NWA World Tag Team Championship
(Detroit version)
The Detroit version of the championship
Details
PromotionBig Time Wrestling/NWA Detroit[1][2]
Date established1965[1][2]
Date retiredOctober 1980[1][2]
Statistics
First champion(s)Chris and John Tolos[1][2]
Most reignsTeam: Kurt Von Hess and Karl Von Shotz (5 reigns)[1][2]
Individual: Fred Curry (9 reigns)[1][2]
Longest reignThe Fabulous Kangaroos
(Al Costello and Don Kent (At least 196 days)[1][2]
Shortest reignLou Klein and Ed George (0 days)[1][2]

The Detroit version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship was the top ranked professional wrestling championship for tag teams in the Detroit, Michigan-based promotion Big Time Wrestling, sometimes referred to as NWA Detroit, between 1965 and 1980.[1][2] As a member of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), All-Star Wrestling was entitled to promote their own local version of the championship as the NWA bylaws did not restrict its use in the way they restricted the NWA World Heavyweight Championship to one nationally recognized championship.[3] Because individual NWA members, referred to as NWA territories, were allowed to create their own version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship, at least 22 different versions existed between 1949 and 1991.[3] As it is a professional wrestling championship, it is not won or lost competitively, but instead is determined by the decision of the bookers of a wrestling promotion. The title is awarded after the chosen team "wins" a match to maintain the illusion that professional wrestling is a competitive sport.[4]

The first championship team recognized in Detroit was that of the Tolos brothers (Chris and John Tolos), who were introduced as champions around February 1965 as having "recently won" the championship, though no records of a tournament exists.[1][2] Kurt Von Hess and Karl Von Shotz held the championship five times as a team, the record for the 25-year history of this version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship, while Fred Curry holds the record for most overall reigns (9) with different partners.[1][2] The shortest reign belongs to Lou Klein and Ed George, as Klein announced his retirement right after the match, making their reign only minutes long.[1][2] The longest reign lasted at least 196 days as The Fabulous Kangaroos (Al Costello and Don Kent) won the championship on December 18, 1971, and held it until May 1972.[1][2]

