Chavo/Hernandez: Can We Name Them "Bad Psychology"?

[Papa Pillman]

Like it or not we are all coming to know the team of Daniels and Kazarian as "Bad Influence".

After last night's title match against Morgan and Ryan, I propose that its time we name the championship team of Chavo and Hernandez as well. From what I saw, my choice for the name of this team is "Bad Psychology".

I have been giving their team the benefit of the doubt for months now. I figured that given the amount of tag team experience that belongs to both men, with time they would find a groove as partners. After some of the decisions I have seen, culminating in last night's near-debacle, I am officially ready to give up any optimism.

A couple examples to illustrate my frustration:

Chavo and Hernandez have a wierd habit, especially early, of excessive "over-tagging". If this was being done to milk the five count and execute double teams to establish an early stranglehold that would be logical- but it isn't the case.

Lets go to last night...
Chavo started with Ryan in the ring. He gained the upperhand quickly and worked Ryan for a couple minutes. He then tagged in Hernandez who executed one power move and re-tagged Chavo. Chavo springboards in onto Ryan, performs one follow up move then tags Herandez back in. At that point we got the only double team move in the sequence with Hernandez slamming Chavo onto Ryan. After a pin attempt Hernandez re-tags Chavo. At that point Ryan attempted to rally, got Chavo into a position to be pounded by Morgan, temporarily evening the field. To regain the upperhand Chavo manages to get the tag to Hernandez who comes in hits a huge back body drop on Ryan. Hernandez then proceeds to stand there and watch as the man they have beaten on and controlled for the better part of five minutes slowly crawls into his corner to tag his fresh monster partner, while Hernandez appears completely unconcerned with preventing the tag.

This is the summary of the early work of the two "tag specialists" in a nutshell. Get advantage of the opposing teams weaker link. Pointlessly tag in and out repeatedly for no logical reason while performing one move at a time and never milking the refs count. Then, once you have the man sufficiently beaten down, proceed to willingly allow him to tag his larger, fresher teammate.

And in the middle of the sequence Todd Kennely goes cliche' while pointing out the excellent continuity of the champions. And I wept inside.

Just to drive home my point, we can fast forward a couple more minutes...

Now suprisingly the fresh giant Morgan has managed to gain control over Hernandez. Morgan weakens Hernandez and tags in Ryan who works on the grounded powerhouse while listening to barked orders from his partner. They continue to work Hernandez over (mostly in their own corner, what a concept, huh Hernandez?) until he is able to complete a less than dramatic hot tag. Now we're rolling. Chavo comes in, quickly cleans house to re-establish the advantage, then thirty seconds later after taking no punishment he proceeds to tag Hernandez, who clearly has had all of a half minute to recover now so in turn must be totally fresh. Hernandez re-enters and within a minute is back on his back with the heel challengers back in control.

Again let's summarize- Hernandez just lets Ryan tag out. This sees him get overwhelmed and put in a bad way. He gets worked over until he manages to get the tag to Chavo who in turn hits a flurry of offense only to tag an obviously still weakened Hernandez back in, to put Hernandez right back into the same position and put them right back where started before Hernandez escaped for the tag. Now that's logical tag work.

So my question... Am I blowing this all out of proportion or are Chavo and Hernandez's in-match decisions as a tag team really as distracting and non-sensical as they appear to be to me??

I just can't get over how two guys with so many tag titles between them over so many years across multiple orginizations can make such rookie decisions in the way they execute the flow, structure, and build of a simple tag match.

 

[MTL722]

Let me state first that I didn't watch Genesis last night, therefore I didn't see this match. But from what you've described, Chavo and Henandez seem like just about every other tag team in regard to quick tags.

Quick tags are supposed to show continuity and communication as well as isolating one opponent. Its basically just a way for two guys to double team their opponent in a legal fashion. The Rhodes Scholars do this, The Worlds Greatest Tag Team did this, and probably a million other teams. Its very very common

However, I can't recall face teams doing this too often. Its usually a heel thing. Keep the good guy in the heel teams corner and repeatedly double team him until the hot tag comes in

Like I said, I didn't see this particular match, but repeatedly tagging in and out is about as common as the face team bulldozing the heels after a hot tag

 

[das1234]

your post may be an elaborate explanation for meaning contained in two words: they suck.
but seriously, i think they may have had an off night, everyone has them-unfortunate when its a PPV, but oh well.
just look at how hernandez totally botched ryan right before the finish, i thought ryans (freakin') neck was broken and he was dead.

