Ruthless Roundtable: Favorite Tag Teams

Cos https://i0.wp.com/cosblog.cosmelentertainment.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/smarkcentral.jpg?resize=79%2C99&ssl=1 https://i0.wp.com/cosblog.cosmelentertainment.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/motherbrain.jpg?resize=80%2C84&ssl=1 https://i0.wp.com/cosblog.cosmelentertainment.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/chosen1.gif?w=490&ssl=1

I sent this out to whoever wanted to respond to it with a simple question:

You can choose between these two (very very similar questions):
Who is your favorite Tag Team of all time or who are your top three tag teams of all time? And why?

I think that picking just one would be too hard, so most people tend to go with top three tag teams of all time. When currently TNA has the best tag teams in wrestling and WWE keeps splitting their tag teams up, its good to look back and see what we as the viewers would prefer to see as a tag team.

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Cos

Cos’ Top Three Tag Teams:

Just to clarify, I was mostly a product of the Attitude Era, I started paying attention in late 1998, but I’ve worked hard at learning about the past so as not to be caught without my wrestling knowledge. I know a lot about wrestling’s past and I can hang with a lot of people that have been watching their whole lives. With that said, my three picks come from the Attitude Era:

1. The New Age Outlaws

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These guys defined what a tag team should be for me. They were cool, they were bad ass and they were exactly what I needed in a tag team back in the day. I find it interesting at how crude and rude a lot of the things that DX did back in the day. In fact, a lot of it represented where I was as a teenager back then. They did things that we would only dream about doing to the people above us and The New Age Outlaws were the perfect fit. The mouth piece The Road Dogg Jesse James, the muscle in Bad Ass Billy Gunn; both would not fit in today’s PG world, but they totally should come back, if only for a night.

2. Edge & Christian

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I loved these guys, I remember my first live show was at the (then) Continental Airlines Arena back in August of 2000 (I looked it up and it was: WWF HeAT Taping and SmackDown! Taping @ East Rutherford, NJ – Continental Airlines Arena – Tuesday 8th August 2000) where Edge & Christian got a huge pop and even did their famous five second pose. I’ve been dying for WWE to get these two back together, I know Christian is injured, but I always thought that they could get back together and reinvigorate the tag team division. I hated how they were brothers back in the day and over time they became only friends. Great job rewriting history, WWE! Also, I was always a fan of Christian, I had to warm up to Edge. I didn’t jump on the Edge bandwagon until after he turned heel and wanted the WWE championship, which seems like so long ago now.

3. The Rock N’ Sock Connection

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Yeah, I know, kind of a let down of a third pick, I know. But I wasn’t a huge fan of The Hardy Boyz or The Dudley Boyz. And there aren’t that many tag teams that stand out in my mind that I can honestly say I looked forward to seeing. Rock and Mankind were that put together tag team that wasn’t meant to be but they did well with the two Tag Team championship reigns that they had (totaling 9 days). How many other tag teams that have had less then a month reigns can you remember, let alone their tag team name? I bet that WWE has been dying to get this type of odd ball tag team back again, but you can’t with the current crop of superstars.

Speaking of Odd Ball tag teams, I wonder why the WWE crapped on Booker Dust, does anyone remember them?

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Smark Central’s Top Tag Teams

My Top 3 Tag Teams of All Time

The Hart Foundation –

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The Harts were main players in the golden age of tag team wrestling (1985-1993 approx.).  The age of tag teams where guys wore matching outfits and had clever names and didn’t break up a week after they lost the tag belts.  The great thing about these guys was that they balanced each other out.  You had the technical wrestler in Bret and the powerful bruiser in Neidhart.  It worked because they just knew each other so well.  One could start a move and the other would finish it without batting an eye.  They brought technique and showmanship to a division that severely lacked it at times (I’m looking at you, Bushwackers).  They are to me what a tag team should be.

Edge & Christian –

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While the Harts may have the formula for a perfect team, no one was a better fit for each other than these two guys.  Edge and Christian were the best of both Worlds.  They were both great wrestlers who could do it all and they were golden on the mics.  It was so funny because you would think two guys from Canada acting like airhead surfers would never get over, but they did because Edge and Christian had the talent to do it.  Their talent as a team never shown more brightly than during their TLC matches w/the Dudleyz and the Hary Boyz.  Not only did they win those matches, but they forever made their mark on the business by taking greater risks than anyone had ever taken before (The spear on Jeff at WM 17 anyone?).  Never had big sunglasses, sodas, or 5 second poses reeked of such awesomeness.

The Legion of Doom/Road Warriors –

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Yes the Harts were technically gifted and Edge and Christian were Gods on the mic, but my unquestioned favorite of all time was LOD.  They just kicked ass and looked awesome doing it.  They were the ultimate tough guys.  When you saw them walk down the aisle wearing black tights, shoulder pads w/spikes on them, and with their faces painted, you knew someone was getting their ass kicked.  As a kid there was nothing better than watching Hawk and Animal demolish some poor shmuck tag team in two minutes flat.  While they had their way with a lot of teams, they also had memorable bouts w/the like of the Four Horsemen and The Midnight Express.  On the mic they weren’t as polished as other people, but they certainly held your attention.  Hawk especially was adept at coming off as tough and intimidating yet funny at the same time.  Another thing that was great about them was their finisher – The Doomsday Device.  Tag teams finishers are definitely a thing of the past, but back in that golden age there were some awesome ones and LOD’s was tops.  I could go on for awhile, but it wouldn’t cover how great they were.  Its too bad Hawk passed away in 2003.  I think they could have had one last great run.

