Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston WERE NOT Thrown Together.

[Wrestlingfan100]

One thing that is bothering me is most people are complaining that Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston were just thrown together, they've
actually tag teamed together multiple times since their debuts in 2008.
To me that is not thrown together, they are also friends in real life anyone who's paid attention to them for 3 years doesn't need Twitter to find that out. I've been a fan since 2002, I'm sorry if I offend anyone by I this, I just remember things and get pissed off when people don't get their research right and just need to find something to complain about. Here's all their matches before facing David and Michael, for people who doubt me:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jFIJ7nox4U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoeUqNwc_W4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuwBIei_HdU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwzbmbDo5gw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqaP62PCwSs

 

[Find'er Woo'er Ryder]

Wow shit post. Shit topic. Shut up dude. They may have teamed together in the past but being thrown together is another way of saying "hey you have nothing to do for a while, team with this guy and we can give you a tag team title run" and yes that is what happened to these guys.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

I understand what you are saying but I have to disagree.

I know that they have tagged together a few times over the years but they were NEVER an official tag team, they were just 2 guys tagging together to fill TV time and nothing more. For example Shawn Michaels and John Cena tagged together a lot before they won the Tag Titles but they were obviously just thrown together to create a story and nothing more, doesn't mean they were actually a tag team, it just means they were on the same tag team in the past.

Kofi and Evan were NOT an actual tag team until they actually won the titles. They were never pushed as a tag team, they were pushed as singles stars and wrestled as so until a few weeks ago (outside of the small amount of time when Punk and Kingston were tag champs). The fact was it was 2 singles stars put together and in their first match as an official tag team won the titles, they were never built as a unit plain and simple.

There is a BIG difference between tagging with someone here and there and actually being a tag team. They took to single stars, threw them together and gave them the tag titles, after they won the titles they then became an official tag team, if they decided to keep the titles on Otunga and Hennig (yeah I'm saying Hennig) then most likely they would have went back to being single stars.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Wrestling fans cannot remember every single thing that has taken place in the course of the last three years. The occasions when Kofi and Evan have teamed together have been few and far between and have also taken a long time ago in terms of pro wrestling. 2 or 3 years is a long time in pro wrestling. Also, it is not as if this team of theirs was a very noteworthy tag team so it is easier to forget them. They have certainly had little recent history together to suggest that they would be teaming, as in any notable interaction in the last two or three months.

It's a trivial complaint though. How does it matter if they have been just thrown together or not? They are both faces and also friends and they are an enjoyable duo. Nothing else matters. I'd rather focus on what they would do from here on rather than if they have been built up in the past or not.

 

[xoxo French Kiss xoxo]

When two wrestlers are put together, say Bourne and Kofi or Miz and R-Truth are put together in a tag team, its usually because creative doesn't have anything better to do with them so they throw two guys together and make them a tag team hoping that they will stick so they don't have to worry about them for a few months.

Miz is a former WWE Champ, R-Truth had some great heel heat a few months ago, but due to Raw being the Cena/Triple H/Punk show theres nothing for these two great because all the time is being focused on Triple H... Cena and Punk.

Kingston has had a middle card title IC/US at some point in the past few years for most of the year. He feuded with Ziggler the current middle card champ on Raw for the better part of 2010 on Smackdown, so bringing them both to Raw and having feud restart for a 3rd time was pointless, so Kingston was without a program....

Evan Bourne was feuding with Swagger, in a win/lose weekend weekout situation, and it was going no where at all... so lets stick Bourne and Kingston together because we have nothing better for them and make them a tag team.

Bourne and Kingston are over, the kids cream their pants when they see them, so putting them up against the left over Nexus members wasn't a bad idea, because as we know they aren't doing shit with Henning and Otunga anyway.

Pretty sure I saw Tyler Reks and Curt Hawkins together backstage during Raw, two more guys thrown together in a tag team, Hawkins is Ryders former tag parter, and before ECW went under him and Vance Archer were in a tag team together. Hawkins and Ryder were the Edge Heads, which was an actual tag team, with a gimmick...

like the Uso's who are still the only ACTUAL tag team in the WWE. They came in together as a tag team, they dress alike, they have the same theme, all things actual tag teams have.

