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IWA World Tag Team Championship (International Wrestling Enterprise)


IWA World Tag Team Championship
International Wrestling Enterprise
May 18, 1969
August 9, 1981
StatisticsFirst championsStrong Kobayashi and ToyonoboriFinal championsAshura Hara and Mighty InoueMost reignsGreat Kusatsu (9)Longest reignGreat Kusatsu and Rusher Kimura (716 days)Shortest reignJohn Quinn and Kurt Von Hess (1 day)Strong Kobayashi and ToyonoboriAshura Hara and Mighty InoueGreat Kusatsu (9)Great Kusatsu and Rusher Kimura (716 days)John Quinn and Kurt Von Hess (1 day)
Strong Kobayashi and Toyonobori
Ashura Hara and Mighty Inoue
Great Kusatsu (9)
Great Kusatsu and Rusher Kimura (716 days)
John Quinn and Kurt Von Hess (1 day)

The International Wrestling Alliance (IWA) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship contested in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion International Wrestling Enterprise (国際プロレス興行, Kokusai Puroresu Kogyō). The IWA World Tag Team Championship was created in 1969 (replacing the TWWA World Tag Team Championship) and abandoned in 1981 upon the closure of the promotion.

International Wrestling Enterprise (IWE) was founded in October 1966 by Isao Yoshihara and Hiro Matsuda. The Trans-World Wrestling Alliance (TWWA) was created as the governing body for IWE. In 1967, IWE created the TWWA World Tag Team Championship, with the Fabulous Kangaroos being named the inaugural champions. The TWWA World Tag Team Championship was abandoned in 1968.

In 1968, Yoshihara formed the International Wrestling Alliance (IWA) with French promoter Roger Delaporte as a new governing body for IWE. In May 1969, IWE created the IWA World Tag Team Championship. IWE mainstays Strong Kobayashi and Toyonobori became the inaugural champions on May 18, 1969, defeating the Belgian wrestler Ivan Strogoff and the French wrestler Jean Ferré (substituting for Roger Delaporte) at an event staged in the Élysée Montmartre in Paris, France.

The titles were contended until IWE folded on September 30, 1981.

No.
Reign number for the specific team—reign numbers for the individuals are in parentheses, if different
Number of days held
Number of successful defenses
Unknown information
No.ChampionChampionship changeReign statisticsNotesRef.
Strong Kobayashi and ToyonoboriMay 18, 1969N/AParis, France12363Kobayashi and Toyonobori defeated Ivan Strogoff and Jean Ferré to become the inaugural champions.
VacatedJanuary 9, 1970Vacated when Toyonobori retired.
Michael Nador and Monster RoussimoffJanuary 18, 1970New Year Challenge SeriesFukuoka, Japan1160Nador and Roussimoff defeated Great Kusatsu and Thunder Sugiyama.
Great Kusatsu and Thunder SugiyamaFebruary 3, 1970AWA World Championship SeriesHiroshima, Japan12898Two-out-of-three falls match.
Bob Windham and Larry HennigNovember 19, 1970Big Winter SeriesAshikaga, Japan1233Two-out-of-three falls match.
Great Kusatsu (2) and Thunder Sugiyama (2)December 12, 1970Big Winter SeriesTokyo, Japan21994Two-out-of-three falls match.
VacatedJune 29, 1971Vacated when Kusatsu left for the United States.
Bill Howard and Red BastienSeptember 7, 1971Dynamite SeriesTokyo, Japan1160Bastien and Howard defeated Rusher Kimura and Thunder Sugiyama for the vacant Championship.Two-out-of-three falls match.
Rusher Kimura and Thunder Sugiyama (3)September 23, 1971Dynamite SeriesIsahaya, Japan1N/AN/ATwo-out-of-three falls match.
VacatedMay 1972Vacated when Kimura left Japan to tour overseas.
Great Kusatsu (3) and Strong Kobayashi (2)July 7, 1972Big Summer SeriesChiba, Japan12856Kusatsu and Kobayashi defeated Baron Mikel Scicluna and Bill Miller for the vacant Championship.Two-out-of-three falls match.
Ivan Koloff and Mad Dog VachonApril 18, 1973Dynamite SeriesTsuchiura, Japan1261Two-out-of-three falls match.
Great Kusatsu (4) and Rusher Kimura (2)May 14, 1973Dynamite SeriesFunabashi, Japan171611Two-out-of-three falls match.
VacatedApril 30, 1975Vacated when Rusher Kimura won the IWA World Heavyweight Championship.
Great Kusatsu (5) and Mighty InoueJune 13, 1975Big Challenge SeriesMorioka, Japan11432Kusatsu and Inoue defeated Duke Savage and Killer Tor Kamata in the finals of a tournament for the vacant Championship.Two-out-of-three falls match.
Combat(Mad Dog Martel and Pierre Martin)November 3, 1975Big Winter SeriesTokyo, Japan1291Two-out-of-three falls match.
Great Kusatsu (6) and Mighty Inoue (2)December 2, 1975Big Winter SeriesYokohama, Japan21885Cage match.
Eddie Sullivan and Rip TylerJune 7, 1976Big Challenge SeriesFukuyama, Japan140
Great Kusatsu (7) and Mighty Inoue (3)June 11, 1976Big Challenge SeriesKoga, Japan32077Two-out-of-three falls match.
VacatedJanuary 4, 1977Vacated to allow a tournament to take place.
John Quinn and Kurt Von HessMarch 25, 1977Sixth IWA World SeriesYokohama, Japan110Quinn and Von Hess defeated Animal Hamaguchi and Isamu Teranishi in the finals of a tournament for the vacant Championship.
Animal Hamaguchi and Great Kusatsu (8)March 26, 1977Sixth IWA World SeriesTokyo, Japan12852Two-out-of-three falls match.
The Samoans(Afa and Sika)January 5, 1978New Year Pioneer SeriesOsaka, Japan1150
Animal Hamaguchi (2) and Great Kusatsu (9)January 20, 1978New Year Pioneer SeriesTokyo, Japan23664
Yamaha Brothers(Kantaro Hoshino and Kotetsu Yamamoto)January 21, 1979New Year Pioneer SeriesTokyo, Japan1331Two-out-of-three falls match.
Animal Hamaguchi (3) and Mighty Inoue (4)February 23, 1979Big Fight SeriesChiba, Japan14159Two-out-of-three falls match. This was a New Japan Pro Wrestling event.
VacatedApril 13, 1980Vacated when Hamaguchi sustained an injury.
Haruka Eigen and Strong Kobayashi (3)June 29, 1980Big Summer SeriesTokyo, Japan1160Eigen and Kobayashi defeated Animal Hamaguchi and Mighty Inoue for the vacant Championship.Two-out-of-three falls match.
Animal Hamaguchi (4) and Mighty Inoue (5)July 15, 1980Big Summer SeriesFuji, Japan22775Two-out-of-three falls match.
VacatedApril 18, 1981Vacated when Hamaguchi was unable to wrestle because of liver problems.
Paul Ellering and Terry LathamMay 4, 1981Big Challenge SeriesSapporo, Japan1121Ellering and Latham defeated Mighty Inoue and Rusher Kimura for the vacant Championship.Two-out-of-three falls match.
Ashura Hara and Mighty Inoue (6)May 16, 1981Big Challenge SeriesTokyo, Japan1852
DeactivatedSeptember 30, 1981Deactivated when the promotion folded.
  • IWA World Heavyweight Championship (International Wrestling Enterprise)

  • International Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Title at Wrestling-Titles.com

  • IWA World Tag Team Championship at Cagematch.net

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