The Wrestling Doctor 02.24.09: Wrestlemania Tag Teams

THE WRESTLING DOCTOR

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THIS WEEK’S PATIENT: WRESTLEMANIA TAG TEAMS
This week I am going down The Road to Wrestlemania by taking a look at tag teams competing at the big event. While tag team wrestling is not a priority in today’s WWE, it was an important part of the company up until the last few years.

I have listed in ten tiers every team that has appeared on at least two Wrestlemania main cards based on their win-loss records. Each tier contains teams with identical records. What is not taken into consideration is the importance of the match the team was involved in. For example, one team who jerked a few curtains may place higher than a duo that competed for the tag team titles. I do not necessarily consider these tiers as rankings due to the subjective nature of the importance of certain matches.

The teams must have appeared on the main card of a minimum of two Wrestlemania. Dark and Heat matches do not count. The team in question must also be the same version in order to be counted as part of the record; for example, the Smash & Crush version of Demolition does not count against Ax & Smash’s record. I count battle royals held on the main show, as well as six man matches in which teams participated.

I will not state with certainty that this list is free of error; there may be a team that appeared at least two Wrestlemanias which I left out.

FIRST TIER
The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart) (3-3)
Wins:
III – w / Danny Davis over The British Bulldogs & Tito Santana
V – over The Honky Tonk Man & Greg Valentine
VI – over The Bolsheviks
Losses:
II – NFL battle royal
IV – 20 man battle royal
VII – lost the tag team titles to The Nasty Boys
No team has come close to matching the longevity and success of The Hart Foundation: six consecutive Wrestlemania appearances, from 1986 to 1991, with three wins and three losses. One of those wins was the shortest tag team match in Wrestlemania history – 19 seconds over The Bolsheviks at VI. Their record is more impressive when it is considered that two of the three defeats were in battle royals – with Hart and Neidhart being the last eliminated by Andre the Giant at II, and Hart being thrown out to seal Bad News Brown’s IV win – and the other coming in a tag team title match. The only feathers missing from the Hart Foundation’s Wrestlemania cap is a title win or a successful title defense on the big show.

SECOND TIER
Demolition (Ax & Smash) (3-0)
Wins:
IV – over Strike Force to win the tag team titles
V – over The Powers of Pain & Mr. Fuji in a handicap match to retain the titles
VI – over Andre the Giant & Haku to win the tag team titles
Posterity dismisses Demolition as just a Road Warriors knock off – which they were – but what is forgotten is how Ax and Smash made the gimmick work on the way to becoming the longest-reigning WWF tag team champions of all time. All three of the Wrestlemania matches that the Ax & Smash version of Demolition participated in were for the tag team championships, and they won the straps twice at the big event, a record that was later matched by Edge & Christian. They also made it to three Manias – a rare feat for tag teams – and never lost. Note: The Demolition that lost to Koji Kitao & Genichiro Tenryu at VII was the Smash & Crush version, so it does not count against the record of the definitive version.

The Legion of Doom (Hawk & Animal) (3-0)
Wins:
VII – over Power & Glory
XIII – w/ Ahmed Johnson over Farooq, Savio Vega, & Crush in a street fight
XIV – won the tag team battle royal
The Legion of Doom matched Demolition in the wins department, though they never contended for the tag titles at a Wrestlemania. Their record at the big event tends to be overshadowed by lackluster booking: their 59 second win over Power & Glory was disappointing, as that bout was much anticipated at the time and could have actually been good if it had been given six or seven minutes. The Wrestlemania XIII street fight was fun if not totally memorable. The LOD 2000 gimmick that was introduced at Wrestlemania XIV was a nice surprise at the moment but never took hold in the long run. The LOD had their best WWF moments outside of the biggest stage. They also unsuccessfully participated in the Heat battle royal at XV, reintroducing the classic WWF LOD gimmick before departing the company.

THIRD TIER
Edge & Christian (2-0)
Wins:
2000: over The Dudley Boyz and The Hardys in a ladder match for the tag team titles
X-7: over The Dudley Boyz and The Hardys in a TLC match for the tag team titles
Edge & Christian win the title for funniest tag team of all time, but what cannot be overlooked is their tag title dominance from 2000 – 2001 while facing stiff competition from The Hardys and The Dudleys. Edge & Christian matched Demolition’s record of winning the tag titles twice at Wrestlemania, and created their own record by doing it two years in a row. (They also created their own footnote, as they never scored a pinfall in either of those victories). Their matches with The Hardys and The Dudleys at 2000 and X-7 were two of the most memorable tag team matches in Wrestlemania history – with Edge’s spear of Jeff at X-7 being a high-light reel classic – adding more luster to their accomplishments at the big event.

The Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff (2-0)
Wins:
I – over Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo for the tag team titles
III – over The Killer Bees by disqualification
The Iron Shiek & Nikolai Volkoff enjoyt he honor of being the first wrestlers to win a championship at a Wrestlemania. They also were the rare tag team who were taken seriously as singles during their tag run, and not after, due to their previous years of singles success. There is some minor controversy surrounding their record, however: the Shiek and Volkoff participated in the gimmick battle royal at Wrestlemania X-7, but they were clearly entered as single wrestlers. They were introduced separately, and were treated as singles competitors throughout. The Shiek won, but it does not matter.

Amazingly those are the only five tag teams to win two or more matches at Wrestlemania. Here are the other teams who participated in at least tow of the big events.

FOURTH TIER
The APA (Farooq & Bradshaw) (1-3)
Wins:
X-7 – w/ Tazz over the Right To Censor
Losses:
2000 – hardcore title battle royal
XVIII – to Billy & Chuck in a four-way elimination match for the titles also involving the Hardys and the Dudleys (eliminated by the Dudleys)
XX – to Rikishi & Scotty Too Hotty in a fatal four way for the WWE tag titles also involving The Bashams and The World’s Greatest Tag Team (Doug Basham was pinned)
Wrestlemania 2000 was tag team rich, and the APA got stuck in the hardcore battle royal? A true waste, especially considering how over they were in the spring of 2000, but the APA’s role in the Attitude Era never leant itself to big time PPV matches. They also participated in the XV battle royal shown on Heat.

FIFTH TIER
The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith & The Dynamite Kid) (1-2)
Wins:
II: over The Dream Team for the tag titles
Losses:
III – w/ Tito Santana to The Hart Foundation & Danny Davis
IV – w/ Koko B. Ware to The Islanders & Bobby Heenan
The British Bulldogs were a staple of the WWF tag team scene in the mid-eighties, and their tag title win over Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake was easily the show stealer of Wrestlemania II. Their six-man match against rivals The Hart Foundation was a memorable moment from the next year’s event – and featured one of the sickest piledrivers of all time on Danny Davis courtesy of Davey Boy. The Bulldogs could have been better used at Wrestlemania IV, but they remained a perennial title presence throughout their WWF run.

The Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty) (1-2)
Wins:
VII – over Haku & The Barbarian
Losses:
V – to The Twin Towers
VI – to The Orient Express via countout
How good of a team were The Rockers? In their lone Wrestlemania victory, they pulled a good match out of The Barbarian and Haku. There is no stronger testimony to a work rate than that. The Rockers never had a classic match at Wrestlemania (Shawn Michaels made up for it as a singles star) and their classic feuds were settled elsewhere, but Michaels & Jannetty never phoned it in during an era when Wrestlemanias were not known for consistently delivering great bouts.

The Headbangers (Mosh & Thrasher) (1-2)
Wins:
XIII – over The Godwinns, Doug Furnas & Phil Lafon, and The New Blackjacks
Losses:
XIV – tag team battle royal
2000 – hardcore battle royal
The Headbangers are not the first to come to mind when thinking of great WWF tag teams, but they did appear at three of four Wrestlemanias from 1997 to 2000. Their win in the four-way elimination match at XIII was a huge surprise.

SIXTH TIER
Owen Hart & The British Bulldog (1-0-1)
Wins:
XII – w/ Vader over Yokozuna, Ahmed Johnson, & Jake Roberts
Draw:
XIII – double-countout against Vader & Mankind in a title match
Owen and The Bulldog were not a full time team in March 1996, but they did tag up regularly before winning the tag team titles, so I am counting their six-man appearance at XII. I fully realize that this decision will be subject to dispute, particularly when compared to other interpretations regarding the X-7 battle royal.

SEVENTH TIER
The Dream Team (Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake) (1-1)
Wins:
III – over The Rougeau Brothers
Losses:
II – lost the tag team titles to The British Bulldogs
Valentine and Beefcake were a great tag team in the mid-eighties, with a title reign of over seven months and one of the greatest team rivalries of all time with The British Bulldogs. Sadly they are often overlooked; hopefully they will not be omitted from this fall’s WWE Tag Team compilation.

The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs & Jerry Sags) (1-1)
Wins:
VII – for titles over The Hart Foundation
Losses:
VIII – with The Mountie & Repo Man to Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Sgt. Slaughter, Virgil, & The Big Boss Man
Great? Absolutely not, but The Nasty Boys were a major factor in the WWF / WCW tag team scene from 1990 to 1996. They made the most of what little skills they had, and they produced one of the best matches of their career in winning the tag team titles at Wrestlemania VII (with a little help from The Hart Foundation).

Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster) (1-1)
Wins:
IX: over Hulk Hogan & Brutus Beefcake via disqualification in tag team title match
Losses:
VIII – to The Natural Disasters via countout in title match
Ted DiBiase and Mike Rotundo’s tax-collecting alter-ego IRS wore the tag belts for more than two-thirds of the brief eighteen months that they teamed. They served as a top heel presence in two Wrestlemanias when the WWF was short on roster depth.

The World’s Greatest Tag Team (Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas) (1-1)
Wins:
XIX – retained the WWE titles over Eddie & Chavo Guerrero and Chris Benoit & Rhyno
Losses:
XX – to Rikishi & Scotty Too Hotty in a fatal four way for the WWE tag titles also involving The Bashams and The APA (Doug Basham was pinned)
The WGGT was a brilliant pairing that had great matches with Los Guerreros in particular. A ladder match between those two teams was a lost Wrestlemania opportunity. They could have been used better later in the their first run or during their 2007 reunion.

The Bushwhackers (Luke & Butch) (1-1)
Wins:
V – over The Rougeau Brothers
Losses:
X-7 – gimmick battle royal
The Bushwhackers’ most notable Wrestlemania accomplishment is their unusually large number of non-wrestling (VI and VII) and non-main show (VIII and X) appearances. At least they never wrestled The Godwinns on the main card.

Too Cool (Grandmaster Sexay & Scotty Too Hotty) (1-1)
2000 – w/ Chyna over Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, & Perry Saturn
Losses
XIV – tag team battle royal
Putting these guys on the list makes me want to throw up a little, as their Too Cool gimmick was never anything but stupid. Yeah, it got over big fro a while, but that does not change the fact these guys were idiots who really could not work. They still went one-and-one in Manias. They were also in the XV Heat battle royal.

EIGHTH TIER
The Dudley Boyz (Buh Buh Ray & Devon) (0-4)
Losses:
2000 – lost the titles to Edge & Christian in a ladder match also involving The Hardys
X-7 – lost the titles to Edge & Christian in a TLC match also involving The Hardys
XVIII – to Billy & Chuck in a four-way elimination match for the titles also involving the Hardys and the APA (eliminated by the Hardys)
XX – to Rob Van Dam & Booker T in a fatal four way for the world tag titles also involving Garrison Cade & Mark Jindrak and Rene Dupre & Rob Conway (Conway was pinned)
Poor Buh Buh Ray and D-Von. All four of the matches that those damn Dudleys participated in were for the championships – a Wrestlemania record – but they did not win one of those bouts at the big event. They twice dropped the titles, another Wrestlemania record. The Dudleys are the best example of a team’s record not reflecting their impact. Their four appearances are second only to The Hart Foundation, and their continual presence in championship matches at the big event is a testament to their longevity and standing in the WWE.

NINTH TIER
The Hardys (Jeff & Matt) (0-3)
Losses:
2000 – lost to Edge & Christian in a ladder match for the titles also involving The Dudleys
X-7 – lost to Edge & Christian in a TLC match for the titles also involving The Dudleys
XVIII – to Billy & Chuck in a four-way elimination match for the titles also involving the Dudleys and the APA (eliminated by Billy & Chuck)
The three main card matches that The Hardys were in were also for the tag titles, but they did not win one, either. The Hardys were the third integral part of the red hot 2000-2001 WWF tag team scene so, like the Dudley’s, their record does not reflect their importance. It was evident by 2001 that both Jeff and Matt could have significant singles careers. Those single pushes were derailed many times by poor booking and personal decisions, but they will likely write the definitive chapter of their team’s Wrestlemania history by facing off one-on-one this year in Houston. In fact, no partners on this list have squared off against each other at a Wrestlemania. They were also in the XV Heat battle royal.

The Rougeau Brothers (Jacques & Raymond) (0-3)
Losses:
III – to The Dream Team
IV – 20 man battle royal
V – to The Bushwhackers
Two of The Rougeau’s three Wrestlemania appearances occurred while they were still trying to find their niche in the WWF, before adopting their faux-American loving Fabulous heel gimmick. The Rougeau’s match at III against The Dream Team was built around the Brutus Beefcake face turn, and their V bout against The Bushwhackers was a comedy piece.

The Killer Bees (B. Brian Blair & Jim Brunzell) (0-3)
Losses:
II – NFL battle royal
III – to The Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff by disqualification
IV – 20 man battle royal
The booking of The Bees at the biggest show of the year is an excellent illustration of how the never climbed out of the WWF mid-card. But somebody has to hold down the transition spots on a card, and Blair and Brunzell did that well.