The Hart Dynasty was the only other REAL tag team in the WWE, until they split them up and fired DH Smith. Why did they break them up? No clue because as singles wrestlers neither of them can get over, and they've already released Smith for the 2nd/3rd time?

The only other two in the company that could form together to be a REAL tag team would be Ziggler and Swagger with Vicki as their manager, why? Because if she forms a stable anyone under her stable could tag together. Excuse ME???

So to answer the question at hand Kingston and Bourne are thrown together, Miz and Truth are being thrown together, Reks and Hawkins are being thrown together, Ryder and King were thrown together on Monday, I'm sure Smackdown will bring us two random guys teaming together because of WWE's lazy booking tactics and the whole focus is currently on Triple H... not Cena, Punk, Orton, Del Rio, Nash, but fucking Triple H

 

[ScruffDog]

Wow, it really is imposable to make you people happy. We've all been complaining for so long about how the WWE needs to fix there Tag Division, and now that they are doing it, it's still not good enough. I don't understand what all of your problem is with this. Kofi and Bourne are the start of the new improved tag divition, i hope, and they're perfect for it. They're an exciting duo, that has the majority of the fans support, and all of your nitpicking doesn't make any sense.

People say "They're not and official tag team". Well guess what, THEY ARE NOW! What makes and "Official Tag Team" anyway? Is it because they started out as single wrestlers? The KOW and Beer Money started out as two single wrestlers just thrown together. Why aren't you saying anything about them?

I've heard, "They don't even come out together." When Kane and Taker first tagged they didn't either. Kane would come out, go to the ring, set off his pyro, and then Taker were come down on his bike. Dose that make Kane and Taker not and Official Tag Team because they didn't come out together?

They even gave them a Team name. I agree with Miz that Air Boom is the worst name ever, but at least it's a name. But even the name isn't that important, why couldn't they just go by Kofi and Evan? We had Edge and Christan, or are they not an official tag team because they didn't have a cool name?

Air Boom, whether you like the name or not, is a great Tag Team. They work really well together, and there chemistry in the ring seems to get better each week. They one of the few Official Tag Team's in the WWE right now, so get use to it.

 

[Rckstrtmmy]

Look at all these people who KNOW why EVERYTHING happens in the WWE. Because they work for the creative team right? Some people are stupid. To the OP, unless a team is brought into the WWE together and debuts together on TV, people are gonna say that they are just thrown together and bitch about it. Bourne and Kingston have similar styles, similar gimmicks, a nice combined entrance, a team name that makes some sense and they color coordinate their outfits in the ring. A lot of people say the tag team division needs teams to have these things, so them being paired together MAKES SENSE. Truth and Miz? Thrown together. Jericho and Big Show? Thrown together. Theres a fucking difference and some people are just too stupid to realize it. Just because Kingston and Bourne had singles careers before pairing up doesn't make them a thrown together team.

And saying creative has nothing for them so they just threw them into the tag team division is BEYOND stupid! WWE is obviously trying to revive the division. Kingston and Bourne are probably going to get a nice long run with the titles, and inject new life into a dead division. How is that "creative has nothing for you"? It's not like both of these guys are former world champs and the main event scene is just too crowded so they threw them out of the main event. Kayfabe wise, Bourne hasn't had any prolonged success as a singles guy and Kingston seemingly has topped out for now as a midcard champion. Why would Kofi keep chasing a title that he's held and lost a ton of times? It MAKES SENSE for him to team up with a good friend and try to dominate a weak division.

Bottom line, just because a team doesn't come in together doesn't mean the team is just thrown together. Bourne and Kingston as a team makes nothing but sense and they are already pretty over as a team. They're also exciting as a team. Can't wait for them to start having some insanely fun PPV matches which is something the tag division hasn't had in some time. That's also a good way to build prestige back to the titles before WWE debuts the Kings of Wrestling, and whatever other tag teams they will bring in. So let dumb people say Air Boom is a thrown together team. They prolly think DX was just thrown together back in the day too... X)

 

[JJYanks121]

I've never understood this predisposition to hate on perceived "thrown together" teams. Under that notion, 95 percent of every tag team ever should have been disbanded as they were "thrown together" at some point.

