
Tencozy (occasionally spelled "Ten-Koji") is a professional wrestling tag team that has competed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling. They are seven-time tag team champions (List of IWGP Tag Team Champions, six-time IWGP Tag Tea ...
(Hiroyoshi Tenzan
is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently works for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and is better known by his ring name . With Satoshi Kojima, in 2008, they won the World's Strongest Tag Determination League in All Japan Pro Wrestling and the ...
and Satoshi Kojima
is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, but makes appearances for Pro Wrestling Noah. Considered to be one of the greatest Japanese professional wrestlers of the 21st century and of all-time, he was the first wrest ...
) with the IWGP championship in the other fall. Conway was the reigning NWA World Heavyweight Champion, making him the first person to hold both championships at once. On April 6, 2014, Tencozy defeated the Iron Godz to win the NWA championship and would later lose those to the Killer Elite Squad on October 10, 2014. On October 15, 2015, The Heatseekers (Sigmon and Elliot Russel) won the championship on a show in Dyersburg.[
]
Billy Corgan acquisition (2019–present)
On April 27, 2019, the National Wrestling Alliance announced on their Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
page that the winners of the 2019 Crockett Cup tournament would be awarded the vacated NWA World Tag Team Championship as a reward. Later that night, Villain Enterprises
Villain Enterprises was a villainous professional wrestling stable consisting of Marty Scurll, Brody King, PCO, and Flip Gordon. The stable performed in Ring of Honor (ROH), where they are former ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions, the Nat ...
(Brody King
Nathan Troy Blauvelt (born March 17, 1987), better known by his ring name Brody King, is an American professional wrestler and musician signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The House of Black. King was previously signed ...
and PCO) defeated the wild card team of Royce Isaacs and Thomas Latimer defeated in the finals to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship.
Reigns
There have been 90 total officially recognized title reigns and five "unofficial reigns" from the time WCW controlled the championship. Rasche Brown and Keith Walker, known as the Skullkrushers, hold the record for longest reign, which lasted 777 days before they lost the belts to The Dark City Fight Club. The Skullkrushers, by virtue of such a lengthy run as champions, also hold the record for most cumulative days as champions, 35 days longer than the two reigns of the Dark City Fight Club which totaled 742 days.
America's Most Wanted ( James Storm and Chris Harris) are the record holders for most reigns as a team with six.[ Storm himself also holds the individual record for most reigns as champion with eight, having also won the titles while teaming with Christopher Daniels and ]Eli Drake
Shaun Ricker (born November 1, 1982) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name LA Knight. Ricker is known for his time in Impact Wrestling as Eli Drake. Rick ...
; his win with Drake broke a tie with his former partner Harris, who had seven total reigns as champion including a single reign with Elix Skipper
Elix Skipper (born December 15, 1967) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, where he was a one-time WCW Cruiserweight Champion and a one-time WCW Cruiserweight Tag ...
as his partner.[
The current champions are La Rebelión (]Bestia 666
Leornardo Carrera Lizarraga (born May 14, 1989) is a Mexican ''luchador'' or professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Bestia 666. He is currently working for various promotions across Mexico, while also performing in the United State ...
and Mecha Wolf 450
John Jesús Yurnet (born June 21, 1987), better known by his ring name Mecha Wolf 450, is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler and professional wrestling trainer. He is best known for his work in World Wrestling Council (WWC), where he is a form ...
), who are in their second reign as a team. They defeated Hawx Aerie (Luke Hawx
Oren Hawxhurst (born July 8, 1981) is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling promoter, actor, and stuntman. He is best known under the ring name Luke Hawx and is also known for his time in Xtreme Pro Wrestling under the ring nam ...
and PJ Hawx) on Night One of the NWA 74th Anniversary Show
The NWA 74th Anniversary Show (also simply called NWA 74) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) held on August 27 and 28, 2022, at the Chase's Khorassan Ballroom in St. Louis, Missouri ...
on August 27, 2022 in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
to win the vacant titles.
