The first championship team recognized in Detroit was that of the Tolos brothers (Chris and John Tolos), who were introduced as champions around February 1965 as having "recently won" the championship, though no records of a tournament exists. Kurt Von Hess and Karl Von Shotz held the championship five times as a team, the record for the 25-year history of this version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship, while Fred Curry holds the record for most overall reigns (9) with different partners. The shortest reign belongs to Lou Klein and Ed George, as Klein announced his retirement right after the match, making their reign only minutes long. The longest reign lasted at least 196 days as The Fabulous Kangaroos (Al Costello and Don Kent) won the championship on December 18, 1971, and held it until May 1972.
