411’s WWE 50 Greatest Tag Teams (#5-1) Report

-Welcome to the conclusion of this 5 episode countdown of the 50 Greatest Tag Teams in WWE history.  We know the 5 teams left and now it’s all about their placement.  Let’s get to it!

-As a reminder this list is only teams that have appeared in the WWE.  That means you won’t see Harlem Heat or The Hollywood Blondes. 

-Previous recaps are here: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV

-Breezango welcome us back for the final time and this is likely last time we will see them together on any WWE project for a bit.  They have been great hosting this as their interactions with memorabilia from the WWE Warehouse has been fun. 

5. The Dudley Boyz
-WWE Hall of Famers; 9 Time WWE Tag Team Champions; 8 Time ECW Tag Team Champions

-The most decorated Tag Team in professional wrestling history!  We start with some sweet ECW footage before moving to their WWE run starting in 1999.  They came in just after Public Enemy was turfed from WWE and overcame any stigma that may have caused about ECW guys.  Of course they became masters of using tables (which Bubba has said Public Enemy made popular) and had an epic rivalry with Edge and Christian and The Hardyz.  Those TLC matches are still insane and influenced an entire generation.  In 2015 they returned to the WWE (after their TNA run) and they had some fun matches with New Day.  Soon they were inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame. 

4. Edge and Christian
-7 Time WWE Tag Team Champions; Debuted Oct 1998 as The Brood

-See, I would have had E&C at 5 because The Dudley Boyz had a much longer run together as a team and accomplished more as a team.  THE BROOD!  Sadly, they don’t play the theme music.   As mentioned they redefined tag team wrestling with The Hardys and Dudleys with tables, ladders and chairs.  It was actually cool that Edge and Christian won the initial Triangle Ladder Match and then TLC I and II.  That spear from the ladder at Mania X-7 is still breathtaking.  KAZOOS and OFF BEAT SHENANIGANS!  I don’t know if Peacock has uploaded them yet, but check out their Network show as it was hilarious and as I type that they show highlights from that show.  EACSTTROA!  So many memories! 

-A little segment on teams that didn’t appear in the WWE and couldn’t be on this countdown:

-The Outsiders: WE ARE TAKING OVER!  Powerbomb Bischoff off a stage! Wow, that was 25 years ago!

-The Eliminators: The standard in ECW for quite a while! 

-The Koloffs: Old school goodness! 

-DOOM: Heck yeah!  Just bad asses!

-Steamboat and Youngblood: Old School! 

-Sting and Luger:  They had a few runs together with the best being when Luger acted like a heel while teaming with Sting who was a face and have his friend the benefit of the doubt.

-The Fabulous Freebirds:  I am pretty sure they had a match in WWE, but probably not enough to count. 

-The Von Erichs: Well, I mean you can’t mention The Freebirds without mentioning this team. 

-Sabu and RVD: ECW greatness! 

-The Midnight Express: Now we are talking tag team wrestling!  Jim Cornette gets some face time. 

-The Rock N Roll Express:  Now, I know they appeared in the WWE when they had a working deal with Smokey Mountain.

-The Hollywood Blondes: A Brush with Greatness.  These two were great and got over by sheer force of will. 

-The 4 Horsemen:  Again, weird to not include The Brainbusters on this list. 

-Harlem Heat:  WWE Hall of Famers and you could say they are the greatest tag team in WCW History. 

3. The Hart Foundation
-WWE Hall of Famers; 2 Time Tag Team Champions

-Perfect example of power and finesse making a perfect team.  Anvil was the bad ass with the charisma and promo ability while Bret was the technical marvel that would piece things together.  They were perfect together and after a heel run the fans couldn’t help but cheer for them.  They ended the run of The Bulldogs and we get a length segment on their 2 out of 3 falls win over Demolition at SummerSlam.  Fun match with a massive pop!  The team was inducted into The Hall of Fame and that was where that maniac rushed the stage and tried to attack Bret.  Just a perfect blend of what a team should be and teams tried to copy that formula for years. 

2. The Hardy Boyz
-6 Time WWE Tag Team Champions; RAW Tag Team Champions; SmackDown Tag Team Champions

-Wow, they really put New Day at number one! The Hardy Boyz debuted in 1998 and won their first Tag Title from The Acolytes. They put themselves on the map, along with Edge and Christian, in the first Tag Team Ladder Match (Terri Invitational Tournament) and then when the Dudleys were added we had a new Golden Age of Tag Wrestling in the WWE. They split the team up a few teams and they each found success as singles before leaving WWE. After nearly 7 years the team returned at Mania 33 and that seemed easy to call once the ladder match stipulation was added. Great moment and easily biggest moment from that show. Crowd pop was nuts! I would have put them in the top spot if this was my list.

1. The New Day
-7 Time SmackDown Tag Team Champions; 4 Time RAW Tag Team Champions

-Also dawned on me that we have a 3 man group as the #1 tag team in WWE History. That seems kind of unfair to the 2 man teams on this list. I kid! Early New Day vignettes and man did the crowd turn on them. NEW DAY SUCKS! Thankfully, that’s what they needed as they were turned heel and the rest is history as they moved out of the way and let them do their thing. They were so entertaining that the fans turned them face. Their second reign ended up being longest reign of any team in WWE history as they broke Demolition’s mark. It is kind of crazy how many things they were able to get over: cereal, trombones, pancakes. They touch on their rivalry with The Usos and I recommend checking out the war the two teams had inside Hell in a Cell a few years back. Just brutal stuff! They also touch on Kofi-Mania which is still a moment that brings a smile to my face. The crowd was just so happy and it was such a feel good moment.

-Breezango wraps things up and want us to debate about these ratings on social media. Oh, I am sure that has already started.

-I love countdown shows and this was no exception. It’s all about moments that make me feel like a kid again and it offers some good debate. Everyone has an opinion and nothing with this list seemed too far out of left field. I hope they continue this series as they can do countdowns with other titles, 50 Greatest Male Superstars and I definitely want to see them rank the men who have held the WWE Title. Thanks for reading and for all the comments during this series.