The 411 Wrestling Year-End Awards: Part Three – The Best Tag Team of 2014

Welcome back to the Wrestling Top 5, year-end awards edition! What we are going to is take a topic, and all the writers here on 411 will have the ability to give us their Top 5 on said topic, and the end, based on where all of these topics rank on people’s list, we will create an overall Top 5 list. It looks a little like this…

1st – 5
2nd – 4
3rd – 3
4th – 2
5th – 1

It’s similar to how we do the WOTW voting. At the end we tally the scores and get our overall top 5! It’s highly non-official and final, like WWE’s old power rankings. From some of the best and worst, the 411 staff is ready to break down the awards! Thanks for joining us, and lets get down to work.

Mike Chin
5. Team 3D
4. The Young Bucks
3. Goldust and Stardust
2. The Wolves

1. The Usos – The Usos are among the most under appreciated acts in WWE—an old school tag team that delivers high energy and crazy athleticism every time they hit the ring, but that has been pigeon-holed in the tag ranks long enough, and without a consistent enough stream of interesting enough acts to work with to keep them the talk of the town. Just the same, The Usos delivered their share of great performances in 2014, including helping The New Age Outlaws to 2014 relevance, a startlingly good series with Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, and entertaining runs with the likes of The Rhodes boys and The Miz and Damien Mizdow.

Mike Hammerlock
5. The Time Splitters
4. The Throwbacks
3. The Wolves
2. reDRagon

1. The Usos – The Usos broke out in 2014. Even though they’ve been given minimal storylines and the tag team division has unraveled around them, they still grind out good matches like they were on an assembly line. They’ve been one of the biggest bright spots during the WWE’s dismal 2014 run. When you see the Usii coming down the ramp, you know you’re going to get a fun, high energy wrestling match. Lots of competition for this award and I had reDRagon in second only by a whisker. They’re the ROH tag champs and the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight tag champs. They won the ROH Tag Wars Tournament and the New Japan Super Jr. Tag Tournament. As a side note, you can tell from my votes that I think New Japan’s Jr. tag division is better than its heavyweight tag division. The Wolves had their big moments in beating Team 3-D and the Hardys this fall. Meanwhile, the Throwbacks led the charge for most of the year in Chikara’s tag division, which might be the best in the business. Chikara’s got tag teams for miles. Still, I think the Usos take it because they’ve hit that level where, if they left the WWE, they’d be an instant hit wherever they went. Hopefully in 2015 the WWE figures out how to build an era around them.

Kevin P
5. Goldust and Cody Rhodes
4. The Time Splitters
3. The Wolves
2. reDRagon

1. The Usos – When they debuted in 2010, I didn’t see much potential in the Usos. They were solid workers, but bland overall. Fast forward and by 2013, they were an integral part of a vastly improved tag team division. Their match on the Money in the Bank 2013 Kickoff show against the Shield opened my eyes. They would continue to put on great matches, even main eventing Raw, before finally getting their shot. On the March 3rd Raw in Chicago, they beat the New Age Outlaws to win the titles in a fun match with a jacked crowd. The Usos would hold the titles for nearly seven months, stealing the show with Luke Harper and Erick Rowan on multiple Pay-Per-Views and having good matches consistently. They even had a WWE Network documentary produced on them and are hugely over.

Scott Rutherford
5. Goldust & Stardust
4. The Time Splitters
3. The Wolves
2. Bullet Club

1. The Uso’s – Give them 10 minutes in the ring and the Uso’s will give you a great match. Whether it was against the New Age Outlaws, Rowan & Harper or The Dust Brothers, they managed to pull out some damn fine tag team matches this year. Considering minimal effort has been put into the tag team division for years, the Uso’s still managed to get people to give a damn about their matches. Hopefully (wishfully?) the division as a whole will resurge again in 2015 and we can get some more awesome that is The Uso’s.

JUSTIN WATRY
5. New Age Outlaws
4. Damien Mizdow/The Miz
3. Stardust/Goldust
2. The Shield

1. The Usos – Credit where credit is due. Even though they have never been my favorites, I have to give The Usos their proper respect. They followed up a solid 2013 with an even better 2014 campaign. Their big WWE Tag Team Championship victory probably should have been saved for WrestleMania XXX, but having it take place a month earlier did not change anything with the live crowd reaction. Fans loved it and were more than ready for the brothers to have a run with the belts. Very good matches all summer and if you count it for whatever it is worth, the two also got some screen time on Total Divas! Even without that, it was a fairly easy decision – The Usos were the tag team of the year.

Paul Leazar
5. The Throwbacks
4. The Wolves
3. The Young Bucks
2. The Usos

1. reDRagon – While several tag teams stood out this year, I don’t think anybody had a bigger or better year than reDRagon. Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly have been dynamite both here in the US and overseas in Japan. Not only have they been THE tag team in RoH this year, but they managed to capture the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles and win the Super Junior Tag League. Not to mention they’re body of work this year has been nothing short of jaw-dropping with matches against The Young Bucks, The Time Splitters, (both of which could have easily made the list this year as well) and The Addiction. I don’t even think Usos came close to topping the 2014 these two have had.

Ryan Byers
5. Masato Tanaka & Takashi Sugiura
4. The Young Bucks
3. The Shield
2. The Usos

1. The Millennials (T-Hawk & Eita) – English-speaking fans don’t seem to be discussing Dragon Gate this year as much as they have been in the past, perhaps because there is no longer an affiliation with Ring of Honor and perhaps because New Japan has actively been courting American audiences. However, those of us who have been following DG this year have seen the continued rise of the Millennials, a stable of wrestlers which does not allow any members who were born prior to 1990. The centerpiece of the Millennial faction is the tag team of T-Hawk and Eita, who held the Open the Twin Gate Titles from July through November before regaining the championships in early December. As of the time that I am writing this submission, they still hold the straps. In addition to that, the two men also had a reign this year with the Open the Triangle Gate Titles, teaming with fellow Millennial U-T. However, there’s more supporting their candidacy than just their kayfabe accomplishments. The two members of the team, particularly T-Hawk, have come across as major stars all year long, despite their relatively young ages and relative lack of experience. These men have established themselves as the future of Dragon Gate, and the future is bright.

