The International Wrestling Association of Japan , more commonly known as IWA Japan , was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion operating from 1994 to 2014.
35-1214: Professional wrestling tag team championship [REDACTED] This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "W*ING World Tag Team Championship" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( October 2021 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this message ) W*ING World Tag Team Championship Details Promotion Wrestling International New Generations International Wrestling Association Date established July 1992 Date retired July 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 reigns The Headhunters (4 reigns) Longest reign Mr. Gannosuke and Tarzan Goto (390 days) Shortest reign Tracy Smothers and Cactus Jack (4 days) The W*ING World Tag Team Championship
70-425: A day + Current reign is changing daily No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref. Date Event Location Reign Days Wrestling International New Generations 1 The Headhunters ( Headhunter A and Headhunter B ) July 1992 N/A N/A 1 99-129 Defeated Dick Murdoch and Dick Slater in
105-764: A decade of gradually declining interest the promotion folded on October 13, 2014, following its 20th anniversary event and the retirement of Asano. The Headhunters (professional wrestling) The Headhunters were a professional wrestling tag team who consists of American twin brothers Manuel and Victor Santiago (born August 11, 1968, in New York, New York), best known by the respective ring names , Headhunter A and Headhunter B , although they were announced as Mofat and Mahim (spellings uncertain) during their appearances in ECW . The Santiago brothers trained under Johnny Rodz and both debuted in 1987. There were among
140-543: A decision match for the vacant titles. 4 Mitsuhiro Matsunaga and Yukihiro Kanemura April 3, 1993 House show Kagoshima, Japan 1 6 — Vacated April 9, 1993 — — — — The titles were vacated due to Matsunaga giving up the championship to fight Leatherface . 5 The Headhunters ( Headhunter A and Headhunter B ) May 9, 1993 House show Honjō, Japan 2 316 Defeated Yukihiro Kanemura and Miguel Perez, Jr. in
175-515: A one-night tournament final to win the vacant titles. 13 Keizo Matsuda and Takashi Uwano October 1, 2002 House show Tokyo, Japan 1 51 — Vacated November 21, 2002 — — — — The titles were vacated after Uwano left the promotion. 14 Steve Williams and Ryo Miyake November 30, 2003 House show Tokyo, Japan 1 234 Defeated Keizo Matsuda and Leatherface in six-team tournament final to win
210-455: A successful dog breeding business that is still active as of 2023. Bossman eventually died on September 22, 2004, and by 2005, Jim Duggan and George Hines left the promotion. Johnny Smith's much promoted debut on IWA TV never happened because he decided to retire due to injuries like Rotunda did. IWA held a show dedicated to Steve Williams on October 15, 2004, which AJPW mainstay and "Four Pillars of Heaven" member Toshiaki Kawada main-evented
245-472: A tournament for the vacant ECW Tag Team Championship . The Headhunters were eliminated from the tournament after fighting their opponents, Ivan Koloff and Vladimir Koloff , to a double disqualification. At UltraClash on September 18, 1993, The Headhunters defeated Crash the Terminator and Miguelito Perez in a baseball bat match. The Headhunters began wrestling for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre in
280-491: 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. — Vacated January 12 - April 26, 2002 — — — — The titles were vacated under unknown circumstances. 12 Jun Izumida and Shoichi Ichimiya April 26, 2002 House show Tokyo, Japan 1 158 Defeated Keizo Matsuda and Takashi Uwano in
315-517: The Dudleys ( Buh Buh Ray Dudley and Dances with Dudley ) in a tag team bout and losing to The Gangstas and the team of 2 Cold Scorpio and The Sandman in a three-way tag team match. They made their final appearance with the promotion in April 1996 at Massacre on Queens Boulevard , again losing to The Gangstas and 2 Cold Scorpio and The Sandman in a three-way tag team match. On September 11, 1997
