Bubba Ray Dudley (Photo credit Scott Lunn – @ScottLunn © PWTorch)
SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…
I love tag team wrestling. The added rules, different pace, chaos that can happen, and the stories that can be told are just a few of the things I love about it. Itâ€s sometimes difficult, though, to let myself be a fan of tag team wrestling. Itâ€s often the forgotten division.
There have been times where tag team wrestling was super hot. The Attitude Era known for the original TLC match, but also had a division full of teams like the APA, Too Cool, and the New Age Outlaws who werenâ€t a part of that match who are all legendary tag teams. In the ’80s, the Midnight Express, Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, and The Fantastics would often travel between territories while you could watch the WWF and see the Rockers, Nasty Boys, Hart Foundation, and British Bulldogs. Today, Smackdown seems to be the tag team brand, even holding the tremendous TLC match that happened near – but probably should have been on – WrestleMania.
One brand that has often been most consistent in featuring tag teams has been TNA. When founding the company, Jeff Jarrett had the belief that wrestling was a three-ring circus where there was a different type of act in different segments. You have your main event, and that where the stars and the drama are. This is usually the main reason tickets are sold.
Before that, you have the acts that are more niche. A TNA PPV in the formative years would feature something crazy from the X-Division, often multi-person, to start the show with lots of energy. Youâ€d also have a womenâ€s match, a hardcore match, a comedy match, and some type of secondary singles match not over a championship. There was also always a slot to feature their tag teams.
Not only top level teams would be formed while there like Americaâ€s Most Wanted and The Motor City Machine Guns, but legendary tag teams would do some of their best work there, including two teams set to face off at Bound For Glory. There is a lot of wrestling on television, and I am very limited on both time and funds to spend on wrestling, but this promo sold at least one more ticket on Impact that night.
These really are two of the absolute best teams with bodies of work thatâ€s gone through four decades, often interacting with each other. The respect these men had for their teammates and opponents and the want to cement their legacies has me excited and I couldnâ€t miss Bound for Glory this year.
Not only did it sell a ticket, that promo made me stop to think about my favorite tag teams. Not a definitive top five list, as there is too much debate around this.
I would love to hear your top five teams, and look forward to posting this on the NerdstalgiaShop [ Facebook and letting you share yours with me.
Harlem Heat
I love a great brother tag team. The way they can know each other and how to work together when the teams are often comprised of green wrestlers is very helpful. Teams are a great way to break in, giving some sense of a net in that you can take a breather if overwhelmed in front of a crowd when starting, and what better partner than someone youâ€ve either known your whole life or for at least their entire life.
Booker T and Stevie Ray stood out. Big guys who were brothers who sounded legitimately like they ran in tough neighborhoods growing up, because they did. Legitimacy is too often missing in todayâ€s wrestling. The promos were engaging, the entrance song was fire, and they were incredible in the ring.
Stevie Ray was the larger of the two and was the powerhouse. Heâ€d be the one to throw around smaller opponents or step up when against a larger man in a team. He was the protective big brother that many big brothers could identify with, and little bothers could look up to when a babyface was someone who took care of his family.
Booker was the star from the start. He was flashier and was looking for the pops with his break dance comeback that would be christened the Spinaroonie. The Harlem Hangover, a forward flip into a leg drop from the top rope, was always a memorable finisher.
Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard
Honestly, this is mostly about my love of “Double A.†Arn Anderson was a great tag wrestler whether he was paired with Tully, Bobby Eaton, Ole Anderson, or Larry Zbyszko. He was the fundamental tag team strategist. Watching him taught me early in my fandom about cutting off the ring, working body parts, and referee distractions becoming a heelâ€s advantage.
The partner he arguably had the most success with was Tully Blanchard. Both being in the Four Horsemen, they were a natural pairing since Ole, who Arn had usually paired up with, would no longer be an option. Not only being part of a massive run due to that group and touring with the Great American Bash and both being integral in War Games, but even took this team to the WWF, known there as The Brainbusters.
Itâ€s who many of the great teams point to as a major influence, including the embodiment of the team who wrestles today in AEW as FTR.