Title history

Key
No. The overall championship reign
Reign The reign number for the specific wrestler listed.
Event The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the title changed hands
N/A The specific information is not known
— Used for vacated reigns in order to not count it as an official reign
  Indicates that there was a period where the lineage is undocumented due to the lack of written documentation in that time period.
No. Champions Reign Date Days held Location Event Notes Ref(s)
1 Chris and John Tolos 1 February 16, 1965 (NLT) [Note 1] [Note 2] Live event Records are unclear on how the Tolos brothers won the championship, listed as "having recently won" in a Detroit newspaper on this day [1][2]
2 Johnny Barend and Magnificent Maurice 1 March 5, 1965 [Note 1] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2][5]
3 Bobo Brazil and Sailor Art Thomas 1 1960s [Note 1] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
4 Nikolai[Note 3] and Boris Volkoff 1 1960s [Note 1] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
5 Fred Curry and Billy Red Lyons 1 April 28, 196 (NLT) [Note 1] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
# The Internationals
(Al Costello and Karl Von Brauner) 		# May 12, 1967 (NLT) # [Note 2] Live event This championship change was only recognized in Ohio, not Detroit. Possible that this was supposed to start a separate Ohio lineage. [1][2]
# Bill Miller and Dan Miller # July 13, 1967 # Columbus, Ohio Live event [1][2]
# The Fabulous Kangaroos
(Al Costello and Ray St. Cair) 		# July 28, 1967 (NLT) # [Note 2] Live event The Ohio branch was not mentioned after August, 1967, Cury and Lyons were recognized as champions in Detroit for this period of time [1][2]
6 The Fabulous Kangaroos
(Al Costello and Ray St. Clair) 		1 1960s [Note 1] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
7 Fred Curry (2) and Dan Miller 1 1968 [Note 1] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
8 Hell's Angel
(Ron and Paul Dupree) 		1 1968 [Note 1] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
9 Rocky Johnson and Ben Justice 1 January 18, 1969 [Note 4] Detroit, Michigan Live event   [1][2][6]
10 Hell's Angel
(Ron and Paul Dupree) 		2 1969 [Note 5] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
11 Lou and Roy Klein 1 August 30, 1969 [Note 6] Detroit, Michigan Live event   [1][2]
12 Skull Brothers 1 1969 [Note 7] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
13 Ben Justice (2) and Guy Mitchell 1 January 31, 1970 49 Detroit, Michigan Live event   [1][2]
14 Texas Outlaws
(Dusty Rhodes and Dick Murdoch) 		1 March 21, 1970 140 Detroit, Michigan Live event   [1][2]
15 Bobo Brazil (2) and Lord Athol Layton 1 August 8, 1970 133 Detroit, Michigan Live event   [1][2]
— Vacated — December 19, 1970 N/A N/A N/A Championship vacated after Layton was injured by The Sheik. [1][2]
16 The Fabulous Kangaroos
(Al Costello (2) and Don Kent) 		1 December 18, 1971 [Note 8] Detroit, Michigan Live event Defeated Ben Justice and The Mitchell in a tournament final. [1][2]
17 Ben Justice (3) and Guy Mitchell 2 May 1972 [Note 9] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
18 The Fabulous Kangaroos
(Al Costello and Ray St. Clair) 		2 May 20, 1972 56 Detroit, Michigan Live event [1][2]
19 Ben Justice (3) and Guy Mitchell 3 July 15, 1972 147 Detroit, Michigan Live event [1][2]
20 Kurt Von Hess and Karl Von Shotz 1 December 9, 1972 [Note 10] Detroit, Michigan Live event   [1][2]
21 Fred Curry (3) and Tony Marino 1 December 1972 [Note 11] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
22 Kurt Von Hess and Karl Von Shotz 2 January 23, 1973 10 Detroit, Michigan Live event   [1][2]
