Wrestling’s Greatest Tragedy: The Disappearing Tag Team

The Steiner Brothers, the Faces of Fear, Demolition, The Brainbusters, Harlem Heat, Edge and Christian, Sting and Luger, the Dudley Boys, the Hart Foundation, the Rockers, Perry Saturn and Raven, the Powers of Pain, Kaientai, Cesaro and Tyson Kidd, Time-Splitters, Beer Money, the Eliminators, The Shield, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko, and more. We all have our own favorites when it comes to tag teams. We all have a tag team that represents what we love in pro wrestling. Some tag teams are thrown together and become gold. Others are a true tag team that stays together until the end. Some are superpower teams that unite for a single purpose.

The Problem:

Tag teams in today’s wrestling landscape seem all but gone. I do realize that some of the indys like Chikara respect and focus on tag teams, but major promotions seem to have lost the art of tag team wrestling. Even NJPW which does about everything perfect could improve their tag team division. Sometimes, in NJPW in the Junior Tag Division I feel I am watching the same match over and over. At least, NJPW has a tag team division that is compelling. I wish they had more tag teams though. Ideally, a perfect tag team division would be comparable to 80’s NWA, 80’s WWF, or even 90’s WCW. I think a guy like Tomoaki Honma would be a perfect tag team champion. Tomoaki Honma and Katsuyori Shibata is a fun combination. NJPW is close to an ideal tag team division. WWE and TNA could use some work.

One of my favorite tag matches ever below:

TNA to their credit tries to create a tag team division with a smaller roster. NXT like TNA has a smaller roster and does the best with what they can. On the other hand, WWE gets no sympathy from me. They have the best roster in the world and a lot of directionless wrestlers with nothing to do. Cesaro and Kidd are one example of how tag teams make wrestling better. WWE’s product would be compelling with a solid tag team division. People are starting to dislike The Usos not because they suck or anything. People dislike the Usos because we see them constantly facing the same people over and over with no story whatsoever.

Curtis Axel, Erick Rowan, Ryback, Heath Slater, Jack Swagger, Luke Harper, Mark Henry, R-Truth, Titus O’Neil, the Miz, Damien Mizdow, Darren Young, Zack Ryder, Fandango, Bo Dallas, and Bad News Barrett. Basically, for the most part none of these guys have anything to do. R-Truth is having a moment currently that will not last past Wrestlemania. Everyone else has nothing to do. Those 16 guys could become 8 tag teams. Suddenly, the tag team division is not so stale. Luke Harper and Erick Rowan should have never separated. The Primetime Players are a perfect fit as a tag team, but I forgot they are back together. I would not even mind a Damien Mizdow and Axelmania tag team of imitators (it could be fun every once in awhile). The Miz and Damien Mizdow were a good team that is getting split up before they do anything worthwhile. Stardust and Dolph Ziggler will never get anywhere in WWE, why not make them a permanent tag team that is tired of being held down.

The Solution:

The New Day, Los Matadores, and The Ascension joined the tag team ranks dead on arrival. The New Day if they kept the original concept could be a viable tag team that would get people thinking. Society likes when a television show makes a statement. The original Night of the Living Dead made a political statement that resonates to this day. That film is the most well known public domain film. People like political statements and New Day could have been that.

I know the brass at WWE might find this hard to believe, but intelligent characters are interesting. I was in 4th grade when I got into wrestling. I was a little kid and guess what…the tag teams compelled me because they had character and reason. The Attitude Era was great not because the wrestling was out of this world. Instead, the wrestlers felt like real people. There is already tag team fodder to make the other new teams look good. J & J Security can still go. Why not have J&J Security play the Mean Street Posse of 2015? They do not need victories and can entertain us. Los Matadores cannot be salvaged and can become cannon fodder for every other tag team.

The Forgotten: Cody Rhodes and Dolph Ziggler. The name needs some work, but that name took me 10 seconds to think of. The Forgotten name fits in my hypothetical. These two are basically forgotten by WWE brass and continue to get overlooked for the entirety of their careers. Ryback and Luke Harper could become The Hit Squad. Two big guys that will collect bounties other wrestlers place on each other. Seth Rollins is pissed at Orton, so he pays The Hit Squad to rough Orton up. WWE could take old gimmicks like the APA and re-imagine them. This could be the APA as a heel gimmick. Jack Swagger and Mark Henry could be Team Olympia. Jack Swagger is the All-American and Mark Henry was an Olympic weightlifter. They could look down on others because of their athletic backgrounds or they could play typical meatheads. These ideas are off the top of my head and require only a little creativity.

