The Tennessee Volunteerz

Last updated
The Tennessee Volunteers
Tag team
Members Reno Riggins
Steven Dunn
Name(s)The Tennessee Volunteers
The Tennessee Volunteerz
The Main Event
The Volz
Heights5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) – Riggins
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) – Dunn
Combined
weight
440 lb (200 kg)
Billed from Tennessee
Debut1997
Disbanded2000

The Tennessee Volunteerz was a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Reno Riggins and Steven Dunn. They competed in National Wrestling Alliance and its territory, Music City Wrestling (MCW) during the late 1990s. During their tenure in MCW, Volunteers were the promotion's top tag team, having won the promotion's North American Tag Team Championship 6 times. [1] [2] They were also 1 time NWA World Tag Team Champions. [3]

Professional wrestling entertainment form that mimics contact sports

Professional wrestling is a form of performance art and entertainment that combines athletics with theatrical performance. It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, that mimic a title-match combat sport. The unique form of sport portrayed is fundamentally based on classical and "catch" wrestling, with modern additions of striking attacks, strength-based holds and throws and acrobatic maneuvers. Much of these derive from the influence of various international martial arts. An additional aspect of combat with improvised weaponry is sometimes included to varying degrees.

Tag team Team of multiple professional wrestlers

Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name and identity.

Steve Doll American professional wrestler

Steven Lyle Doll was an American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as Steven Dunn in the tag team Well Dunn.

Contents

History

National Wrestling Alliance (1997-2000)

Music City Wrestling (1997-1999)

In 1997, Reno Riggins and Steven Dunn began teaming in National Wrestling Alliance's territory, Music City Wrestling (MCW) as Tennessee Volunteers, named after the sports teams of the University of Tennessee. They received a quick push, winning their first MCW North American Tag Team Championship from Thrillbilly and Shane Eden on January 27, 1998. [1] They lost the titles to Ladies Night Out (Frenchy Rivera and Shane Eden) on February 21. [1] On February 28, Volunteers regained the titles from Ladies Night Out. [1] On March 21, Volunteers attacked MCW's promoter and were stripped of the titles. [1] On May 30, Dunn won the title with his former Well Dunn partner Rex King. [1] Immediately after the win, Dunn turned on King by joining Riggins in attacking King. Riggins took King's place as Dunn's tag team partner for the title. [1]

National Wrestling Alliance Professional wrestling organization

The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling organization. Formed in 1948, it was for a time the most-recognized brand and largest governing body in professional wrestling. Under the control of the NWA Board of Directors, the organization acted as a governing body for the NWA's national territory system which recognized one world champion, participated in talent exchanges and collectively protected the territorial integrity of member promotions.

Tennessee Volunteers intercollegiate sports teams of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville

The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). In December 2017, former Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer was introduced as Tennessee's new athletic director. Fulmer gained the position after a tumultuous football coaching search led to the dismissal of then-AD John Currie.

University of Tennessee Public university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States

The University of Tennessee is a public research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, it is the flagship campus of the University of Tennessee system, with ten undergraduate colleges and eleven graduate colleges. It hosts almost 28,000 students from all 50 states and more than 100 foreign countries. In its 2019 universities ranking, U.S. News & World Report ranked UT 115th among all national universities and 52nd among public institutions of higher learning. Seven alumni have been selected as Rhodes Scholars. James M. Buchanan, M.S. '41, received the 1986 Nobel Prize in Economics. UT's ties to nearby Oak Ridge National Laboratory, established under UT President Andrew Holt and continued under the UT–Battelle partnership, allow for considerable research opportunities for faculty and students.