23 Fred Curry (4) and Tony Marino 2 February 2, 1973 16 Detroit, Michigan Live event   [1][2]
24 Kurt Von Hess and Karl Von Shotz 3 February 18, 1973 [Note 12] Detroit, Michigan Live event   [1][2]
25 Fred Curry (5) and Luis Martinez 1 April 1973 [Note 13] Detroit, Michigan Live event   [1][2]
26 Ben Justice (4) and Killer Tim Brooks 1 1973 [Note 14] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
27 Bobo Brazil (3) and Guy Mitchell 1 July 21, 1973 [Note 15] Detroit, Michigan Live event   [1][2]
28 Ben Justice (4) and Killer Tim Brooks 2 September 9, 1973 (NLT) [Note 16] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
29 Guy Mitchell (4) and Tex McKenzie 1 September 12, 1973 (NLT) [Note 17] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
30 Ben Justice and Killer Tim Brooks 3 November 13, 1973 (NLT) [Note 18] [Note 2] Live event Change took place between October 22 and November 13, 1973 [1][2]
31 Fred Curry (6) and Tony Marino 3 November 17, 1973 [Note 1] Detroit, Michigan Live event   [1][2]
32 Kurt Von Hess and Karl Von Shotz 4 January 5, 1974 28 Detroit, Michigan Live event   [1][2]
33 Fred Curry (7) and Tony Marino 4 February 2, 1974 14 Detroit, Michigan Live event   [1][2]
34 Kurt Von Hess and Karl Von Shotz 5 February 16, 1974 84 Detroit, Michigan Live event   [1][2]
35 Bobo Brazil (4) and Tony Marino (5) 1 May 11, 1974 [Note 19] Detroit, Michigan Live event   [1][2]
— Held up — June 1974 N/A N/A N/A Championship held up after match against Ben Justice and Killer Tim Brooks. [1][2]
36 Bobo Brazil (5) and Tony Marino (6) 2 June 15, 1974 [Note 1] [Note 2] Live event Won the rematch against Justice and Brooks [1][2]
37 Abdullah the Butcher and Killer Tim Brooks (3) 1 1974 [Note 1] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
38 Bobo Brazil (6) and Tony Marino (7) 3 1974 [Note 1] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
39 The Mongols
(Geeto Mongol and Bolo Mongol) 		1 1974 [Note 1] [Note 2] Live event   [7]
40 Fred Curry (8) and Bobo Brazil (7) 1 November 1974 (NLT) [Note 20] [Note 2] Live event Awarded when The Mongols no-show title defense. [1][2]
41 Angelo and Lanny Poffo 1 January 1975 [Note 1] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
42 Hank James and Mighty Igor 1 1975 [Note 1] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
43 Islanders
(Afa and Sika) 		1 July 19, 1975 (NLT) [Note 1] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
44 Fred Curry (8) and Hank James (2) 1 October 25, 1975 (NLT) [Note 21] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
45 Islanders
(Afa and Sika) 		2 November 7, 1975 (NLT) [Note 22] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
46 The Von Brauners
(Kurt Von Brauner and Kurt Von Brauner) 		1 December 18, 1975 [Note 23] Toledo, Ohio Live event   [1][2]
47 Chris Colt and Count Drummer 1 February 7, 1976 (NLT) [Note 24] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
48 Chris Colt and Lanny Poffo (2) 1 March 1976 [Note 25] [Note 2] Live event Drummer gave his half of the championship to Poffo after being injured. [1][2]
49 Dominic DeNucci and Chris Markoff 1 May 1, 1976 [Note 1] Detroit, Michigan Live event   [1][2]
50 The Fabulous Kangaroos
(Al Costello (3) and Tony Charles) 		1 1976 [Note 1] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
51 Luke Graham and Ripper Collins 1 April 24, 1977 (NLT) [Note 1] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
52 Hank James (3) and Ed George 1 1977 [Note 1] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
53 Bounty Hunters 1 1977 [Note 1] [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
54 Lou Klein and Ed George (2) 1 July 9, 1977 0 [Note 2] Live event   [1][2]
— Vacated — July 9, 1977 N/A N/A N/A Klein retired after the match. [1][2]
 
