WCW United States Tag Team Championship

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WCW United States Tag Team Championship
Details
Promotion National Wrestling Alliance (1986–1990)
World Championship Wrestling
(1991–1992)
Date established September 28, 1986
Date retired July 31, 1992
Other name(s) NWA United States Tag Team Championship

The WCW United States Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship contested for in the United States-based National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) promotions. The title was only contestable by male tag teams and in tag team matches. In 1986, NWA President and JCP owner Jim Crockett, Jr.[1] introduced the championship (under the name "NWA United States Tag Team Championship") by announcing a tournament for the newly created title, which was won by Krusher Khruschev and Ivan Koloff on September 28, 1986. Since its establishment, JCP was a subsidiary of the NWA, and as a result, most title defenses occurred under JCP-promoted events.[1]

In 1988, Crockett sold JCP to Ted Turner, who established WCW as its successor;[1] however, the title continued to be defended under the NWA name until January 1991, when WCW withdrew as a subsidiary to the NWA. The final champions under the NWA name were The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott). Following WCW's withdrawal, the title was renamed the "WCW United States Tag Team Championship". On July 31, 1992, WCW stripped the final champions, The Barbarian and Dick Slater, of their titles and retired the championship for unknown reasons.

NWA/WCW United States Tag Team Championship reigns were determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in scripted rivalries. These narratives create feuds between the various competitors, which cast them as villains and heroes. Overall, there were 19 reigns among 15 tag teams, all of which occurred in the United States.[Note 1] From the information known, The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane)'s first reign was the longest in the title's history at 346 days, while The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers)' second reign was the shortest, at 19 days. The Midnight Express also held the most reigns overall as a tag team and individually, with three.

Contents

[edit] Title history

Key
Symbol Meaning
# The overall championship reign
Wrestler name (#) The number within parenthesis represents the number of individual reigns by that specific wrestler.
Reign The reign number for the specific tag team listed
Event The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the title changed hands
N/A The specific information is not known or applicable .
Used for vacated reigns so as not to count it as an official reign
# Wrestler(s)
(Tag team name)
Reigns Date Days held Location Event Notes
1
Krusher Khruschev and Ivan Koloff
1
01986-09-28September 28, 1986
700172000000000000072
Atlanta, Georgia
House show
Won the titles in a tournament final against the Kansas Jayhawks (Dutch Mantel and Bobby Jaggers)
2
Ron Garvin and Barry Windham
1
01986-12-09December 9, 1986
700195000000000000095
Spartanburg, South Carolina
NWA Pro Wrestling
Aired Dec 13.
3
Dick Murdoch and Ivan Koloff (2)
1
01987-03-14March 14, 1987
[Note 2]
Atlanta, Georgia
World Championship Wrestling
Vacated
01987-04-01April 1987
N/A
N/A
Announced Apr 4. Murdoch was suspended from in-ring competition by the NWA after performing a brainbuster on Nikita Koloff on a concrete floor, and as a result, Ivan Koloff and Murdoch were stripped of the titles.
4
Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane
(The Midnight Express)
1
01987-05-16May 16, 1987
7002346000000000000346
Atlanta, Georgia
World Championship Wrestling
Won the titles in a tournament final by defeating Ron Garvin and Barry Windham
5
Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers
(The Fantastics)
1
01988-04-26April 26, 1988
700175000000000000075
Chattanooga, Tennessee
World Wide Wrestling
Aired May 14.
6
Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane
(The Midnight Express)
2
01988-07-10July 10, 1988
700162000000000000062
Baltimore, Maryland
The Great American Bash (1988)
Vacated
01988-09-10September 10, 1988
N/A
N/A
The NWA vacated the titles after Eaton and Lane won the NWA World Tag Team Championship
7
Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers
(The Fantastics)
2
01988-12-07December 7, 1988
700119000000000000019
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Clash of the Champions IV: Season's Beatings
Won the titles in a tournament final by defeating Eddie Gilbert and Ron Simmons
8
Kevin Sullivan and Steve Williams
1
01988-12-26December 26, 1988
700164000000000000064
Norfolk, Virginia
Starrcade (1988)
9
Eddie Gilbert and Rick Steiner
1
01989-02-28February 28, 1989
[Note 3]
Columbia, South Carolina
World Wide Wrestling
Aired Mar 18.
Vacated
01989-05-01May 1989
N/A
N/A
The NWA vacated the title for unknown reasons
10
Brian Pillman and The Z-Man
1
01990-02-12February 12, 1990
700196000000000000096
Gainesville, Georgia
World Wide Wrestling
Aired Feb 24. Won the titles in a tournament final by defeating Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin (The Fabulous Freebirds)
11
Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane
(The Midnight Express)
3
01990-05-19May 19, 1990
700197000000000000097
Washington, D.C.
Capital Combat: Return of Robocop
12
Rick (2) and Scott Steiner
(The Steiner Brothers)
1
01990-08-24August 24, 1990
7002225000000000000225
East Rutherford, New Jersey
House show
Vacated
01991-04-06April 6, 1991
N/A
World Wide Wrestling
Announced April 6 by WCW Board of Directors spokesman Grizzly Smith, as a result of the Steiner Brothers winning the WCW World Tag Team Championship during this reign.
13
Jimmy Garvin and Michael Hayes
(The Fabulous Freebirds)
1
01991-05-19May 19, 1991
700185000000000000085
St. Petersburg, Florida
SuperBrawl
Won the titles by defeating The Young Pistols (Tracey Smothers and Steve Armstrong) in a Top Contenders Match.
14
Todd Champion and Firebreaker Chip
(The Patriots)
1
01991-08-12August 12, 1991
700185000000000000085
Gainesville, Georgia
World Championship Wrestling
Aired Sep 7.
15
Steve Armstrong and Tracy Smothers
(The Young Pistols)
1
01991-11-05November 5, 1991
700170000000000000070
Gainesville, Georgia
WCW Main Event
Aired Dec 15.
16
Big Josh and Ron Simmons
1
01992-01-14January 14, 1992
700134000000000000034
Columbus, Georgia
WCW Main Event
Aired Feb 16.
17
Terry Taylor and Greg Valentine
1
01992-02-17February 17, 1992
700190000000000000090
Rock Hill, South Carolina
World Championship Wrestling
Aired Feb 29.
18
Jimmy Garvin and Michael Hayes
(The Fabulous Freebirds)
2
01992-05-17May 17, 1992
700139000000000000039
Jacksonville, Florida
WrestleWar (1992)
19
The Barbarian and Dick Slater
1
01992-06-25June 25, 1992
700136000000000000036
Kansas City, Missouri
WCW Main Event
Aired July 12. The Barbarian and Slater became the final champions under WCW when the company retired the titles on July 31, 1992 to place the sole focus of the tag team division on the WCW World Tag Team Titles.

