NWA National Tag Team Championship
The NWA National Tag Team Championship was the major tag team title in the NWA-affiliated Georgia Championship Wrestling from 1980 until 1986. The championship was introduced in November 1980 when Georgia Tag Team Champions The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes, Buddy Roberts, and Terry Gordy) won a tournament to determine the first champions, defeating Stan Frazier and Robert Fuller in the final. They were introduced as the Georgia and National Tag Team Champions and carried a trophy to the ring representing the National title as they wore belts which represented the Georgia title.
| NWA National Tag Team Championship | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The championship belt | |||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||
| Promotion | Georgia Championship Wrestling | ||||||||||||
| Date established | November 27, 1980 | ||||||||||||
| Date retired | January 1, 1986 | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
The National Tag Team Championship continued to be represented by a trophy until Thanksgiving Night in 1981, when the promotion awarded newly made belts (modeled after the old Georgia tag team belts, which the National title replaced) to the winners of its annual turkey night tag team tournament. The father and son duo of Bob and Brad Armstrong defeated Mr. Fuji and Mr. Saito in the final to win the vacant NWA National Tag Team Championship.
When World Wrestling Entertainment (then called the World Wrestling Federation)'s Vince McMahon bought Georgia Championship Wrestling, Inc.'s TV timeslot (after GCW's contract with TBS expired without renewal: Black Saturday), the titleholders were Ron Garvin and Jerry Oates. After Oates and Garvin refused to sign with McMahon, McMahon discontinued the title.
A new wrestling promotion -- containing some former Georgia Championship Wrestling personnel -- Championship Wrestling from Georgia reactivated the title, and recognized Garvin & Oates as the titleholders, keeping the Georgia Championship Wrestling lineage unbroken. Jim Crockett Promotions bought the TBS wrestling timeslot from the WWF in 1985 -- and Championship Wrestling from Georgia (including CWG's Saturday morning TBS timeslot, as well) -- kept the title active. The title was written out of JCP storylines when titleholders Ole Anderson & Arn Anderson were stripped of the belts, and JCP replaced them by establishing its 'new' United States Tag Team Championship, and a tournament to crown its 'first' champions.[1]
Title history
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | ||||
| 1 | The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy) |
November 27, 1980 | live event | Atlanta, Georgia | 1 | 60 | Defeated Stan Frazier and Robert Fuller in tournament final. | |
| 2 | Ted DiBiase and Stan Frazier | January 26, 1981 | live event | Augusta, Georgia | 1 | 5 | ||
| 3 | The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy) |
January 31, 1981 | live event | Atlanta, Georgia | 2 | 130 | ||
| 4 | Ted DiBiase (2) and Steve Olsonoski | June 10, 1981 | live event | Marietta, Georgia | 1 | 26 | ||
| 5 | Terry Gordy (3) and Jimmy Snuka | July 6, 1981 | live event | Augusta, Georgia | 1 | 83 | Tommy Rich and Ted DiBiase defeated Gordy and Snuka on July 19, 1981 in Atlanta, Georgia, but the belts were returned after the NWA found out that Michael Hayes counted the pinfall. | |
| 6 | Michael Hayes (3) and Otis Sistrunk | September 27, 1981 | live event | Atlanta, Georgia | 1 | 13 | ||
| — | Vacated | October 10, 1981 | — | — | — | — | Sistrunk quit the company, date listed is first TV taping without Sistrunk. | |
| 7 | The Armstrongs (Bob and Brad Armstrong) |
November 26, 1981 | live event | Atlanta, Georgia | 1 | 57 | Defeated Mr. Fuji and Mr. Saito in tournament final and won a $30,000 cash prize. | |
| 8 | Super Destroyer and Masked Superstar | January 22, 1982 | live event | Columbus, Georgia | 1 | 45 | ||
| 9 | Super Destroyer (2) and Big John Studd | March 8, 1982 | live event | N/A | 1 | 116 | Masked Superstar gave his half of title to Studd. | |
| 10 | The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes (4) and Terry Gordy (4)) |
July 2, 1982 | live event | Chattanooga, Tennessee | 3 | 58 | ||
| 11 | The Wild Samoans (Afa and Sika) |
August 29, 1982 | live event | Atlanta, Georgia | 1 | 125 | ||
| — | Vacated | January 1, 1983 | — | — | — | — | Storyline was that the Samoans refused to defend against Tommy Rich and Paul Orndorff, in reality they left GCW for the World Wrestling Federation. | |
| 12 | The Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk) |
June 11, 1983 | live event | Atlanta, Georgia | 1 | 176 | Won a fictitious tournament. | |
| 13 | The Sawyers (Buzz and Brett Sawyer) |
December 4, 1983 | live event | Canton, Ohio | 1 | 55 | ||
| 14 | The Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk) |
January 28, 1984 | live event | Athens, Georgia | 2 | 99 | Awarded the championship when Buzz Sawyer was fired. | |
| 15 | King Kong Bundy and Masked Superstar (2) | May 6, 1984 | live event | Atlanta, Georgia | 1 | 4 | [2] | |
| — | Vacated | May 10, 1984 | — | — | — | — | Masked Superstar was said to be injured, to cover for him working in Japan. | |
| 16 | The Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk) |
May 20, 1984 | live event | Atlanta, Georgia | 3 | 45 | Defeated Junkyard Dog and Sweet Brown Sugar in a tournament final. | |
| 17 | Ron Garvin and Jerry Oates | July 4, 1984 | live event | Columbus, Georgia | 1 | 79 | ||
| 18 | The Hollywood Blonds (Rip Rogers and Ted Oates) |
September 21, 1984 | live event | Atlanta, Georgia | 1 | 44 | ||
| 19 | The Lighting Express (Brad Armstrong (2) and Tim Horner) |
November 4, 1984 | live event | N/A | 1 | 6 | ||
| — | Vacated | November 10, 1984 | — | — | — | — | Horner was injured and unable to defend the championship | |
| 20 | The Long Riders (Bill Irwin and Scott Irwin (3)) |
November 18, 1984 | live event | Atlanta, Georgia | 1 | 54 | Defeated Brad Armstrong and Jacques Rougeau in a tournament final, also won a $100,000 cash prize. | |
| 21 | Ole Anderson and Thunderbolt Patterson | January 11, 1985 | live event | Cleveland, Ohio | 1 | 78 | ||
| — | Vacated | March 30, 1985 | — | — | — | — | Ole Anderson turned on Thunderbolt Patterson and broke up the team. | |
| 22 | The Minnesota Wrecking Crew (Ole Anderson (2) and Arn Anderson) |
April 28, 1985 | live event | Charlotte, North Carolina | 1 | 248 | Defeated Patterson and Manny Fernandez in a match where both Ole and Patterson's half of the titles were at stake, with Arn becoming the new title holder. | |
| — | Deactivated | January 1, 1986 | — | — | — | — | Ole was injured by the Road Warriors and Dusty Rhodes in a match; replaced with the NWA United States Tag Team Championship. | |
References
- Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- F4W Staff (May 6, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (May 6): Verne Gagne Vs. Danny Hodge, 1st Annual Von Erich Parade of Champions show". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 10, 2017.