55 Moose Cholak and Ed George (3) 1 April 1978 [Note 1] [Note 2] Live event Records are unclear as to whom they defeated for the championship [1][2]
 
56 John Bonello and Randy Scott 1 April 1980 [Note 26] [Note 2] Live event Defeated Pat and Mike Kelly to win the championship [1][2]
57 Frankie Laine and George Steele 1 May 3, 1980 21 Detroit, Michigan Live event   [1][2][8]
58 John Bonello and Randy Scott 2 May 24, 1980 35 Detroit, Michigan Live event   [1][2]
59 Giant Baba and Jumbo Tsuruta 1 June 28, 1980 [Note 27] Detroit, Michigan Live event   [1][2]
— Championship retired — October 1980 N/A N/A N/A Promotion closed [1][2]

Team reigns by combined length

Key
Symbol Meaning
¤ The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain, so the shortest possible length is used.
Rank Team # of reigns Combined days
1 The Islanders
(Afa and Sika)		 2

407¤

2 Ben Justice and Guy Mitchell 3 197¤
3 Kurt Von Hess and Karl Von Shotz 5 196¤
The Fabulous Kangaroos
(Al Costello and Don Kent)		 1 196¤
5 Texas Outlaws
(Dusty Rhodes and Dick Murdoch)		 1 140
6 Giant Baba and Jumbo Tsuruta 1 95¤
7 Karl Von Brauner and Kurt Von Brauner 1 74¤
8 The Fabulous Kangaroos
(Al Costello and Ray St. Clair)		 2 56¤
9 Fred Curry and Tony Marino 4 49¤
10 John Bonello and Randy Scott 2 38¤
11 Bobo Brazil and Lord Athol Layton 1 33
12 Fred Curry and Bobo Brazil 1 32¤
13 Chris Colt and Lanny Poffo 1 31¤
14 Bobo Brazil and Tony Marino 3 21¤
Chris Colt and Count Drummer 1 21¤
Frankie Laine and George Steele 1 21
17 Ben Justice and Killer Tim Brooks 3 3¤
Guy Mitchell and Tex McKenzie 1 3¤
19 Hell's Angel
(Ron Dupree and Paul Dupree)		 2 2¤
20 Bobo Brazil and Guy Mitchell 1 1¤
Fred Curry and Billy Red Lyons 1 1
Fred Curry and Hank James 1 1¤
Fred Curry and Luis Martinez 1 1¤
Lou and Roy Klein 1 1¤
Rocky Johnson and Ben Justice 1 1¤
Skull Brothers 1 1¤
27 Abdullah the Butcher and Killer Tim Brooks 1 ¤
Angelo Poffo and Lanny Poffo 1 ¤
Bobo Brazil and Sailor Art Thomas 1 ¤
Bounty Hunters 1 ¤
Chris and John Tolos 1 ¤
Dominic DeNucci and Chris Markoff 1 ¤
Fred Curry and Dan Miller 1 ¤
Hank James and Ed George 1 ¤
Hank James and Mighty Igor 1 ¤
Johnny Barend and Magnificent Maurice 1 ¤
Lou Klein and Ed George 1 0
Luke Graham and Ripper Collins 1 ¤
Moose Cholak and Ed George 1 ¤
Nikolai and Boris Volkoff 1 ¤
The Fabulous Kangaroos
(Al Costello and Tony Charles)		 1 ¤
The Mongols
(Geeto Mongol and Bolo Mongol)		 1 ¤

Individual reigns by combined length

Key
Symbol Meaning
¤ The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain, so the shortest possible length is used.
Rank Wrestler # of reigns Combined days
1 Afa 2 407¤
Sika 2 407¤
3 Al Costello 4 252¤
4 Ben Justice 7 201¤
Guy Mitchell 5 201¤
7 Kurt Von Hess 5 196¤
Karl Von Shotz 5 196¤
Don Kent 1 196¤
10 Dick Murdoch 1 140
Dusty Rhodes 1 140
12 Giant Baba 1 95¤
Jumbo Tsuruta 1 95¤
14 Bobo Brazil 7 87¤
15 Karl Von Brauner 1 74¤
Kurt Von Brauner 1 74¤
16 Tony Marino 7 70¤
17 Ray St. Clair 2 56¤
18 Chris Colt 2 52¤
19 John Bonello 2 38¤
Randy Scott 2 38¤
21 Lord Athol Layton 1 33
22 Lanny Poffo 2 31¤
23 Count Drummer 1 21¤
Frankie Laine 1 21
George Steele 1 21
26 Fred Curry 9 8¤
27 Tex McKenzie 1 3¤
Killer Tim Brooks 4 3¤
29 Paul Dupree) 2 2¤
Ron Dupree 2 2¤
31 Hank James 3 1¤
Lou Klein 2 1¤
Roy Klein 1 1¤
Luis Martinez 1 1¤
Billy Red Lyons 1 1
Rocky Johnson 1 1¤
Skull Brother #1 1 1¤
Skull Brother #2 1 1¤
38 Abdullah the Butcher 1 0¤
Mighty Igor 1 0¤
Johnny Barend 1 0¤
Ripper Collins 1 0¤
Ed George 3 0¤
Chris Markoff 1 0¤
Dan Miller 1 0¤
Boris Volkoff 1 0¤
Nikolai Volkoff 1 0¤
Angelo Poffo 1 0¤
Bolo Mongol 1 0¤
Chris Tolos 1 0¤
Dominic DeNucci 1 0¤
Geeto Mongol 1 0¤
John Tolos 1 0¤
Luke Graham 1 0¤
Moose Cholak 1 0¤
Sailor Art Thomas 1 0¤
Tony Charles 1 0¤
Bounty Hunter #1 1 0¤
Bounty Hunter #2 1 0¤
Magnificent Maurice 1 0¤