QUICK NOTE:Â Did you know you can read an ad-free, silky-smooth-loading version of this website with a PWTorch VIP Membership? Also, unlock 35+ years of archives including nearly 2,000 PWTorch Weekly Newsletters dating back to the late 1980s, hundreds of retro radio shows from the 1990s, and two decades of podcasts including Post-PPV Roundtable Podcasts dating back to the mid-2000s. Plus, new VIP-exclusive articles and podcasts throughout the week, fully compatible with the native Apple Podcasts app. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS ON VIP MEMBERSHIP
Steiner Brothers
Another brother tag team and another ’90s WCW tag team. It’s hard to argue that these two do not belong. When I started watching, all I did was hear about Scott Steiner, as he was out with an injury. His brother Rick had collegiate style headgear on, so he was a mat wrestler, which I was also obsessed with, plus he hung out with Sting, which made them cool in my book. Iâ€d read about Scott in magazines and see him in old matches when Iâ€d rent an old PPV on VHS, so his comeback and getting back together with his brother to dominate the tag division was something I looked forward to.
Before I watched and before Scott wrestled professionally, Rick already had a solid career. Being a member of the Varsity Club with Kevin Sullivan and Mike Rotunda and his runs with the World TV Championship already made Scott a star just coming in as this guyâ€s brother. More legitimacy coming from a strong Michigan Wrestling background were some of the pavement that led to later stars such as Kurt Angle, Bobby Lashley, and Brock Lesnar. After their run, each would go into singles, and Iâ€d loved to have seen one last run as a team, but their work holds up to go back and revisit.
Dudley Boys/Team 3D
Through Busted Open Radio and LFG, Bubba Ray Dudley/Bully Ray has become one of my favorite people to listen to talk about wrestling. He has great insight and instinct. His years of playing multiple roles in many companies has really rounded him out to be one of the most brilliant wrestling minds not contributing to creative in any company. Knowing when to turn tough on, when to play a coward. His knowledge on timing and milking the situation.
Bubba has a reputation for being a loud and brash person, probably because he is. But heâ€s also often correct! He and D-Von took this act from a large comedy group and made people fear two men in fake horn-rimmed glasses and tie-dyed t-shirts. They took that team to main events of ECW, to the main stage of WrestleMania, and Madison Squre Garden for WWE. They also achieved success in TNA and All Japan as well, becoming the most decorated tag team in history. Just ask Bubba, heâ€ll tell you.
Iâ€ve also always appreciated the simple beauty of the make up of the team as well. A white, brash New York guy, and a black son of a preacher. Itâ€s barely talked about, which is maybe my favorite part. Unity.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of “The Nicky’s Club” with Nick Barbati, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “pwtorch†on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
The Usos
You canâ€t get a more bookend of a tag team than twin brothers. Literally knowing each other their entire lives and growing up in a wrestling family set them up, and they did that family lineage proud.
Always exciting, even when the tag team division barely existed. They always made the most of the minutes given. Colorful ring gear, a move, or big moment would make them memorable for the fan watching, but never really developed who they were behind the characters.
Total Divas did a lot for The Usos’ careers. This was the first time seeing John Fatu, or Big Jim as we know him now. His playful banter with Naomi showed the wit, charm, and fun side of the Uso brother. After that, we started to see the loss of face paint. The brothers joined the Bloodline and cemented their spot.
Having actually sat through many seasons of Total Divas (if I can get my wife to watch anything wrestling, Iâ€m always in), and having my favorite matches of the year they wrestled being underrated tag matches between them and Goldust & Cody Rhodes, I was ecstatic the year they got to main event night one of WrestleMania against Kevin Owen & Sami Zayn. Not only for them, but for tag team wrestling.
(Griffin is a lifelong fan of wrestling, superheroes, and rebellious music of all forms. He is the owner of Nerdstalgia, and you can shop online, learn about visiting the store in Colorado Springs, or catch him at a comic con in the Rocky Mountain area by going to http://nerdstalgia.shop.)
Discover more from 6up.net
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.