350-650: The WWF Royal Rumble , renamed "The Squat Team". Identified as "Squat Team #1" and "Squat Team #2" respectively, the Headhunters took part in the Royal Rumble match , but were both eliminated, with Yokozuna eliminating Team #2 after 24 seconds and Vader eliminating Team #1 after 71 seconds. The night after Royal Rumble they lost to Avatar and Aldo Montoya in a dark match. The Headhunters briefly appeared on WWF television as "The Arabian Butchers" on
385-640: The 1990s, and on June 30, 1995 in Mexico City they defeated El Texano and Silver King to win the CMLL World Tag Team Championship . They held the titles until November 3, 1995, when they were defeated by Atlantis and Rayo de Jalisco, Jr. The Headhunters returned to Japan in the mid-1990s. They joined the International Wrestling Association of Japan soon after its inception, and became
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#1732791400121420-553: The Headhunters teamed with Jake Roberts losing to Hakushi , Hayabusa , and Masato Tanaka at Terry Funk's WrestleFest in Amarillo, Texas . In the 2000s, The Headhunters began wrestling on the Mexican independent circuit . In November 2006, The Headhunters began working dates for Asistencia Asesoría y Administración . Headhunter A would become a regular in the spring, officially joining heel stable Legión Extranjera . He quit
455-594: The June 30, 1997, episode of Raw , a tag team managed by Jim Cornette . They made an appearance for Shotgun Saturday Night on November 25, 1997 in a dark match losing to Los Boricuas ( Savio Vega and Miguel Perez Jr. ). The Headhunters returned to Eastern Championship Wrestling, since renamed Extreme Championship Wrestling, in January 1996. On February 17, 1996, at ECW CyberSlam 1996 , losing to The Bruise Brothers . In March 1996 at Big Ass Extreme Bash , losing to
490-716: The Puerto Rican wrestlers brought to Canada during the talent exchange between Lutte Internationale and the World Wrestling Council . On June 23, 1987, The Headhunters defeated Len Shelley and Louis Laurence at the Verdun Auditorium in Montreal. In 1991 The Headhunters travelled to Japan and began wrestling for W*ING . In August 1992, they were awarded the newly created W*ING International New Generation World Tag Team Championship. They held
525-892: The Terrible in Tokyo to win the FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship . They held the titles for over a year, finally losing to Hido and Kanemura on April 25, 1997, in Osaka . The Headhunters also held the FMW World Street Fight Six Man Tag Team Championship on two occasions in 1996, teaming with Super Leather and Hisakatsu Oya respectively. The Headhunters debuted in the World Wrestling Federation on January 21, 1996, at
560-640: The charisma of some of their wrestlers, they decided to produce a show called Kawasaki Dream , which was held on August 20, 1995, at the Kawasaki Baseball Stadium . The main attraction of the show was the first ever 8-man single elimination deathmatch tournament, which featured Cactus Jack , Terry Funk , Shoji Nakamaki, Hiroshi Ono , Leatherface , Tiger Jeet Singh , Terry Gordy and former FMW wrestler Mr. Gannosuke . The show also featured an NWA World Heavyweight Championship defense, as Tarzan Goto challenged then-champion Dan Severn for
595-851: The day before retiring got his revenge on Matsuda, defeating him in singles competition. Instead of Williams, Bossman feuded with "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, who defeated Bossman in a TV tournament for the IWA World Heavyweight Title on IWA's 10th anniversary episode. This would be Bossman's last match before he died a month later. After an uptick in interest, IWA would find itself seriously struggling after its main prospects in Williams, Miyake, Rotunda and Bossman were no longer on TV due to uncontrollable circumstances. Miyake decided to retire in July 2004 when Williams's health further deteriorated. Miyake after ending his wrestling career has run
630-649: The finals of a four-team tournament to win the vacant titles. — Deactivated March 21, 1994 — — — — The titles were deactivated due to the Wrestling International New Generations promotion closure. International Wrestling Association 6 The Headhunters ( Headhunter A and Headhunter B ) November 17, 1994 IWA Japan Texas Bronco New Coming Yokohama, Japan 3 106 Defeated Dick Slater and Nobutaka Araya in 8-team round-robin tournament final to win