 

[ABMorales787]

The only real reason the team exists is a placeholders for Bad Influence. They can't be champs forever and there's just no depth to tag teams outside of that. Chavo would be far better off in the X Division to fill it and give us more diversity. Hernandez is sadly a lost cause. I've always said that man has potential, but alone he's proven to be a danger. With Chavo, he's proven to be a dull danger. TNA may want to start bringing teams up from OVW because LAX 3.2 are just not cutting it.

 

[Otacon]

They are telling a story in the ring. With that being said there is some history between Hernandez and Morgan, so him waiting for Ryan to tag in Morgan isn't that strange. If they doubled teamed Ryan and then got a clean pin five minutes in everyone would be upset. Let the two big men get in there and put on a show and let them all tell the story.

 

[Papa Pillman]

Let me state first that I didn't watch Genesis last night, therefore I didn't see this match. But from what you've described, Chavo and Henandez seem like just about every other tag team in regard to quick tags.

Quick tags are supposed to show continuity and communication as well as isolating one opponent. Its basically just a way for two guys to double team their opponent in a legal fashion. The Rhodes Scholars do this, The Worlds Greatest Tag Team did this, and probably a million other teams. Its very very common

However, I can't recall face teams doing this too often. Its usually a heel thing. Keep the good guy in the heel teams corner and repeatedly double team him until the hot tag comes in

Like I said, I didn't see this particular match, but repeatedly tagging in and out is about as common as the face team bulldozing the heels after a hot tag

I understand how tag matches are worked.

I understand the concept of multiple quick tags.

I also understand that they are typically done for a couple of reasons. Either A) The team with the advantage uses the loophole of the refs count to legally get themselves both into the ring so that they are able to perform 2-on-1 moves while the other man across the ring is helpless; or B) The team with the advantage traps the legal opponent into their corner and they use the exchanging of tags to control his body by holding him in place while his partner enters and grabs control. It is also common to see these two quick tag strategies employed in stereo. Also as you point out it is typically heels executing these strategies because the face in trouble trying to scramble for help while being worked over by two heels is the classic tag match story.

The issue here is that Chavo and Hernandez are applying no strategy when they do this, they are simply tagging in and out after often performing only a single move while rarely working together while doing so and often times paying no attention to the ring positioning of the opponent when they do it. Further illustrated by Hernandez letting Ryan tag out after the early exchange last night. At that point what have all of those tags accomplished?

In fact the strategy "A" I described was used effectively by Ryan/Morgan during this match in question, when they had control of Hernandez, and kept him grounded in their corner. The problem is Chavo even managed to screw that simple formula up by getting the hot tag, and after a short flurry giving it right back up by tagging back in his weakened partner.

Many things they do are head scratching to watch, and fly in the face of logic.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

So... do people finally realize Hernadez sucks, or does he need another twelve tag team partners over the next five years before you realize it? I don't give a shit how agile he is as a "big" man. He has the personality of a dial tone, and the charisma to match it. He's also quite sloppy and dangerous in the ring. Just ask Joey Ryan's neck this morning.

The reason Chavo and Hernandez blow is because neither can talk particularly well, Hernandez especially, and the team struggles mightily because of it. You can point to their lack of psychology, non-matching attire, theme music, etc. etc. etc. None of it matters at all compared to the fact that they can't verbally carry their own weight.

As Killjoy noted, TNA may very well want to start bringing teams up from OVW, or dipping into the free agent pool, because LAX 3.2 are just not cutting it, and I'd argue LAX, period, hasn't cut it since Konnan left TNA in the first place. He was the real talent of the group.

We're soon gonna be staring at a TNA tag division that consists of Bad Influence and absolutely nothing else.

 

[DX Mols]

I really have no interest in Chavandez as a Tag Team. It's the same thing in TNA...Latin Tag team...bandanas....etc. LAX, then w/ that dude who's name I already forgot....now this. Stale. Boring. Bland.

I'm glad WWE took Hunico and Camacho off of TV as they were equally worthless.

Daniels and Kaz deserve to be tag champs and if not, give them to Joey Ryan and Morgan.

 

[Lady Sheamus]

I try to give wrestlers the benefit of the doubt, but Hernandez just does nothing for me. He's just there and he's frustratingly generic. And I would love, just love for the wrestling world to stop making race-based stables. It's been done to death, and it's annoying and archaic. I thought that Chavo might be able to do something in TNA, but he just seems to be there too right now. I'm in the middle on tagging, but I can't figure out the story they're trying to tell in how they do things. Or rather, it's a story I'd rather not be told.