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v The length of this championship reign is too uncertain to calculate.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak The location of the match was not captured as part of the documentation.
  3. ^ This was not the same wrestler later known as Nikolai Volkoff, that wrestler did not use the ring name until the 1970s.
  4. ^ The date that Johnson and Justice lost the championship is unknown, which means that their reign lasted between 1 day and 223 days.
  5. ^ The date that Hell's Angels won the championship is unknown, which means that their reign lasted between 1 day and 223 days.
  6. ^ The date that Lou and Roy Klein lost the championship is unknown, which means that their reign lasted between 1 day and 122 days.
  7. ^ The date that the Skull Brothers won the championship is unknown, which means that their reign lasted between 1 day and 518 days.
  8. ^ The date that the Fabulous Kangaroos lost the championship is unknown, which means that their reign lasted between 196 and 226 days.
  9. ^ The date that Justice and Mitchel won the championship is unknown, which means that their reign lasted between 1 day and 20 days.
  10. ^ The date that Von Hess and Von SHotz list the championship is unknown, which means that their reign lasted between 1 day and 22 days.
  11. ^ The date that Curry and Marino won the championship is unknown, which means that their reign lasted between 5 and 35 days.
  12. ^ The date that Von Hess and Von Shotz lost the championship is unknown, which means that their reign lasted between 73 and 71 days.
  13. ^ The date that Curry and Martinez won and lost the championship is unknown, which means that their reign lasted between 1 day and 110 days.
  14. ^ The date that Justice and Brooks won the championship is unknown, which means that their reign lasted between 1 day and 110 days.
  15. ^ The date that Brazil and Mitchell lost the championship is unknown, which means that their reign lasted between 1 day and 118 days.
  16. ^ The date that Justice and Brooks won the championship is unknown, which means that their reign lasted between 1 day and 118 days.
  17. ^ The date that Mitchell and McKenzie won and lost the championship is unknown, which means that their reign lasted between 3 and 65 days.
  18. ^ The date that Justice and Brooks won the championship is unknown, which means that their reign lasted between 4 and 65 days.
  19. ^ The date that the championship was vacated is unknown, which means that their reign lasted between 21 and 34 days.
  20. ^ The date that Curry and Brazil won and lost the championship is unknown, which means that their reign lasted between 32 and 91 days.
  21. ^ The date that Curry and James won and lost the championship is unknown, which means that their reign lasted between 1 day and 110 days.
  22. ^ The date that the Islanders won the championship is unknown, which means that their reign lasted between 407 and 419 days.
  23. ^ The date that Von Hess and Von Brauner won the championship is unknown, which means that their reign lasted between 74 and 104 days.
  24. ^ The date that Colt and Drummer won the championship is unknown, which means that their reign lasted between 21 and 103 days.
  25. ^ The date that Colt and Poffo won the championship is unknown, which means that their reign lasted between 31 and 61 days.
  26. ^ The date that Bonello and Scott won the championship is unknown, which means that their reign lasted between 3 and 33 days.
  27. ^ The date that the championship was abandoned is unknown, which means that their reign lasted between 95 and 125 days.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "(Detroit) Michigan: NWA World Tag Team Title [Farhat & Flesher]". Wrestling title histories: Professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz "National Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Title [Detroit]". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  3. ^ a b Hornbaker, Tim (2007). "The Origins of a Wrestling Monopoly". National Wrestling Alliance, The Untold Story of the Monopoly that Strangled Pro Wrestling. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-55022-741-3.
  4. ^ Mazer, Sharon (February 1, 1998). Professional Wrestling: Sport and Spectacle. University Press of Mississippi. pp. 18–19. ISBN 1-57806-021-4. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  5. ^ Hoops, Brian (March 5, 2017). "Daily Pro Wrestling History (03/05): The Hardy Boyz win WWF tag team gold". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  6. ^ Hoops, Brian (January 18, 2019). "Pro wrestling history (01/18): Ivan Koloff defeats Bruno Sammartino for WWWF title". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  7. ^ Oliver, Greg (2005). The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams. ECW Press. p. 238.
  8. ^ F4W Staff (May 3, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history: Low Ki Vs. Dewitt, Punk wins OVW title, Mutoh wins IWGP belt, Bret wins NA title, Dibiase and Dr. Death, Sheik, Watts, Fargos". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 11, 2017.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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