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Photos are not in historical order. TOP ROW (L-R): Wahoo McDaniel & Paul Jones, Gene & Ole Anderson, Dick Slater & Dusty Rhodes 2ND ROW (L-R): Ric Flair & Greg Valentine, Jimmy Snuka & Paul Orndorff, Ray Stevens & Greg Valentine 3RD ROW: , Jay Youngblood & Ricky Steamboat, Dino Bravo & Mr. Wrestling Tim Woods, Jimmy Snuka and Ray Stevens, 4TH ROW: Paul Jones & Baron Von Raschke, Ric Flair & Blackjack Mulligan In 1975, Gene and Ole Anderson won a tournament in California (a fictitious tournament) to claim the NWA World Tag Team Championships. The original NWA world tag team title belts were crafted by Reggie Parks and were used from their introduction in 1975 until they were permanently replaced by the "gold eagle" cast belts around 1980. Teams that wore the original belts were Gene and Ole Anderson, Wahoo McDaniel and Paul Jones, Wahoo McDaniel and Rufus R. Jones, "Mr. Wrestling" Tim Woods and Dino Bravo, Ric Flair and Greg Valentine, Dusty Rhodes and Dick Slater, Greg Valentine and Baron Von Raschke, Jimmy Snuka and Paul Orndorff, Paul Jones and Baron Von Raschke, Ric Flair and Blackjack Mulligan, Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood, and Greg Valentine and Ray Stevens, and Jimmy Snuka and Ray Stevens.
The photo above is a snapshot taken by Reggie Parks in late 1974 (courtesy Reggie Parks Championship Belts) of the original belts before they were shipped to Jim Crockett Promotions. Look closely and you will notice the small chains that connect the plates to each other. The chains didn't last long with ring wear.
Ole Anderson is seen here with replicas of the NWA World Tag Team championship belts. The photo was taken in January 2007 at his home in Toccoa, GA. The custom replica belts seen in both photos above were crafted by Dave Millican (www.davemillicanbelts.com). They were engraved using the original Reggie Parks artwork for the original belts from 1974, and are part of the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Collection. The replicas were made without the chains and include all six side plates, although the replica belts are folded and snapped so that the outer plates aren't seen in the above photo. In 1978, there was a period of around eight months where different belts were used, commonly known as the "blue belts". Only two teams (Steamboat/Jones and Valentine/Raschke) wore those belts. By the time Valentine and Raschke lost the titles to Snuka and Orndorff, the original belts had returned. It is not known why the original belts were temporarily dropped and blue belts were briefly used. We are looking for posed photos of the following teams wearing the original NWA world tag team title belts:
Wahoo McDaniel & Rufus R. Jones Greg Valentine and Baron Von Raschke (We need ANY photo of these teams with the titles.)
Ric Flair & Blackjack Mulligan Paul Jones & Baron Von Raschke (We need better photos of these teams with the belts.)
And we are also always looking for new photos of the other champions as well, perhaps better photos than those we have. If you could help us with photos, please e-mail us at midatlanticgateway@gmail.com.
* * * * * ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The photos used above featuring the NWA tag champions were taken from various sources, including Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Magazine published by Jim Crockett Promotions. The photo of the original NWA tag belts was taken by Reggie Parks and is used with permission of Reggie Parks Belts. The photos of Ole Anderson and the replica NWA tag belts were taken by Dick Bourne © 2007 Mid-Atlantic Gateway. Contributions: Chris Kovachis, Bill Janosik, Scooter Leslie, James Bowen
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