Larry Csonka
5. The Wolves (Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards)
4. The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso)
3. reDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish)
2. The Young Bucks (Nick and Matt Jackson)

1. The Millennials (T-Hawk & EITA) – This one was a very hard one for me to pick this year. The Bucks have been great as always, and reDRagon had an awesome year especially with their added success in Japan. But going back and thinking about it, I really feel like 2014 was a breakout year for Dragon Gate’s Millennials (T-Hawk & Eita). T-Hawk & EITA are constantly having great matches, constantly stealing the shows for Dragon Gate, and all along the way are being positioned as major players and the next generation of the promotion. Adding all of that together, they are the ones that will get my vote for #1 in the tag teams of the year, and watch out for 2015, because T-Hawk & EITA, along with Flamita, are guys you should be watching.

Arnold Furious
5. T-Hawk & Eita
4. Time Splitters
3. TMDK
2. Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata

1. The Young Bucks – Annoying though they are, the Bucks have contributed the most sensational tag team performances this year in a multitude of promotions. Certainly in New Japan’s junior tag division they’ve been the standout team. This includes the excellent pairing of Alex Shelley and KUSHIDA; Time Splitters. Meiyu Tag and TMDK I’ve put in there for consistency above all else while the ‘Splitters and Millenials make the list by virtue of outstanding performances. Tough to whittle it down to five teams but those are the best I’ve seen this year.

Alex Crowder
5. Masato Tanaka & Takashi Sugiura
4. The Shield
3. The Wyatt Family
2. The Time Splitters

1. The Usos – I am not as big a fan of The Usos as most people, but I cannot deny what they bring to the table. They remain over despite being given nothing to work with. They are constantly put in matches with the same tag teams over and over, yet it does not hurt them in the least. The Usos always go out there and give their best. The Usos are a throwback to tag teams of the past. The Usos not only look like a tag team, but they wrestle like one too. I may not be the biggest fan. However, I always appreciate the effort of a true tag team. I only wish more true tag teams existed in the big leagues of America.

LEN ARCHIBALD
5. The Wolves
4. The Time Splitters
3. Goldust & Stardust
2. reDragon

1. The Usos – As 2013 came to a close, Jimmy and Jey had proven to be the best “pure” tag team in WWE, even though they were pushed to the background for the Authority storyline that highlighted Cody Rhodes and Goldust. Once 2014 started, the inevitable trend of WWE forgetting about their tag team division came to fruition and Cody and Goldust promptly lost their WWE Tag Titles to The New Age Outlaws(!) It was at that point that The Usos began lighting things up. Once they defeated The Outlaws for the Tag Titles, Jimmy and Jey took it upon themselves to show the world why no other mainstream tag team in the world could hold a candle to them. Their infectious energy, high-octane, high flying offense bested everyone in the WWE Tag division for the 202 days they were champions. As Scott Rutherford said, give Jimmy and Jey 10 minutes and you were guaranteed a good to great match. The Usos were given lots of time in 2014 and were great at nearly every turn, pulling big-time performances out of everyone who competed against them.

Robert S. Leighty Jr
5. Goldust and Stardust
4. Miz and Mizdow
3. The Young Bucks
2. The Wolves

1. The Usos – They have dominated the WWE Tag Team scene for the majority of the year and at times have been highlighted on RAW in matches with Main Event stars like John Cena and Daniel Bryan. They are also incredibly over with the crowds and are one of the most popular tag teams since the run of The Hardys, Dudleys and Edge/Christian.

Jack Stevenson
5. OI4K
4. The Usos
3. The Throwbacks
2. The Young Bucks

1. The Hardy Boys – I’m surprised there hasn’t even been a single vote for the Hardys. I think the general consensus with them is that when they’re good, they’re very very good, and when they’re bad, they’re actively depressing. In 2014, the Hardys were very very good, very very often. Their rivalry with the Wolves and old foes Team 3D was frequently dazzling, and spearheaded a welcome revival of tag team action in Impact Wrestling. Their forays into the indy scene also delivered, with matches against the Briscoe Brothers and The Young Bucks being rare cases of dream matches that wholly deliver on their promise. They didn’t wrestle as extensively as other teams on my list, but I enjoyed every single Hardy Boys match I saw this year.

AND 411’s TOP 5 TAG TEAMS of 2014 ARE…

5. The Time Splitters – 13 points

4. reDRagon – 20 points

3. The Wolves – 21 points

2. The Young Bucks – 23 points

1. The Usos – 52 points

THE 2014 411 WRESTLING AWARDS:
* The Biggest Disappointments of The Year: Daniel Bryan Achieves His Dream – Then Has to Miss The Rest of The Year – 40 points
* The Best Promo Person of The Year: Paul Heyman – 58 points
* The Best Tag Team of The Year: The Usos – 52 points
* The Worst PPV/Major Show of The Year: TO BE DETERMINED (January 8th)
* The Best Female of The Year: TO BE DETERMINED (January 9th)
* The Best PPV/Major Show of The Year: TO BE DETERMINED (January 12th)
* The Best Promotion of The Year: TO BE DETERMINED (January 13th)
* The Best Match of The Year: TO BE DETERMINED (January 14th)
* The Best Wrestler of The Year: TO BE DETERMINED (January 15th)