Another underrated tag match was the young pistols(or southern boys)-midnight express in 90
now i had put the Steiners as the greatest tag team, the in not any order Road Warriors, Eaton and Lane, Tully and Arn, Dr.Death and Bam Bam gordy, Ole and Gene anderson,British bulldogs,Dr.Death and Ted Dibiase, Art Barr and Eddy Gurrero , and Gerry and jack Brisco
Oh man, I think a series that was just as good was the Southern Boys vs. The Freebirds (Hayes and Garvin). 1990 was a strange year for WCW (Junkyard Dog was pushed even though he was fat and drugged out of his mind) but their tag teams were red hot.
Greatest Tag Teams Ever, no particular order.
Midnight Express - There were three different versions: The original was Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose, then Bobby Eaton and Dennis Condrey and finally Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane. Jim Cornette being the manager for the Condrey/Eaton and Eaton/Lane was an added bonus. Paul E. managed the originals and attack Eaton and Lane. Originally started as a three man stable of Randy Rose, Dennis Condrey, and Norvell Austin(who teamed with Koko B. Ware later to become the PYT's, I lol'ed everytime those two jheri curl activist came in the ring with the MJ Beat It Jackets.)
When I first saw the PYTs, I was like
"Look at them dudes' curls".
Harlem Heat - Great black tag team. Booker T and Stevie Ray got better and better as time went on.
I saw their tv debut for Global Wrestling Federation on ESPN and they were rough but you could see they had potential. They definitely became one of the greatest ever.
Doom - Great black tag team. Ron Simmons and Butch Reed had victories over the Steiners, Horsemen, and Road Warriors
And the Rock N Roll Express. When people talk about teams broken up too quick, they need to remember Doom.
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The Andersons (Ole and Gene Minnesotta Wrecking Crew later Ole and Arn) - New how to isolate and wear down opponents with precision
The stuff they started (isolation, working a body part) is standard stuff now in tag matches.
Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard - great WWF run as the Brainbusters. Brought horseman swag to the at most times cartoonish WWF.
The Freebirds - mainly Terry Gordy and Micheal Hayes. Buddy Roberts was enhancement. Then later with Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin(long time Freebird ally)
I'm going to tell you where you're wrong. Buddy "Jack" Roberts was not enhancement. He was the ring general for Michael and Terry when they first got together. Watch the old video (if you can find it) and you'll notice that Michael rarely wrestled and it was usually Buddy and Terry. Buddy was the vet (former member of the original Hollywood Blonds) and he shepherded those two guys until they were good enough to work on their own. He did the same thing as an opponent for young guys like Iceman Parsons and Mike Von Erich
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The Koloffs - Challenged the Road Warriors and the Rock and Roll Express. Ivan was the tough as nails vet and Nikita was a beast.
Don't forget Khrusher Khruschev, who was brought in to help out since Nikita was still green as grass.
The Fabulous Ones - Stane Lane and Steve Keirn had the Chippendale gimmick but was a good combo in the ring.
Most popular tag team in Memphis history.
Bruiser Brody and Nord The Barbarian - Brody takes Nord under his wing but Nord ultimately fails. That Berzerker gimmick was weak as hell.
Nord says that he and Brody were set to go to the WWF as a tag team when Bruiser was murdered. That would have been interesting.
I AGREE COMPLETELY. No argument here although what do you think about the theory that Austin balked at Hogan/Austin because he was afraid what happened to Rock would happen to him? That would have definitely put a strain on Austin's backers claim as him being heads and above bigger than Hogan. I remember a critic the night on radio in Toronto calling Rock naive and not knowing Hogan would dupe him into returning back to glory to fix his legacy. I think Rock was and is a big Hogan fan himself and could care less as long as he worked with him.
On Austin, I don't think he wanted to work with Hogan for two reasons: Austin was still pissed at how he got demoted and then fired when Hogan got to WCW and he knew how Hulk did Shawn Michaels and wasn't going to play those games. Plus, he's really beat up and was in really bad shape then. If he couldn't put on a Steve Austin quality match, he wasn't going to do it, especially at a Mania.
I see where you're coming from, but even if Warrior and Sting flopped as champs(it wasn't completely all their fault, but that's another discussion) the moments Hogan and Flair gave them are historic and NO ONE could take it away from them. It's already proven as everyone remembers Warrior as the guy who beat Hogan when he was unbeatable.
