AWA World Tag Team Championship Quiz

Answer: The Fabulous Freebirds

Buddy Roberts had Hawk occupied outside of the ring. The two men were trading blows back and forth. Precious, Jimmy's valet had the referee distracted while Michael Hayes interfered on behalf of Regal and Garvin. Animal had picked up Garvin for a power slam when Hayes jumped off the top rope.

He knocked Garvin on top of Animal and the referee counted the three count. Regal and Garvin were the new AWA World Tag Team Champions.

Answer: Scott Hall and Curt Hennig

Hall and Henning defeated "The Long Riders" on Sunday April 20th, 1986. Hall and Henning were awarded the straps when Garvin and Regal left the AWA. Their reign lasted from January 1986 until May of that year. The young duo dropped the belts to Buddy Rose and Doug Somers in Hammond, Indiana on May 17th, 1986. Both Henning and Hall would gain success in the then WWF.

Henning became "Mr. Perfect" and Hall became "Razor Ramon". Both men would also hold the WWF Intercontinental Championship.

Answer: The Rock 'N Roll Express

The titles were held up on February 15, 1988 due to a double pin fall. Ricky Morton had Shawn Michaels in a pinning position and the referee counted a three count. On the other side of the ring, Marty Jannetty had Robert Gibson pinned and got a three count from the other referee. Eddie Marlin of the AWA declared the titles held up until the two teams had a rematch."The Midnight Rockers" won the rematch and defended the titles until March 19, 1988.

Answer: Ivan and Karol Kalmikoff

The Crusher and Bruiser held the titles a total of five times. Their first victory was over the Kalmikoffs on August 20, 1963 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The duo held the titles for 1325 days over all five reigns combined. They were defeated by Bobby Duncum and Blackjack Lanza to end their fifth and final reign.

The Crusher held the titles four more times without the Bruiser making his overall days as an AWA World Tag Team Champion a staggering 1717 days.

Answer: The High Flyers

Jim Brunzell and Greg Gagne had a total of two reigns. It was their second reign that lasted well over two years. The exact amount of days was a staggering seven hundred and forty-two. They defeated Adrian Adonis and Jesse Ventura on June 4, 1981 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Both Jim and Greg were considered smaller athletes.

They used their smaller stature to perform lighting quick maneuvers against their larger opponents. They also constantly used aerial moves to win their bouts. "The High Flyers" final reign was ended by Ken Patera and Jerry Blackwell.

Answer: Brad Rheingans

This was Ken's second reign as an AWA World Tag Team Champion. Ken and Brad Rheingans defeated the team of Paul Diamond and Pat Tanka on March 25, 1989. Diamond and Tanaka were collectively known as "Badd Company". "The Olympians" held the titles until September of 1989. Due to an injury Ken had suffered, the titles were vacated. Brad had wrestled in the 1976 Olympics, he would later turn pro and wrestle for Verne Gagne's AWA. Ken competed in the 1972 Olympics in Munich.

Answer: Stan Kowalski and Tiny Mills

The AWA had left the NWA in 1960. The first team recognized as champions were Kowalski and Mills, the duo was known collectively as "Murder, Inc.". The duo was celebrating their second reign as NWA World Tag Team Champions (Minneapolis version) when the AWA succeeded the NWA. "Murder, Inc." was defeated on October 4, 1960 in Minneapolis by "Hard Boiled" Haggerty and Len Montana.

Answer: Bill Dundee and Jerry Lawler

None of these teams made it longer than eight days as champions. Dundee and Lawler had the distinction of being the shortest reigning champions in AWA history. This was their second reign as champions. The fast reign lasted all of eight days. They defeated the team of Soldat Ustinov and Doug Somers in October of 1987.

They were defeated by Dr. D and Hector Guerrero on October 19th for the straps. On October 26th, Dundee and Lawler regained the belts from Dr. D and Guerrero. Dundee and Lawler would lose the titles for the final time on October 30th to "The Original Midnight Express", Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose.

In the month of October of the year 1987, the AWA World Tag Team Championship changed hands four times.

Answer: Las Vegas

I can't think of a more appropriate place for Hawk and Animal to win the titles. In my opinion, Crusher and Baron Von Raschke didn't stand a chance. Hawk and Animal with their manager, Paul Ellering had all the great tools to be champions. They were extremely powerful and could wrestle as well.

Their persona and outfits they were to the ring were frightening. In my opinion, they are easily one of the top tag teams of all time. They were also the NWA and WWF World Tag Team Champions.

Answer: D.J. Peterson and The Trooper

Peterson and The Trooper were the last team to hold the titles. Due to the then WWF and NWA stealing all the talent from the AWA and financial issues, the AWA closed in 1991. It was a sad day when this once power player in the industry closed down. The AWA was home to such stars as Bobby Heenan, Nick Bockwinkel, and Sgt. Slaughter.

It focused mainly on wrestling as a sport not a show like the WWF. It was considered wrestling at it's purest form.