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