NWA World Tag Team Championship (Iowa/Nebraska version) | |||||||
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Details | |||||||
Promotion | NWA Nebraska office [1] [2] NWA Iowa office [1] [2] | ||||||
Date established | No later than August 11, 1953 [1] [2] | ||||||
Date retired | 1958 [1] [2] | ||||||
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The Iowa/Nebraska version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship was a National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) professional wrestling tag team championship that was active between 1953 and 1958. The championship was controlled by the NWA's Iowa booking office under Pinkie George and the Nebraska booking office under Max Clayton. [1] [2] Both George and Clayton were founding members of the NWA in 1948 and served on the Board of Directors that decided to let any NWA member, known as a NWA territory to create a local version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship. [3] The Iowa/Nebraska version was one of at least 13 championships bearing that name in 1957. [Championships] As with all professional wrestling championships, this championship was not won or lost competitively but instead based on the decisions of the bookers of a wrestling promotion which determines the outcome of the matches. [4]
A version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship was promoted in Nebraska as early as May 4, 1949, but it is possible that it was the San Francisco version that Mike and Ben Sharpe defended in the region. [5] [6] The Iowa/Nebraska lineage was firmly established in the summer of 1953, no later than on August 11 of that year, when Bill Melby and Billy Darnell were recognized as champions in Iowa and Nebraska. [1] [2] Melby and Darnell also held the Chicago version at the time, but when they lost the championship to Ben and Mike Sharpe on October 17, 1953, only the Iowa/Nebraska version changed hands. [7] [8] In 1958 it was decided to replace the NWA World Tag Team Championship with the Big Time Wrestling World Tag Team Championship, [1] [2] [9] which in turn would be replaced with the AWA World Tag Team Championship in 1960 when a number of promotions left the NWA to form the American Wrestling Association (AWA). [10]
Four teams share the record for the most championship reigns (2), as the teams of Ben and Mike Sharpe, Boris and Nicol Volkoff, The Kalmikoffs (Ivan and Karol Kalmikoff), and Reggie Lisowski and Art Neilson were the only teams to hold the title more than once. [1] [2] Due to the lack of specific dates for many of the championship changes, it is impossible to clearly establish which team had the shortest reign, while the longest reign probably belongs to Guy Brunetti and Joe Tangaro who held the championship for at least 98 days. [1] [2]
Key
Symbol | Meaning |
No. | The overall championship reign |
Reign | The reign number for the specific wrestler listed. |
Event | The event in which the championship changed hands |
N/A | The specific information is not known |
[Note #] | Indicates that the exact length of the title reign is unknown, with a note providing more details. |
Indicates that there was a period where the lineage is undocumented due to the lack of written documentation in that time period. | |
(nlt) | Indicates that a title change took place "no later than" the date listed. [Note 1] |
No. | Champions | Reign | Date | Days held | Location | Event | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ben Sharpe and Mike Sharpe | 1 | May 4, 1949(NLT) | [Note 2] | N/A | Live event | The Sharpes were billed as champions upon arrival. Could have been the San Francisco version that was defended in the region. Still billed as champions in Nebraska on January 18, 1950 | [1] [2] |