[edit] Combined reigns by length

[edit] Team

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
Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane
(The Midnight Express)
3
505
2
Rick and Scott Steiner
(The Steiner Brothers)
1
146¤
[Note 4]
3
Jimmy Garvin and Michael Hayes
(The Fabulous Freebirds)
2
124
4
Brian Pillman and The Z-Man
1
96
5
Ron Garvin and Barry Windham
1
95
6
Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers
(The Fantastics)
2
94
7
Terry Taylor and Greg Valentine
1
90
8
Todd Champion and Firebreaker Chip
(The Patriots)
1
85
9
Krusher Khruschev and Ivan Koloff
1
72
10
Steve Armstrong and Tracy Smothers
(The Young Pistols)
1
70
11
Kevin Sullivan and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams
1
64
12
Eddie Gilbert and Rick Steiner
1
62¤
[Note 3]
13
The Barbarian and Dick Slater
1
36
14
Big Josh and Ron Simmons
1
34
15
Dick Murdoch and Ivan Koloff
1
18¤
[Note 2]

[edit] Individual

Key
Symbol Meaning
#= The equal sign next to a number means that entry is equal in length with the preceding and/or following entry
¤ The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain, the shortest possible length is used.
Rank Wrestler # of reigns Combined days
1= Bobby Eaton 3 505
1= Stan Lane 3 505
2 Rick Steiner 2 208¤
[Note 3]
[Note 4]
3 Scott Steiner 1 146¤
[Note 4]
4= Jimmy Garvin 2 124
4= Michael Hayes 2 124
5= Brian Pillman 1 96
5= The Z-Man 1 96
6= Ron Garvin 1 95
6= Barry Windham 1 95
7= Bobby Fulton 2 94
7= Tommy Rogers 2 94
8= Ivan Koloff 2 90¤
[Note 2]
8= Terry Taylor 1 90
8= Greg Valentine 1 90
9= Todd Champion 1 85
9= Firebreaker Chip 1 85
10 Krusher Khruschev 1 72
11= Steve Armstrong 1 70
11= Tracy Smothers 1 70
12= Kevin Sullivan 1 64
12= "Dr. Death" Steve Williams 1 64
13 Eddie Gilbert 1 62¤
[Note 3]
14= The Barbarian 1 36
14= Dick Slater 1 36
15= Big Josh 1 34
15= Ron Simmons 1 34
16 Dick Murdoch 1 18¤
[Note 2]

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ .
  2. ^ a b c d The exact date on which Koloff and Murdoch were stripped of the championship is not known, which means that their reign lasted between 700118000000000000018 and 700147000000000000047 days.
  3. ^ a b c d The exact date on which Eddie Gilbert and Rick Steiner lost the championship is not known, which means that their reign lasted between 700162000000000000062 and 700191000000000000091 days.
  4. ^ a b c The exact date on which The Steiner Brothers lost the championship is not known, which means that their reign lasted between 7002161000000000000161 and 7002219000000000000219 days.

[edit] References

General
Specific
  1. ^ a b c Beekman, Scott (2006). Ringside: a history of professional wrestling in America. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 129–132. ISBN 0-275-98401-X.