The Benefits:

Tag Teams not only entertain the fans, but they help the product. All those wrestlers that have nothing to do become viable through tag team wrestling. Perry Saturn and Raven are a good example of two aimless wrestlers with nothing to do. Both men were midcard stalwarts that got put together. The result of this tag team was a great feud with Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko. Let’s not forget that Rey Mysterio and Kidman were a part of this block creating WCW’s answer to E&C, Dudley Boys, and The Hardy Boys. Another reason why WWE’s tag team division sucks is the booking. I may be misremembering but I remember the unstoppable Rock being defeated by the Dudley Boys in a handicap match. Steve Austin can overcome The Undertaker or Kane in a singles match. However, he has no chance against both men. That is the beauty of a tag team. Two wrestlers who on their own are midcard acts at best can defeat the world champion because of their teamwork (not saying Kane and Undertaker are midcard acts).

The Barbarian and Meng both got singles pushes that never seemed to go anywhere. I enjoy both guys work, yet the fans did not buy them as singles threats. The two formed a midcard tag team that became one of my favorites. Sometimes, a wrestler that cannot do enough alone can reinvent himself in a tag team. The Faces of Fear were a tag team that filled WCW programming quite frequently. They are probably underappreciated in that respect. Also, a tag team like High Voltage warrants mention. This team consisted of two wrestlers who achieved nothing. The team of High Voltage makes them remembered for something. They are remembered as being cannon fodder. That is not so bad when you look at the alternative (not being remembered at all).

Do Tag Teams Sell?

Some say tag teams do not sell. Teamups sell well if pop culture is any indication. The Avengers does better than the individual movies. The X-Men movies make a lot of money despite negative press at times (X-Men: Last Stand). The Miami Heat with Lebron, Wade, and Bosh got people talking. The NFL as a team game dominates the ratings. Tell me The Road Warriors in the 80’s did not draw. That team probably drew as many people as the World Champions of their time. The Road Warriors were super over and a real draw. The NWA tried to turn them heel to no avail. The Steiner Brothers and Harlem Heat held the tag team division together as The Outsiders tried to kill it. These two teams kept the division alive.

The Steiner Brothers used their tag team fame to gain success in Japan. The Dudley Boys eventually did the same. Harlem Heat runs a wrestling school that people want to go to. The best tag teams are just as wanted as the best singles wrestlers. Also, tag team matches are easy to book. Look at the praise WWE was receiving when The Shield were having incredible matches with everyone. A year later and people question their fandom.

WWE content wise has many problems. This is the least excited I have been for a Wrestlemania in years. Still, a compelling tag team division would lessen the blow. There would be less to complain about with a thriving tag team division. WCW used the Cruiserweight division to conceal some of the weaknesses of the Main Events. WWE could easily do the same with their roster. WWE could make 4 or 5 new tag teams and book them well. It would be so easy and solve some of the problems. People want their favorites to have character. I want to see my favorites do something meaningful. A tag team division can instantly solve some of those problems. All tag teams are not permanent either. Tag teams like Luger/Sting, Owen Hart/Bret Hart, and Chris Jericho/Chris Benoit only teamed up when necessary.

We all have tag teams we enjoy. I wonder what tag teams everyone else enjoys. Are there tag teams you like that everyone else hates? I know some of my examples like Powers of Pain and Faces of Fear might not be so popular. I think the greatest tag team of all-time is The Steiners. There is nothing I enjoy more than watching a Steiners match. Tag teams have something for everyone. I admit I never liked The Hardy Boys and I never liked the New Age Outlaws. I am not a huge fan of The Wolves. I can still be extremely entertained by their matches and respect them. Tag Team matches have a simple formula that seems to make wrestling easier. It is more difficult to mess up a tag team match in my opinion. A wrestler can hide his weaknesses better in a tag team. I cannot speak for anyone else, but I miss tag team wrestling. Some guys like Shelton Benjamin were at their best in tag teams. The same holds true for Chavo Guerrero. I want tag team wrestling to matter everywhere. The Tag Team Championship should be at the same level as The World Championship. The Tag Team Championships should signify that they are the best tag team in the world. Right now, it does not feel like that to me.

Regardless, whether you agree or disagree I hope it got you thinking of your favorite and least favorite tag teams. Maybe, some of you think the lack of Cruiserweight wrestling is the greatest tragedy. Do you think WWE should focus on the IC Title rather than the Tag Team Titles? Do you like NJPW’s tag division as is? What does everyone think of NXT and TNA’s tag divisions? I think the IWC is full of good and bad ideas, so I would love to hear them. I am sure some of you can come up with some tag teams to give directionless wrestlers direction. There are a lot of tragedies in wrestling, but I think we can all agree that tag team wrestling is awesome. Nothing beats a well laid out tag team match.