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Mother Brain’s Top Tag Teams

Mother Brain’s Top 3 Tag Teams of All Time
By Mother Brain

I’ll start with my 3rd favorite and end with my number one pick:

British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith & Dynamite Kid)

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They were not exactly the greatest talkers in the WWE. But they were damn so entertaining. Their matches with the Hart Foundation truly raised the bar for tag team wrestling in the 80s due both teams’ speed and strength. The Dynamite Kid alone was a huge influence with his aerial maneuvers as well as his punishing superplexes and headbutts. Davey Boy of course was physically amazing too. The Bulldogs had the ability to have 5 star matches with any 2nd rate team whether it was Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake, Sheik and Volkoff, or the Rougeau Brothers. Even though they won the tag team titles on one occasion, the Bulldogs never had a long enough run due to Dynamite Kid’s injuries and negative attitude behind the scenes.

The Hart Foundation (Bret “The Hitman” Hart and Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart)

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Like the Bulldogs, the Harts not only had great matches with any team but they also complemented each other extremely well. Bret had the speed and the superb technical ability while Anvil had the strength and the power. As heels with Jimmy Hart as their manager, they manipulated their way to the top while retaining some bragging rights for their technical skills in the ring. As faces, they could put rally the fans on their side when taking on the likes of Demolition, the Brain Busters, Rhythm & Blues, etc. I also appreciated the differences in the personalities with Bret was the no-nonsense street fighter and Anvil carrying the team’s promos with his wildman persona. I don’t think there’s ever been a team that oozed cool ever since.

The Legion of Doom (Animal and Hawk)

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I really wanted to be bias and put the Hart Foundation at #1. But thinking back to the L.O.D. DVD that came out 5 years ago, I had to go with arguably the best team ever. While most teams usually split up and one member becomes the bigger superstar, L.O.D. stayed in-tact for almost 20 years and dominated every organization they stepped foot on: NWA, AWA, WWE, WCW, etc. Animal and Hawk were quick, incredibly strong, and had the whole package as a team. One could say they were the first heels who only turned face because of the fan response. Never mind how things ended for them, particularly Hawk. But I still say they had a better run than the Dudley Boyz/Team 3D because of the variety of good teams that existed in their time compared to the lack of competition during the Dudley’s era. They were just simply two badass mo’fos!

Honorable Mentions:

The Rockers
The Hardy Boyz
Edge and Christian
Dudley Boyz
Harlem Heat
The New Age Outlaws
Motor City Machine Guns
Wild Samoans
Demolition
Money Inc.
The Brain Busters
The Outsiders

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Chosen 1’s Favorite Tag Team:

With such a terrible disarray of tag team potential floundering around in the WWE I think back to the days of old. I try to remember when Tag Teams were plentiful and stayed together for more then a few weeks or months. Teams that couldn’t be torn apart due to one member having a little more of something then the other. Good solid teams were one. They fought as if together they were one single wrestler. Each team would have their own style. Not an individual gimmick for each teammate but a team gimmick and wrestling style that they stuck to. When it worked it worked to perfection when it would backfire it would almost always result in a loss. Many great teams throughout history of wrestling brought prestige to the tag team division to name a few we had the Heart Foundation, Demolition, Rock and Roll Express, Midnight Express, The Stiener Brothers, and, The Brain Busters, The Funks and the Fabulous Freebirds were all classic tag teams.

There were many great tag teams in the next generation as well. Harlem Heat, Edge and Christian, Hardy Boyz, The dudlys, The New Age Outlaws, the Outsiders, all members of great tag teams who garnered a lot of accolades throughout their tenure. Of recent day the Tag Team Division has not been as filled with great tag team talent as it had been as I was growing up.There are good teams MCM, Beer Money, ummmm before recent the Hart Dynasty… But its just lacking so much. I am sure while I was going through the list of great tag teams I missed a few along the way.

One of most glaring I’m sure is that of my favorite team of all team The Road Warriors Hawk and Animal.

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These guys just brought it day in and day out. Just fought tooth and nail every match. They had power, athleticism and could play any role heel or face. I remember one of the greatest moments is when Dusty Rhodes called them down to help him out and they spiked him in the eye with one of their trade mark shoulder pads. These guys were the original bad asses. From the days with Paul Ellering in their corner til their final match together through all their personal issues with themselves and one another they never forgot who they were and what their jobs were when they got in that ring. Not to mention they originated one of the first tag team finishers that I can remember in the DOOMSDAY Device. I doubt too many will discount what they did for the history of tag team wrestling. RIP HAWK

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Looks as if The Road Warriors/LOD were the favorite of this group. The Hart Foundation and Edge & Christian coming up second. Not that I never got into The Road Warriors, but my first experience with them was on Raw in 1999 when Droz was in the group and Hawk eventually jumping off of the Titantron. Later on in 2003 I remember when they returned for a match and lost, and I think everyone thought they would get a contract and they didn’t and Hawk would pass away a few months later. Animal would return in 2005 and team with Heindreich and reform the group (who thought that was a good idea?) and once Heindreich was released it left Animal as simply The Road Warrior. I wish I had gotten more into this group as I’ve seen a bunch of matches of theirs and I just wish we could go back to the days where both Tag Team members both looked the same and/or at least wrestled as one and not just two random people put together.

Please leave any comments and/or opinions.

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