W*ING World Tag Team Championship

The W*ING World Tag Team Championship was a tag team championship contested in both Wrestling International New Generations and International Wrestling Association. The titles were established and won around July 1992 and were active until July 24, 2004, when they were abandoned. Ryo Miyake suffered an injury in the summer of 2004 and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams's throat cancer rapidly worsened during the same time frame, both being unable to defend the titles.[1] There have been a total of 14 reigns shared between 11 different teams. Williams and Miyake were the last champions.

W*ING World Tag Team Championship
Details
PromotionWrestling International New Generations
International Wrestling Association
Date establishedJuly 1992
Date retiredJuly 24, 2004
Other name(s)
  • IWA World Tag Team Championship
Statistics
First champion(s)The Headhunters
Final champion(s)Ryo Miyake and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams
Most reignsThe Headhunters (4 reigns)
Longest reignMr. Gannosuke and Tarzan Goto (390 days)
Shortest reignTracy Smothers and Cactus Jack (4 days)

Title history

Key
No.Overall reign number
ReignReign number for the specific team—reign numbers for the individuals are in parentheses, if different
DaysNumber of days held
<1Reign lasted less than a day
+Current reign is changing daily
No.ChampionChampionship changeReign statisticsNotesRef.
DateEventLocationReignDays
Wrestling International New Generations
1The Headhunters
(Headhunter A and Headhunter B)
July 1992N/AN/A199-129Defeated Dick Murdoch and Dick Slater in the finals of a tournament to determine the inaugural champions. The exact date of their win is uncertain.
2Mr. Pogo and Crash The TerminatorNovember 6, 1992House showSapporo, Japan1137
VacatedMarch 23, 1993The titles were vacated due to Mr. Pogo not showing up to a title defense.
3Freddy Kruger and LeatherfaceMarch 30, 1993House showHakata, Japan14Defeated Crash The Terminator and Mitsuhiro Matsunaga in a decision match for the vacant titles.
4Mitsuhiro Matsunaga and Yukihiro KanemuraApril 3, 1993House showKagoshima, Japan16
VacatedApril 9, 1993The titles were vacated due to Matsunaga giving up the championship to fight Leatherface.
5The Headhunters
(Headhunter A and Headhunter B)
May 9, 1993House showHonjō, Japan2316Defeated Yukihiro Kanemura and Miguel Perez, Jr. in the finals of a four-team tournament to win the vacant titles.
DeactivatedMarch 21, 1994The titles were deactivated due to the Wrestling International New Generations promotion closure.
International Wrestling Association
6The Headhunters
(Headhunter A and Headhunter B)
November 17, 1994IWA Japan Texas Bronco New ComingYokohama, Japan3106Defeated Dick Slater and Nobutaka Araya in 8-team round-robin tournament final to win the re-activated titles. The titles were renamed as the IWA World Tag Team Championship due to being revived by International Wrestling Association.
7Los Cowboys
(Silver King and El Texano)
March 3, 1995IWA Japan A Spring Breeze ~Condition Of Victory~Hiroshima, Japan1170
8The Headhunters
(Headhunter A and Headhunter B)
August 20, 1995IWA Japan KAWASAKI DREAM - The Indie DreamKawasaki, Japan440
9Cactus Jack and Tracy SmothersSeptember 29, 1995IWA Japan DARKEST HOUR ~ A New Dawn ~Yokohama, Japan12
10Tarzan Goto and Mr. GannosukeOctober 1, 1995IWA Japan DARKEST HOUR ~ A New Dawn ~Akita, Japan1391Also win NWA World Tag Team Championship on December 9, 1995, and defend titles simultaneously.
VacatedOctober 26, 1996The titles were vacated after Tarzan Goto and Mr. Gannosuke left the promotion.
11The Faces of Death
(Leatherface (2) and Jason the Terrible)
November 23, 1999House showTokyo, Japan1782-886Defeat Yoshiya Yamashita and The Shooter in an 8-team tournament final to win the vacant titles. Shooter was unmasked by Tarzan Goto, who ran in during the final as Katsutoshi Niiyama. Leatherface and Jason the Terrible were formerly known as Rick Patterson and Rafael Rodríguez. The length of this reign is uncertain as their last documented title defense was at an Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide event from January 12, 2002 where they defeated The Headhunters to retain the titles.[2]
VacatedJanuary 12 - April 26, 2002The titles were vacated under unknown circumstances.
12Jun Izumida and Shoichi IchimiyaApril 26, 2002House showTokyo, Japan1158Defeated Keizo Matsuda and Takashi Uwano in a one-night tournament final to win the vacant titles.
13Keizo Matsuda and Takashi UwanoOctober 1, 2002House showTokyo, Japan151
VacatedNovember 21, 2002The titles were vacated after Uwano left the promotion.
14Steve Williams and Ryo MiyakeNovember 30, 2003House showTokyo, Japan1234Defeated Keizo Matsuda and Leatherface in six-team tournament final to win the vacant titles.
DeactivatedJuly 21, 2004The titles were deactivated and abandoned after Miyake suffered an injury and was unable to further defend the titles, as well as Williams's throat cancer quickly developing into Stage IV.

References