Tournaments
1992
When the National Wrestling Alliance Board of Directors decided to finally endorse a NWA World Tag Team Championship in 1992 they reached out to World Championship Wrestling to organize the initial tournament as well give them the rights to control the championship on a day-to-day basis. WCW pulled together a 16-team tournament that saw seven teams made up of regular WCW competitors as well as teams from various countries such as Japan, Mexico, Canada and more.[ The eight matches of the first round all took place on June 16, 1992, at WCW's ]Clash of the Champions XIX
''Clash of the Champions'' is an American series of professional wrestling television specials that were produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in conjunction with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). ...
.[ During the show WCW started a storyline feud between WCW's top tag team, the Steiner Brothers, and the favorite non-WCW team of Steve Williams and Terry Gordy, who had been one of the top teams in Japan for years prior to the tournament. During the show Gordy and Williams attacked the Steiners' opponents prior to the match, leading to the Steiners winning by forfeit. During the show the Steiners challenged Gordy and Williams to face them in the second round that night instead of waiting for the next round.][ In the main event of the Clash of Champions Gordy and Williams defeated the Steiner Brothers to advance to the semi-finals.][ In the month between the first round and the rest of the tournament Gordy and Williams defeated the Steiner Brothers to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship.]
The finals took place at that year's The Great American Bash pay per view
Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast.
Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
on July 12. For the second round Japanese wrestler Shinya Hashimoto
was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter and actor. Along with Masahiro Chono and Keiji Mutoh, Hashimoto was dubbed one of the "Three Musketeers" that began competing in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in the mid-1980s and dominated the pr ...
replaced Akira Nogami
is a Japanese professional wrestler and actor, currently working as Akira (occasionally stylised in all-capitals). He has also worked as a trainer.
Professional wrestling career
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1984–2004)
After graduating from high s ...
who had been injured after he and Hiroshi Hase
is a Japanese politician who is currently the governor of Ishikawa Prefecture. He served as the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology under Prime Minister Shinzō Abe. Prior to his appointment in the Cabinet, he also ser ...
had qualified for the quarter-finals. Hase and Hashimoto defeated The Fabulous Freebirds
The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team who attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed ...
in the quarter-finals only to lose to Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham in the semi-final. In the other semi-final match Gordy and Williams defeated the team of Nikita Koloff
Nikita Koloff (born Nelson Scott Simpson on March 9, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Jim Crockett Promotions and its successor, World Championship Wrestling between 1984 and 1992, where ...
and Ricky Steamboat
Richard Henry Blood Sr. (born February 28, 1953), better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promot ...
, followed by Gordy and Williams defeating Rhodes and Windham in the finals to become dual champions.[
]
April 1995
While the NWA withdrew their recognition of the WCW controlled championship in August 1993 they did not establish new champions until almost two years later, holding a one-night, eight-team tournament on April 11, 1995, in Dallas, Texas.[ The tournament saw tag team veterans, and former four-time holders of the Mid-Atlantic version of the championship ]The Rock 'n' Roll Express
The Rock 'n' Roll Express is a professional wrestling tag team consisting of professional wrestlers Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton. The duo began teaming together in Memphis in the early 1980s, followed by Mid-South Wrestling (later to be known ...
defeat Dick Murdoch
Hoyt Richard Murdoch (August 16, 1946 – June 15, 1996) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names "Dirty" Dick Murdoch and "Captain Redneck". He was best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation and New Jap ...
and Randy Rhodes to win the championship.[
]
December 1995
The NWA Board of Directors stripped the Rock 'n' Roll Express of the championship on August 4, 1995, when Ricky Morton was suspended by Smokey Mountain Wrestling
Smoky Mountain Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Appalachian area of the United States from October 1991 to December 1995, when it was run by Jim Cornette. The promotion was based in Knoxville, Tennessee, wit ...
and thus was unable to defend the championship.[ During the fall of 1995 the NWA reached an agreement with their Japanese member, ]International Wrestling Association of Japan
The International Wrestling Association of Japan, more commonly known as IWA Japan, was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion operating from 1994 to 2004 and again from 2010 to 2014. It was formed by Víctor Quiñones as a successor to the ...