2 | Bill Melby and Billy Darnell | 1 | August 11, 1953(NLT) | [Note 3] | Chicago, Illinois | Live event | Melby and Darnell won the Chicago version on July 15, 1953, Recognized in Iowa on August 11, 1953 | [1] [2] |
3 | Ben Sharpe and Mike Sharpe | 2 | October 17, 1953 | [Note 4] | Chicago, Illinois | Live event | Still billed as champions on December 9, 1953 | [1] [2] |
4 | Reggie Lisowski and Art Neilson | 1 | March 1, 1954(NLT) | [Note 5] | [Note 6] | Live event | The team defeated Melby and Darnell for Chicago version February 13, 1954. Change recognized in Iowa with the storyline being that they "recently" defeated the Sharpe Brothers. | [1] [2] |
5 | Pat O'Connor and Roy McClarty | 1 | March 19, 1955 | [Note 7] | Moline, Illinois | Live event | [1] [2] | |
6 | Reggie Lisowski and Art Neilson | 2 | April 4, 1955(NLT) | [Note 8] | [Note 6] | Live event | Still billed as champions on August 22, 1955 | [1] [2] |
7 | Guy Brunetti and Joe Tangaro | 1 | October 16, 1955(NLT) | [Note 9] | [Note 6] | Live event | Was reported as having defeated Lisowski and Nelson, but no record of such a match has been found | [1] [2] |
8 | Mike DiBiase and Danny Plechas | 1 | January 22, 1956 | [Note 10] | Des Moines, Iowa | Live event | Championship match was repeated on February 18, 1956 in Moline, Illinois. Still billed as champions on March 1. | [1] [2] |
10 | The Kalmikoffs (Ivan and Karol Kalmikoff) | 1 | May 8, 1956(NLT) | [Note 11] | [Note 6] | Live event | Still billed as champions on August 5, 1956 | [1] [2] |
11 | Boris and Nicoli Volkoff | 1 | October 6, 1956(NLT) | [Note 12] | [Note 6] | Live event | [1] [2] | |
12 | Bobby Bruns and Roy McClarity | 1 | November 3, 1956 | [Note 13] | Des Moines, Iowa | Live event | Still billed as champions on January 21, 1957 | [1] [2] |
13 | The Kalmikoffs (Ivan and Karol Kalmikoff) | 2 | June 13, 1957(NLT) | [Note 14] | [Note 6] | Live event | Billed as champions on a show in Omaha, Nebraska | [1] [2] |
14 | Boris and Nicoli Volkoff | 2 | October 25, 1957(NLT) | [Note 15] | [Note 6] | Live event | Recognized in Iowa, later recognized as champions in Nebraska on April 25, 1958 | [1] [2] |
— | Abandoned | — | 1958 | N/A | N/A | N/A | Replaced with the Omaha version of the World Tag Team Title Championship. | [1] [2] |
Key
Symbol | Meaning |
---|---|
¤ | The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain, so the shortest possible length is used. |
Rank | Team | No. of reigns | Combined days |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Reggie Lisowski and Art Neilson | 2 | 749¤ |
2 | The Kalmikoffs (Ivan Kalmikoff and Karol Kalmikoff) | 2 | 142¤ |
3 | Guy Brunetti and Joe Tangaro | 1 | 98¤ |
4 | Boris and Nicoli Volkoff | 2 | 96¤ |
5 | Bill Melby and Billy Darnell | 1 | 67¤ |
6 | Bobby Bruns and Roy McClarity | 1 | 1¤ |
Ben Sharpe and Mike Sharpe | 2 | 1¤ | |
Mike DiBiase and Danny Plechas | 1 | 1¤ | |
Pat O'Connor and Roy McClarty | 1 | 1¤ |
Key
Symbol | Meaning |
---|---|
¤ | The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain, so the shortest possible length is used. |
Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns | Combined days |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Art Neilson | 2 | 749¤ |
Reggie Lisowski | 2 | 749¤ | |
4 | Ivan Kalmikoff | 2 | 142¤ |
Karol Kalmikoff | 2 | 142¤ | |
6 | Guy Brunetti | 1 | 98¤ |
Joe Tangaro | 1 | 98¤ | |
8 | Boris Volkoff | 2 | 96¤ |
Nicoli Volkoff | 2 | 96¤ | |
11 | Billy Darnell | 1 | 67¤ |
Bill Melby | 1 | 67¤ | |
13 | Roy McClarity | 2 | 2¤ |
14 | Bobby Bruns | 1 | 1¤ |
Danny Plechas | 1 | 1¤ | |
Ben Sharpe Sharpe | 2 | 1¤ | |
Mike Sharpe | 2 | 1¤ | |
Mike DiBiase | 1 | 1¤ | |
Pat O'Connor | 1 | 1¤ |
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