On August 1, Volunteers dropped the titles to MCW Blacksheep (Wolfie D and Flash Flanagan). The titles were renamed NWA North American Tag Team Championship. [1] [2] On August 29, Volunteers were booked to defeat MCW Blacksheep for their fourth tag titles. [2] On February 5, 1999, the title was held up after a match between Volunteers and The Australians (Bill Dundee and Ashley Hudson). [2] On February 6, Volunteers defeated Australians in a rematch for their fifth tag title. [2] On February 20, Volunteers lost the title to Brian Christopher and Spellbinder. [2] Volunteers won their sixth tag title, defeating Christopher and Spellbinder on March 25. [2]

Wolfie D American professional wrestler

Kelly Warren Wolfe is an American professional wrestler. Wolfe is perhaps best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) under the ring name Wolfie D, as well as for his appearances with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Slash. He is a former NWA World Tag Team Champion and one-half of the reigning Traditional Championship Wrestling tag team champions.

Bill Dundee Scottish born-Australian professional wrestler

William "Bill" Cruickshanks is a Scottish born-Australian professional wrestler and author better known by his stage name Bill Dundee. Cruickshanks is the father of Jamie Dundee and the father-in-law of wrestler Bobby Eaton.

Harry Del Rios is an American professional wrestler. Rios is best known as the Spellbinder and Phantasio from WWE, but he has competed under many other ring names during his career.

NWA World Tag Team Champions (2000)

Being MCW's top tag team, Volunteers vacated the NWA North American Tag Team Championship in May 1999 to focus on the NWA World Tag Team Championship. [2] Volunteers left MCW and were renamed Main Event. They won the NWA World Tag Team Title, defeating xXx (Firebreaker Chip and Drake Dawson) at a card in Saudi Arabia on April 7, 2000. [3] Main Event lost the titles to The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) on April 12in South Korea, with Jackie Fulton subbing for Riggins. [3] Main Event attempted to regain the titles but failed in winning back the titles. This caused the team to disband.

NWA World Tag Team Championship National Wrestling Alliance professional wrestling 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 1992, 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. This meant that only the Jim Crockett Promotions' NWA World Tag Team Championship was active, but still being controlled by JCP, not the NWA board of directors. In 1991 that championship was renamed the WCW World Tag Team Championship.

Curtis Thompson is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling from 1991 to 1992 under the ring name Firebreaker Chip.

Saudi Arabia Country in Western Asia

Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is a country in Western Asia constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula. With a land area of approximately 2,150,000 km2 (830,000 sq mi), Saudi Arabia is geographically the largest sovereign state in the Middle East, the second-largest in the Arab world, the fifth-largest in Asia, and the 12th-largest in the world. Saudi Arabia is bordered by Jordan and Iraq to the north, Kuwait to the northeast, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates to the east, Oman to the southeast and Yemen to the south; it is separated from Israel and Egypt by the Gulf of Aqaba. It is the only nation with both a Red Sea coast and a Persian Gulf coast, and most of its terrain consists of arid desert, lowland and mountains. As of October 2018, the Saudi economy was the largest in the Middle East and the 18th largest in the world. Saudi Arabia also enjoys one of the world's youngest populations; 50% of its 33.4 million people are under 25 years old.

Aftermath

Reno Riggins and Steven Dunn opened a wrestling school based out of Nashville, Tennessee. [4] Later on, Riggins and Dunn went on their separate ways. Riggins is now a booker for Showtime All-Star Wrestling. Dunn died on March 22, 2009 after a blood clot from his lungs reached his heart.

Championships and accomplishments

The NWA North American Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship that is currently used and defended in various territories throughout the National Wrestling Alliance. This is the fifth NWA sanctioned championship to bear this name. Unlike its predecessors, each of which was only used in a specific territory, this title is defended in NWA territories throughout the world in much the same way as the NWA World Tag Team Championship. Also, as with the NWA World Tag Team Championship, the title is ultimately controlled by the NWA Board of Directors and title changes occur only when a majority of the board votes to do so. Originally, the championship was called the MCW North American Tag Team Championship and was defended in Music City Wrestling based out of Nashville, Tennessee.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "M.C.W. North American Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "N.W.A. North American Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "N.W.A. World Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
  4. "Wrestler Profiles: Steve Doll". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2010-06-27.