TENTH TIER
Strike Force (Rick Martel & Tito Santana) (0-2)
Losses:
IV – lost titles to Demolition
V – to The Brain Busters
Strike Force were a dream team whose time was cut short by injury. Their match at V produced one of the true Wrestlemania surprises when Martel walked out on Santana in a heel turn with no previous hinting or history. The booking of that turn has been heavily criticized on the IWC, but it worked very well in the context of the 1989 WWF. Maybe you had to be there. Either way, it is what Strike Force will be most remembered for despite a tag team title reign.

The Quebecers (Jacques Rougeau & Pierre Ouelette) (0-2)
Losses:
X – to Men On A Mission via countout in title match
XIV – tag team battle royal
If you are going to make a rest stop in a company, do it like The Quebecers did in 1993 – 1994: win the tag team titles within a few weeks of your debut, hold them for nearly the entirety of your run, and then bail before spending a year with the promotion. The Quebecers were a decent team, but they had no competition outside of The Steiners, who had burned bridges with the WWF by the time X rolled around.

The Godwinns (Henry & Phineas) (0-2)
Losses:
XIII – to The Headbangers in a fatal four way also involving Doug Furnas & Phil Lafon and The New Blackjacks
XIV – tag team battle royal
The Godwinns are the only team on this list to have participated in a dark tag team title match. They lost to The Bodydonnas in the final of the title tournament on the pre-show for XII, proof that today is not the only time that the tag straps have been booked into the toilet. All of the Godwinns’ main show appearances were in opening bouts, another unique feat on this list.

Bolsheviks (Nikolai Volkoff & Boris Zhukov) (0-2)
Losses:
IV – 20 man battle royal
VI – to The Hart Foundation
If you were the one who paid the pizza guy or worked the grill during IV or VI you may have forgotten that The Bolsheviks appeared at two Manias. They probably did not have to shower after either one, especially after losing in 19 seconds to The Hart Foundation. That loss brings this list full circle.

Some notable teams only appeared on one Wrestlemania as a unit, such as The New Age Outlaws (XIV), The Steiner Brothers (IX), Los Guerreros (XIX) and The Smoking Gunns (XI). The Natural Disasters would have made the list, as they wrestled as a team at VIII and in the gimmick battle royal at X-7. However, Earthquake and Typhoon were clearly booked in the X-7 battle royal as singles competitors and not a team. I apologize to the legions of Natural Disasters out there for this interpretation of the record.

Wrestlemania-related tag team trivia tidbits
• Shortest tag team match: 19 seconds – VI – The Hart Foundation over The Bolsheviks
• Second shortest tag match: 59 seconds – VII – The Legion of Doom over Power & Glory
• Longest tag team match: 22:29 – 2000 – Edge & Christian over The Hardys and The Dudleys in a ladder match for the tag team titles.
• Longest traditional tag team match: 18:27 – IX – Money Inc. over Hulk Hogan & Brutus Beefcake by disqualification in a tag title match.
• Number of tag team title switches on the main show: 9. The belts changed hands at I, II, IV, VI, VII, XI, XIV, 2000, and X-7. The belts also switched hands on the XII pre-show.
• The most recent tag team title switch was at X-7 in the TLC match.
• Demolition and Edge & Christian each share the most Wrestlemania tag team title wins, with two each.
The Dudley Boyz have appeared in the most Wrestlemania tag team title matches, with four.
• The most recent tag team title switch by pinfall was at XI in 1995 when Owen Hart & Yokozuna defeated The Smoking Gunns.
• The last defense was at XXII when Kane & The Big Show retained the World Tag Titles over Carlito & Chris Masters.
• The WWE Tag Team Titles – created for Smackdown in 2002 – have never switched hands at Wrestlemania.
• The only tag team match in Wrestlemania history to end in a draw was the double-countout at XIII for the tag team titles between Davey Boy Smith & Owen Hart and Vader & Mankind.
• Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart, and Davey Boy Smith have appeared in the most tag team matches at Wrestlemania, with six each. Hart and Neidhart appeared all six times together, while Smith competed as part of three different teams: The British Bulldogs (II, III, IV); with Owen Hart (XII, XIII); and The Allied Powers with Lex Luger (XI). Smith shares the distinction of appearing in three teams with Billy Gunn, who showed up in The Smoking Gunns (XI), The New Age Outlaws (XIV), and Billy & Chuck (XVIII). Interestingly, none of Gunn’s teams appeared on more than one main show.

Hopefully you enjoyed this little ride through the Wrestlemania record books. Maybe the WWE will take the tag team scene more seriously in the next few years and return tag team wrestling to a position of prominence on the biggest show of the year. The best we can hope for this year is probably The Miz & John Morrison versus The Colons in a title versus title match.