665-571: The finals of a tournament to determine the inaugural champions. The exact date of their win is uncertain. 2 Mr. Pogo and Crash The Terminator November 6, 1992 House show Sapporo, Japan 1 137 — Vacated March 23, 1993 — — — — The titles were vacated due to Mr. Pogo not showing up to a title defense. 3 Freddy Kruger and Leatherface March 30, 1993 House show Hakata, Japan 1 4 Defeated Crash The Terminator and Mitsuhiro Matsunaga in
700-736: The first IWA World Tag Team Champions by defeating Dick Slater and Nobutaka Araya on November 17, 1994, in Yokohama . They lost the titles to El Texano and Silver King on March 3, 1995, in Hiroshima , but regained them on August 20, 1995, in Kawasaki, Kanagawa . Their second reign ended when they lost to Cactus Jack and Tracy Smothers on September 29, 1995, in Yokohama. The brothers also wrestled for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling , and on March 30, 1996, they defeated Super Leather and Jason
735-766: The promotion in September 2008, choosing to return to the independent circuit. Both Headhunters have since worked regularly for IWRG and NWA Mexico . In December 2008, the two wrestled on the debut Perros del Mal Producciones show promoted by Perro Aguayo Jr. On July 15, 2006 they wrestled for Juggalo Championship Wrestling losing to Kevin Sullivan and Rude Boy. They also made return tours in Mexico and Japan. They participated in Game Changer Wrestling 's Jersey J-Cup Tag Team Tournament defeating in
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#1732791400121770-490: The promotion. 11 The Faces of Death (Leatherface (2) and Jason the Terrible ) November 23, 1999 House show Tokyo, Japan 1 782-886 Defeat 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
805-1236: The re-activated titles. The titles were renamed as the IWA World Tag Team Championship due to being revived by International Wrestling Association . 7 Los Cowboys ( Silver King and El Texano ) March 3, 1995 IWA Japan A Spring Breeze ~Condition Of Victory~ Hiroshima, Japan 1 170 8 The Headhunters ( Headhunter A and Headhunter B ) August 20, 1995 IWA Japan KAWASAKI DREAM - The Indie Dream Kawasaki, Japan 4 40 9 Cactus Jack and Tracy Smothers September 29, 1995 IWA Japan DARKEST HOUR ~ A New Dawn ~ Yokohama, Japan 1 2 10 Tarzan Goto and Mr. Gannosuke October 1, 1995 IWA Japan DARKEST HOUR ~ A New Dawn ~ Akita, Japan 1 391 Also win NWA World Tag Team Championship on December 9, 1995, and defend titles simultaneously. — Vacated October 26, 1996 — — — — The titles were vacated after Tarzan Goto and Mr. Gannosuke left
840-498: The show in Williams's honor defeating Keizo Matsuda. Kawada also defeated Matsuda in the main event of the prior IWA 10th Anniversary Show on August 31, 2004. Despite Kawada's prominent appearances, a full-time contract was never signed due to struggling financials and major loss of talent. Williams showed his electrolarynx for the first time publicly on the March 27, 2005 edition of IWA TV when his first bout of throat cancer recovery
875-465: The spotlight from the native IWA guys. Mike Rotunda would take Williams side, Rotunda also teaming with Miyake. Rotunda would also find himself in an angle with Keizo Matsuda, who behaved as a young and cocky heel to the veteran babyface Rotunda. Both angles were cut short, the first one due to Williams being diagnosed with throat cancer in March 2004 and the latter due to Rotunda's nagging injures, who ultimately decided to retire on May 5, 2004. Rotunda
910-544: The time. Ted DiBiase as "The Million Dollar Man" was the on-screen general manager on the show, acting as a heel. Steve Williams and up and comer Ryo Miyake formed a babyface tag-team in late 2003, Williams becoming his mentor. They would defeat Leatherface and Keizo Matsuda for the vacant IWA World Tag Team Championship . An angle between Big Bossman and Steve Williams commenced in January 2004, where DiBiase hired Bossman to force fan favorite Williams into retirement for being "an AJPW invader", kayfabe being accused of taking
945-664: The title. Quiñones left IWA at the end of 1995, along with the NWA affiliation. Goto, Gannosuke, and Flying Kid Ichihara followed suit in late-1996 to join Tokyo Pro. Subsequently, IWA started to go downhill after losing much of the talent that Quiñones booked. IWA experienced a resurgence in the mid 2000s when "Dr. Death" Steve Williams and Mike Rotunda , as well as other All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) gaijins such as Johnny Smith , George Hines and Giant Kimala found work in IWA after AJPW