Perhaps my favorite tag team of all time is the New Age Outlaws. Awesome team, great chemistry, super ability to get the crowd going with their mic skills. They were absolutely, positively, 100 percent "thrown together". One guy was Jeff Jarrett's former Roadie and was floundering. The other went from handlebar mustache cowboy to HTM's protege and was left with nothing. They were two guys with very little going on and certainly did not have similar personalities before they started teaming up. As they teamed more and more, they developed a repoire with one another and became great. However, they started out as "thrown together".

Another team that I'm sure plenty on here love are the Dudley Boys. A white guy and black guy billed as brothers in a hillbilly family. Surely you don't believe that these two were meant to team together? No, they were "thrown together" in ECW and eventually became a formidable team. How about Beer Money in TNA? Everyone considers them potentially the best in the world at this moment (though we know they are essentially over), but they were "thrown together" when both of their singles pushes were halted. If anything, their name is emblematic of the fact that they had so little in common to start that all they could come up with was "James likes beer and Roode is rich so he can pay for James' beer".

I could go on for days about teams that were "thrown together", but I'm not the one trying to make a truly silly argument. Outside of teams that are made from ACTUAL family members (Hardys, Usos, Hart Foundation, etc.) and/or best friends who trained together (Edge and Christian, British Bulldogs, etc.), every team was "thrown together" at some point. Does that mean we should dismiss every team throughout history that doesn't have a family connection? It's just silly and it needs to stop.

It doesn't matter if a team got together on the indy scene, in developmentals, or if they start teaming together when both are established on TV. Good teams or even great teams can be formed at any time. As for Air Boom, there's certainly potential there to be a solid team moving forward and I see no problem with the team at all. They were two guys perceived as friends on screen (both career babyfaces) and they formed a team. What's the problem? They work well together, they tried to match their attire (both supported baby blue within their attire last night), and they wrestle a similar style. I think they can be quite an asset to the tag division.

We need to get over this stupid idea that teams can't be "thrown together" though. I gave plenty of examples as to why this is stupid. You gotta get together at some point and at that moment, you could say "thrown together". However, teams need not be defined by that as some of the best ever had similar beginnings. I say just enjoy the team and stop worrying about silly semantics.

 

[@smarkmouth]

I just brought this up in another thread, but now I'm thinking about in in a little more depth. I've said that I don't like when two singles competitors are paired up to form a tag team. Thinking a little more about it, I should say I prefer "real" tag teams, but what they're doing now is just fine.

Years back, when Smackdown debuted the WWE tag team titles to counter the fact that the World tag titles belonged to Raw, the division was primarily singles pairings. Rey Mysterio and Edge teamed up, The Guerreros put singles aspirations on hold, and Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle were paired despite not seeing eye to eye. These teams were thrown together, but there was a logic to the pairings, which we very much are seeing today.

In a short time, Los Guerreros, Edge/Mysterio and Benoit/Angle put on tag team clinics! The tournament finals, the 2/3 falls, classics! One of my favourite moments in this chaos was when Benoit and Angle had a one on one match while they were champions. The other two rivaling tag teams came out to watch. Benoit would put Angle in the Edge-O-Cution, and Angle would put Benoit in the Lasso from El Passo (while looking at Eddie and yelling "This move sucks!"). It all gave the tag division of breath of new life, and from their, they transitioned back into real tag teams like Team Angle.

I now believe that what WWE is currently doing with the division is great. Let Air Boom and Awesome Truth bring the titles their value, even throw Swagger and Ziggler in the mix as reluctant yet successful partners. Have logic to the pairings, tell a great story, and help lay a fresh foundation for the division. Once the tag team titles are coveted again, then let teams like the Usos or McTungacutty carry the ball.

 

[D-Man]

In order to understand this topic, we need to understand what the IWC refers to as a "thrown together" tag team. I'm sure that I'm not far off the mark when I define it as being a tag team that doesn't have a collective name, collective gimmick, or collective synergy. It's really that simple. And honestly, it's as stupid a definition as half of the IWC's opinions on pro-wrestling.