That's true but Angle has given those moments to guys and TNA doesn't do right by them afterward. AJ Styles is the only guy who was pushed into the top spot after having a classic with Angle and that's more because he's been in TNA since Day One and is the most over guy with their fanbase in the company.
I knew Hogan would get cheered in Toronto to be honest as Hogan was getting pops against ROCK AND AUSTIN in Chicago on that RAW where the two faced the nWo. That was the first sign. It's not a blemish on Flair, but helps bring balance to humanize the man whom many say is the greatest of all-time(and to be honest IT IS ARGUABLE and that is not what I'm really arguing it's just that I don't agree people using his longevity to pad the debate into his favor when he clearly fell off) I disagree that Hogan never shining for anything he did in the ring because getting the crowd to react the way it did for Hogan over his career had to do something to get fans emotional.
Longevity has to be part of the equation when you're considering the "Greatest of All Time". Look at real sports. Bo Jackson was awesome at first but no one calls him the greatest running back because he lacks longevity. I fully agree that he fell off but everyone does if they stick around long enough.
By the time he came back to WWE, the crowd reactions were more about nostalgia than anything he was doing physically. Dude had charisma out the ass but Hogan just doesn't have a great library of matches to choose from like a Flair or Hart or Michaels or Austin.
I think we are saying the same thing actually about Austin. My point was Austin used what he was given which was actually worse than what Flair was given in his first run and shined it up to become one of the all-time greats and arguably the g.o.a.t. Let's also not forget Austin was going to get the big push in wcw because Flair saw his talent before Hogan came in and ruined all of that which is part of the reason why Austin wanted no part of Hogan when he came back in the wwf in 2002.
This time I don't think we are. Austin was not given "Stone Cold", he and his wife at the time created that and gave it to the WWF. They gave him "The Ringmaster" and he couldn't do jack with it even though he was wrestling good matches (him and Savio used to tear it up).
I definitely remember watching and enjoying WCW pushing and elevating Austin, one title at a time. He was going to be their next big heel to feud with Sting and get the world title (Rick Rude was there but his drug problem and temperment kept him from the top spot even if his work earned it).
Well, yeah I think it was good business bringing back Hogan in 2002 initially because it just seemed right with all that went down with Russo. Hogan imo deserved to redeem his legacy a proper return and the fans reaction to him solidified that position as well. The fans respected what he did for the business. Now him winning the title within a month was stupid and is another discussion(they should have just played it out longer and have him go out retired but it was all rushed because of how the crowd was going crazy for him).
Definitely good business and the right thing to do. I'm still surprised HHH did a clean job to Hogan and never got it back (if he did, remind me).
To be honest it was the presentation and thin roster more than anything and let's be honest no one could have competed with what WCW was doing at the time and they had a deeper roster. That nwo storyline was brilliant and Vince could not have competed with Hogan and Piper either as those two BUILT WRESTLEMANIA. If that stuff was done today the wwf would be in trouble. That time frame was a once in a lifetime scenario and Vince just could not have competed in summer/fall/winter of 1996. Nitro was just better produced.
He could compete but not with his antiquated ideas and booking. WCW had a huge and deep roster but WWF still had a ton of guys who could and had drawn in the past but he wasn't using them right. How could he not push the hell out of Vader? That guy was an international superstar and a fantastic worker. But Vince didn't, and still doesn't, believe in heels getting real heat on faces so Vader wasn't the same. Bill Watts came in, shot a Raw where all the babyfaces got laid out, Michaels, Nash, and Hall complained and Watts was fired and the whole episode reshot. Vince deserved to lose to WCW just like he deserves to lose to someone right now. But TNA will never do it with Vince Russo at the helm. The guys has 5 angles and runs them over and over again.
Again, fair enough as I can legitimately see the argument although I still think Hart and HBK surpassed him.
Okay. I just can't see how.
Which bring me back to the NWO juggernaut in 1996 you brought up where you say Bret didn't really help. If the NWO didn't crush them initially do you think that The Rock or Steve Austin would have been able to perform the way they did without getting the Diesel treatment? Sometimes things happen for a reason because Vince was so scared of ruining his only true draw he didn't take the chance on making him "corporate" and to safety net the scenario it was turned into a storyline.
I think it's more along the lines where Vince was tired of losing and Vince Russo sold him the ECW concept since he knew Vince didn't know what ECW was so he came off looking like a genius. When the "Attitude" stuff starting working and building ratings and buys, he kept at it. Austin and Rock were parts of that.
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