980-876: The titles until November 6, 1992, when they lost to Crash the Terminator and Mr. Pogo in Sapporo . The brothers regained the titles on May 19, 1993, defeating Miguelito Perez and Yukihiro Kanemura in Honjo , and held them until the promotion closed in March 1994. The Headhunters went to Mexico working for the Universal Wrestling Association . They feuded with the Los Villanos . The Headhunters debuted in Eastern Championship Wrestling in August 1993, taking part in
1015-405: The titles. There have been a total of 14 reigns shared between 11 different teams. Williams and Miyake were the last champions. Title history [ edit ] Key No. Overall reign number Reign Reign number for the specific team—reign numbers for the individuals are in parentheses, if different Days Number of days held <1 Reign lasted less than
1050-1667: The vacant titles. — Deactivated July 21, 2004 — — — — The 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 [ edit ] ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "IWA World Tag Team Championship" . cagematch.de (in German) . Retrieved March 19, 2021 . ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (January 12, 2002). "AAA Event" . cagematch.de (in German) . Retrieved March 19, 2021 . v t e International Wrestling Association of Japan Championships World IWA World Heavyweight / Triple Crown W*ING World Heavyweight Tag team World Tag Team Events Kawasaki Dream ECW vs. IWA vs. True FMW: Total War Partnerships Extreme Championship Wrestling National Wrestling Alliance United States Wrestling Association Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=W*ING_World_Tag_Team_Championship&oldid=1152993713 " Categories : Tag team wrestling championships International Wrestling Association of Japan Hidden categories: CS1 German-language sources (de) Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Articles needing additional references from October 2021 All articles needing additional references International Wrestling Association of Japan It
1085-424: 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
W*ING World Tag Team Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue
1120-826: Was formed by Víctor Quiñones as a successor to the W*ING promotion, which was folding as a rival to Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), the pioneer of deathmatch wrestling in Japan and the only deathmatch promotion in Japan at the time. Most of the wrestlers jumped ship to Quiñones' new IWA Japan group. He found a sponsor in Tatsukuni "Kinroku" Asano, a businessman who owned several restaurants in Tokyo and had bought and run several wrestling shows prior to IWA Japan. They had their first show in Yokosuka, Kanagawa on May 21, 1994, which
1155-528: Was showing improvement. This would be Williams's last mainstream wrestling TV appearance as he chose to pursue a lighter schedule on the independent circuit given his age and electrolarynx. After this appearance there were no AJPW or WWE wrestling veterans left on the roster to pave way for younger talents. This ultimately hurt the casual fan interest and arena attendance it quickly garnered in 2004 with AJPW's 2003 gaijin exodus, ex-WWE talent hires and Kawada's main event matches and promo appearances. After nearly
1190-413: Was sold. By late 2003 IWA also had a television deal with Fighting Samurai TV, notable for previously airing its own version of AJPW TV before AJPW was sold. Various WWE Hall of Famers also worked regularly for IWA during this IWA TV period, including Big Bossman , "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan , and Barry Windham . The veterans would work in the main event along with the younger stars, becoming similar to TNA at
1225-452: Was taped for television. The early shows often featured many ex- W*ING wrestlers like Yukihiro Kanemura , Shoji Nakamaki, Nobutaka Araya and The Headhunters . They also had fans to fill out questionnaires about the shows and sometimes gave away freebies. Quiñones booked talent from all over the world to compete in IWA, including Cactus Jack and Terry Funk who engaged in some of their most famous bouts. With IWA getting more popular due to
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