Let's look at former, well-known tag team championship teams that never had these qualities: Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff, Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas, Paul London and Brian Kendrick, Chris Jericho and Big Show, The Miz and Big Show, Lex Luger and Sting, Shawn Michaels and Diesel, Owen Hart and Yokozuna, Owen Hart and Jeff Jarrett, Edge and Christian... why does it matter if a tag team is thrown together as compared to two men being matched up in order to build a random chemistry (which has happened many times in the past)? The only thing that should matter is if the two men make a good team or not.

As for Air Boom, they obviously have tag team chemistry. Just like the original poster stated, they've worked together before. They definitely have chemistry. Now they have a tandem name. And judging by their matches, they work well together. All of this speculation as to whether they're "thrown together" or not shouldn't be relevant.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

As long as they're a team that has good chemistry together and are able to make you interested in what's going on, then who gives a shit if they're "thrown together" or not?

By the definition of "thrown together", at least the IWC's definition, that would mean every "real team" has to have the same look, theme song and general gimmick. Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't that, for all intents and purposes, leave out many of the biggest and greatest tag teams in pro wrestling history?

If you're a good team, I really don't care if you're "thrown together" or you're not. Doesn't Beer Money qualify as a tag team that was "thrown together"? I mean, after all, didn't it start out as a beer swilling Tennessee redneck teaming with a "rich guy" to form, arguably, the overall best tag team in wrestling for the past half decade or so?

 

[VencomHardcore]

I am so glad there are some INTELLIGENT POSTERS HERE who understand tag team wrestlers. For those that complain about thrown together tag teams. Let's take a look around the wrestling world.

KOW - Are thrown together yet many people say they are the best in the world.

All Night Express - They were thrown together in ROH and have now become a hot tag team.

Beer Money - One of the greatest teams in the sport .. you guessed it.

DX - Was a thrown together faction.

Arn Anderson and Tully - Thrown together when Ole Anderson Stopped Wrestling. And they were half of the Four Horseman and one of the greatest tag teams ever.

So just because they don't debut together doesn't mean they can't do great things because some wrestlers work better in tag teams than as singles wrestlers.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

As long as they're a team that has good chemistry together and are able to make you interested in what's going on, then who gives a shit if they're "thrown together" or not?

By the definition of "thrown together", at least the IWC's definition, that would mean every "real team" has to have the same look, theme song and general gimmick. Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't that, for all intents and purposes, leave out many of the biggest and greatest tag teams in pro wrestling history?

If you're a good team, I really don't care if you're "thrown together" or you're not. Doesn't Beer Money qualify as a tag team that was "thrown together"? I mean, after all, didn't it start out as a beer swilling Tennessee redneck teaming with a "rich guy" to form, arguably, the overall best tag team in wrestling for the past half decade or so?

This is a very good point. At the end of the day it doesn't really matter if a team is "thrown together" or not. Hell, technically the Hart Foundation were thrown together as a favor to Bret Hart while they figured out what to do with them. They may have had the same entrance, ring music and gear but they still were thrown together.

Even though Bourne and Kingston are TECHNICALLY thrown together at the end of the day it doesn't really matter, as long as they are good together and have chemistry (which is painfully obvious they do) then at the end of the day it really doesn't matter.

Also as you said Jack Hammer, Beer Money are the best tag team in the last 5-6 years and they were thrown together and I think won the tag titles one of their first matches together.

I do like the idea of tag teams coming in together, like if the Kings of Wrestling debut together or the Uso's. I like the idea of a team with the same gimmick (I'm kind of old school that way) but that shouldn't suggest that thrown together tag teams can't work and can't work well.

 

[Skairipa Matrix]

evan and kofi are actullay a pretty good team yes they were 2 singles stars throw together but so were a few other pretty badass teams over the years like jerishow,showmiz,beer money,motor city machine guns,kane & taker,DX (HHH and HBK) hell even rhodes & dibiase can count here but they were all pretty good teams! while im not a huge fan of the Air Boom name they do make a damn good team people need to stop bitching about EVERYTHING!

 

[TimAH]

When I think of thrown together I think of something thats incredibly temporary. Guys who have been put together as a team but you don't really get the feeling like its any sort of long term situation. They often put them together just to further other angles. I really don't get the impression that Air Boom is any sort of long term team. They'll most likely just stick together long enough to lose the titles and then maybe have a couple chances to get it back and then break up.