(IWA Japan) to give the Japanese promotion control of the championship. IWA Japan held a multi-week, multi-team round-robin tournament to crown new champions. The finals saw Mr. Gannosuke and Tarzan Goto
, better known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled on the independent circuit most of his career. He is best known for his exploding steel cage matches against Atsushi Onita in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling ( ...
defeat the team of Cactus Jack and Tiger Jeet Singh
Jagjeet Singh Hans (born April 3, 1944) is an Indo-Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler, known better by his ring name Tiger Jeet Singh. He was known for his elaborate ring entrances, and generally performed as a heel. He wrestled in Japan ...
to become the eight overall champions.[ The table below was derived from the results page.]
July 2002
In June 2002 the NWA vacated the tag team championship to allow the newly formed NWA-Total Non-Stop Action (NWA-TNA) to use the championship on their weekly pay-per-view (PPV) shows.[ NWA-TNA held a four-team tournament, which included the former champions the Shane Twins, albeit working as the masked tag team "The Johnsons".][
The tournament was the focal point of NWA-TNA's third weekly PPV and saw America's Most Wanted (AMW) defeat the Johnsons in the first match, followed by The Rainbow Express (]Bruce
The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...
and Lenny) defeated the team of Buff Bagwell and Gran Apolo
Gran may refer to:
People
*Grandmother, affectionately known as "gran"
*Gran (name)
Places
* Gran, the historical German name for Esztergom, a city and the primatial metropolitan see of Hungary
* Gran, Norway, a municipality in Innlandet count ...
.[ Between the first round and the finals it was announced that both Harris and Storm of America's Most Wanted were injured and unable to compete in the final match.][ NWA-TNA management then announced that A.J. Styles and Jerry Lynn would replace AMW in the last match of the tournament.][ Styles and Lynn went on to defeat The Rainbow Express to become the first NWA-TNA era NWA World Tag Team Champions][
]
September 2002
During the 9th weekly TNA PPV show on August 14, 2002, then-champions A.J. Styles and Jerry Lynn defended the championship against the team of Jeff Jarrett and Ron Killings
Ronnie Aaron Killings (born January 19, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE, performing on the Raw brand under the ring name R-Truth.
Killings worked for World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now ...
. The match ended with Jarrett pinning Lynn while Styles pinned Killings, which lead to the championship being held up due to the inconclusive outcome of the match. On September 18 NWA-TNA held a tournament to determine new champions. The tournament had two stages, first a Gauntlet for the Gold
A Gauntlet for the Gold match is a professional wrestling match used in Impact Wrestling.
Match format
Different from the other gauntlet matches, in which one competitor faces several others in turn, the Gauntlet for the Gold match is very sim ...
, multi-man elimination match, with the final two competitors moving to the finals along with their respective tag team partners. The Gauntlet for the Gold was won by Brian Lee and Chris Harris. Immediately after the match Harris and partner James Storm (America's Most Wanted) defeated Brian Lee and his chosen partner Ron Harris to win the championship.[
;Gauntlet eliminations
]
2004
On February 4, 2004, A.J. Styles was scheduled to team with Abyss
Abyss may refer to:
* Abyss (religion), a bottomless pit, or a passage to the underworld
Film and television
* ''The Abyss'' (1910 film), a Danish silent film starring Asta Nielsen
* ''The Abyss'' (1988 film) (''L'Œuvre au noir''), a French- ...
to wrestle then-champions The Red-Shirt Security (Kevin Northcutt
Kevin Northcutt (born March 23, 1973) is a retired American professional wrestler.
