Date established January 8, 1957 | Date retired August 1960 | |
Promotion NWA Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club First champion(s) Tiny Mills and Al Mills Most reigns As team: The Kalmikoffs (Ivan and Karol Kalmikoff) (4 times)
Individual: Verne Gagne (4 times) Longest reign Murder Inc. (Stan Kowalski and Tiny Mills) (193 days) | ||
From January 8, 1957 through August 1960 the NWA Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club promoted the Minneapolis version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship, as the main professional wrestling championship for tag teams on their shows held in and around Minneapolis. The Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) from it's formation in 1948 but left the group in 1960 to help form the American Wrestling Association (AWA). The NWA Board of Directors allowed each member, referred to as a NWA Territory, to create and control their own individual "NWA World Tag Team Championship" to be defended within their territory. At one point in 1957no less than 14 different versions of the NWA World Tag Team Championship were recognized across the United States.[Championships] As with all professional wrestling championships, this championship was not contested for in competitive matches, but in matches with pre-determined outcomes to maintain the illusion that professional wrestling is a competitive sport.
Contents
- Title history
- Team reigns by combined length
- Individual reigns by combined length
- Concurrent championships
- References
Records indicate that brothers Al and Tiny Mills were recognized as NWA World Tag Team Champions in Minnesota in June 1953 as they lost the championship to Tony Baillargeon and Pat O'Connor on June 20, 1953. The records did not indicate how the Mills brothers won the championship, nor is it clear on what happened after Baillargeon and O'Connor won the championship. Records of an active NWA World Tag Team Championship in the Minneapolis area do not indicate new champions until January 8, 1957 where The Kalmikoffs (Ivan and Karol Kalmikoff) defeated Fritz Von Erich and Karl Von Schober in the finals of a tournament to win the championship. In 1960 the Minneapolis promotion left the NWA to found the AWA which meant that the last holders of the NWA championship, Murder Inc. (Stan Kowalski and Tiny Mills) became the first AWA World Tag Team Champions as all NWA branded championships were abandoned.
The Kalmikoffs held the championship a total of four times, the record both for teams and for Ivan and Karol Kalmikoffs as individuals. Verne Gagne shares the record of four championship reigns, with three different partners; Leo Nomellini, Bronco Nagurski and Butch Levy. Due to lack of details surrounding various championship change it is uncertain which team had the shortest reign, Herb and Seymore Freeman's reign of seven days is the shortest confirmed reign, but the possibility exists that another team had a shorter reign. The last reign was also the longest reign as Murder Inc. held the championship for 193 days before being awarded the AWA World Tag Team Championship.