NWA World Tag Team Championship (Indianapolis version)


The Indianapolis version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship, which was actively used between 1951 and 1960, was a professional wrestling championship exclusively for two-man tag teams. As a member of the National Wrestling Alliance, the NWA Indianapolis territory was entitled to create an NWA World Tag Team Championship that they could promote within the boundaries of their territory, in this case Indiana, making it a "regional" championship despite being labeled a "world championship". Because the use of the championship was not restricted to one overall championship, a large number of different, regional championships bore the name "NWA World Tag Team Championship" between 1949 and 1992. In 1957 as many as 13 different versions were promoted across the United States. As it is a professional wrestling championship, it is not won or lost competitively but instead by the decision of the bookers of a wrestling promotion. The title is awarded after the chosen team "wins" a match to maintain the illusion that professional wrestling is a competitive sport.
The Indianapolis NWA World Tag Team Championship was introduced in 1951 as promoters Jim Barnett, Fred Kohler, Dick Patton, and Balk Estes decided to bring Ben and Mike Sharpe in from the West Coast to be their first champions. While the Sharpe brothers were being promoted as having won a tournament, no records of such a tournament has been found, making it likely they were simply announced as champions when they arrived in Indianapolis. In late 1951 the team of Rudy Kay and Al Williams, who worked for NWA Indianapolis on a regular basis, defeated the Sharpe brothers to cement the championship lineage in Indianapolis, while the Sharpe brothers returned to the West Coast. The team of Boris and Nicoli Volkoff won the championship on three occasions, setting a record for both teams and individuals. Reggie Lisowski and Stan Lisowski's first reign as champions lasted at least 243 days, the longest of any individual reign, and their two combined reigns totaled at least 342 days, as least 150 days longer than the second-longest combined reigns. Due to the fact that no dates were captured as part of the championship documentation, it is impossible to determine which team had the shortest reign.

Title history

Key
SymbolMeaning
No.The overall championship reign
ReignThe reign number for the specific wrestler listed.
EventThe event in which the championship changed hands
N/AThe specific information is not known
Indicates that the exact length of the title reign is unknown, with a note providing more details.
Indicates that there was a period where the lineage is undocumented due to the lack of written documentation in that time period.
Indicates that a title change took place "no later than" the date listed.

Team reigns by combined length

Key
SymbolMeaning
¤The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain, so the shortest possible length is used.

Individual reigns by combined length

Key
SymbolMeaning
¤The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain, so the shortest possible length is used.

Footnotes

Concurrent championships

;Sources for 13 simultaneous NWA World Tag Team Championships