Career World Championship Wrestling (2000)
After unsuccessful try-outs with Extreme Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation in the late 1990s, Nor ...
and Joe Legend) for the belts. The two were storyline rivals that were forced to team up. On the night the storyline was that Abyss did not show up for the match, but Styels managed to defeat Northcutt and Legend to win the championship. Three weeks later Abyss defeated A.J. Styles to gain full control of the championship.[ A couple of weeks later the championship was vacated because Abyss did not defend them, nor did he chose a new partner.][
Over the following weeks NWA-TNA held an eight-team tournament to crown new champions. Triple X ( Christopher Daniels and Low-Ki) earned their way to the finals by defeating The New Franchise (]Michael Shane
Michael Shane (May 4, 1927 — February 22, 1994)) was an American lawyer and actor. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he attended Glenville High School. While earning his undergraduate and law degrees at Ohio State University, he performed as a stan ...
and Shane Douglas
Troy Allan Martin (born November 21, 1964) is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name Shane Douglas. He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (W ...
) in the first round and The Naturals
The Naturals were a professional wrestling tag team made up of Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens. They are best known for their work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where they are former three-time NWA World Tag Team Champions.
History ...
(Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens
Chase Bradley Stevens (born January 17, 1979) is an American professional wrestler, best known under the ring name of "The Natural" Chase Stevens. He is known primarily for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he was a member ...
) in the semi-finals. The team of Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
and Kid Kash
David Tyler Cash (born July 31, 1969) better known by his ring name Kid Kash, is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, best known for his tenures with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), Impact Wrestling, Total Nonstop A ...
qualified for the finals with victories over the team of Simon Diamond
Patrick Kenney (born May 26, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler and baseball player, better known by his ring name, Simon Diamond. He is currently working for the National Wrestling Alliance as Director of Talent Relations. Diamo ...
and Sonny Siaki
Sonny Siaki (born July 23, 1974) is an American retired professional wrestler of American Samoan descent. He is best known for his time in NWA Total Nonstop Action, where he was a one-time TNA X Division Champion.
Early life
When Siaki was t ...
and then defeated The Disciples of the New Church
The Disciples of the New Church, also known as the New Church Disciples or simply The New Church, were a professional wrestling stable in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) from June 19, 2002 to October 1, 2003.
History
Total Nonstop Action ...
(Sinn
In the philosophy of language, the distinction between sense and reference was an idea of the German philosopher and mathematician Gottlob Frege in 1892 (in his paper "On Sense and Reference"; German: "Über Sinn und Bedeutung"), reflecting the ...
and Slash).[ In the finals Dallas and Kash defeated Triple X to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship for the first time.][
]
2019 Crockett Cup
In October 2018, during the NWA 70th Anniversary Show, it was announced that the Crockett Cup would be returning in 2019. It was later revealed that the event would take place on April 27, 2019, at Cabarrus Arena in Concord, North Carolina. The event was co-produced by the NWA and Ring of Honor (ROH).
At the NWA New Years Clash, The War Kings (Crimson and Jax Dane) (with Road Warrior Animal) defeated Caleb Konley and Jay Bradley to become the first team to qualify for the 2019 Crockett Cup. 0From January 24 to January 26, 2019, Ring of Honor held a 12-team Tag Wars tournament as part of their Road To G1 Supercard tour of Texas. Villain Enterprises (Brody King and PCO) won the three-day tournament by defeating The Kingdom (Vinny Marseglia and TK O'Ryan) in the first round, The Bouncers (Brian Milonas and Beer City Bruiser) and the team of Kenny King and MVP in the second round, and Lifeblood (Juice Robinson and David Finlay) in the finals to earn a spot in the Crockett Cup as well as a match for the ROH World Tag Team Championship. 1
On February 8, 2019, it was announced that ROH partner promotions Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) out of Mexico, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) from Japan would also be sending teams for the 2019 Crockett Cup. 210]
See also
* List of National Wrestling Alliance championships
National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion operating via its parent company Lightning One, Inc. The following is a list of its active and inactive/unofficial/defunct championships. The professional wrestling ...
Footnotes
References
{{NWA World Tag Team Championships
National Wrestling Alliance championships
Tag team wrestling championships
Impact Wrestling championships
World professional wrestling championships