I'd like to see them get back to having teams together for many years, having ups and downs with each other but always be a team. Instead of looking for someone to break out as a singles wrestler they should accept that some guys are just better as tag team wrestlers. Breaking up teams like the hart foundation and the colons was pretty darn stupid.


edit: The other thing I wanted to add was how quickly they toss the titles on tag teams these days. There is no sense of build up for many of these teams and that adds to the feeling that its just been thrown together. Let new teams beat other teams on their way up the ladder instead of instantly matching up with the champions and pretty much dominating them.

 

[jaceynightheat]

I think thrown together is really talking about how tag teams don't last these days.
The Miz has been tag team champs with Big Show, Morrison, Cena. Big Show has been champs with Kane, Jericho, Miz. I think it's more of swapping randomly. I hope Kofi & Evan stay together for a while. This isn't the normal set up for a singles feud between them.

I do think Miz & Truth are an exception to the rule. They are amazing together. Same goes with Beer Money, APA, Rock & Sock, Booker & Goldust.

Someone said Edge & Christian were thrown together, that's far from the truth. Also to a lesser extent Kane & Taker, DX. They all had reason to be on the same team.

Putting random wrestlers can work if it's going to mean something. Not just them get the tag titles & then break up.

I think putting together solid young tag teams & maybe bringing back a couple older ones that can help them get over would be great. The New Age Outlaws aren't doing anything, let them have one more run with the tag belts. Crime Time was pretty hot but never got the belts for some reason.

 

[H33LTurn]

So what if they've teamed before a couple of times in 2008? That doesnt give them the backstory that guys like The New Nexus, The Corre, and The Usos have. They were thrown together because they're two happy go lucky midcarders with nothing better to do. Their tag team's purpose is to either further "Awesome Truth" by dropping the titles to them or beating them and giving them the platform they need to turn on eachother.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

You just don't understand what "thrown together" means in IWC speak. See, "thrown together" in IWC speak means 2 guys who, despite how little sense it'd make, didn't come out in matching outfits, don't have the same entrance music, and don't do a bunch of tag moves. Plus if guys don't look a lot alike, or aren't brothers, or cousins, or lifelong best friends (who look alike), they're obviously thrown together. Tag teams should be a mirror of each other. At least in the world of IWC (most of them, more and more intelligent posters are showing up every day).

In reality, Kofi and Bourne had a purpose. Bourne and Kofi were about as over as they'd be as singles. They want to rebuild the tag division so you need a strong babyface team and these 2 are a perfect fit. They have a history of being friends too. So you're right, in real life, they're not thrown together.

However, in the IWC world where Swagger needing 3 times to pick up huge Alex Riley and adding to the story of the match that Riley is a big, raw beast, is a BOTCH BOTCH BOTCH; where if you beat a guy clean and he's a net darling he's BURIED BURIED BURIED; and no matter what, a guy needs to turn HEEL HEEL HEEL.

In other words, you're right, but this is the IWC, so instead of thinking critically, you should instead just focus on a small portion of what happens and blow it up. Essentially, you need to analyse wrestling like Glenn Beck analyses politics.

 

[billm75]

It's my opinion that the hate for "thrown together" teams isn't about the wrestlers themselves, but the fact that you know it's going to be dissolved before they can really make a name for themselves as a tag team in the WWE.

The Hart Foundation, The Hardy Boys, E&C, those were tag teams that made an impact (pardon the expression) on the brand by being together for a significant amount of time.

As a fan, you tend to get tired of these seemingly random pairings of talent just to have a team for a little while. I honestly think if Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston are to make a mark on history, they need to stay together as a team for close to a full year or more. Allow them to fight all comers, even a handful of fly-by-night teams. Hell, throw Swagger and McIntyre together for a month, let them fight for the titles. Throw Miz and Truth together, and let them stick around for 2 or 3 months even. You don't have to have a ton of true "teams" to keep the division relevant, if you're willing to keep at least a few teams together, and ON TV so that we don't forget about them.

McTungacutty was miserable. Almost as if WWE said "here, hang on to these belts while we clean off a shelf for them. Yeah, do whatever you want with them, just don't scratch 'em up".

 

[JeffTheRef]

I don't know why you go through the trouble of trying to prove that they AREN'T thrown together, and then state that it doesn't matter if they are thrown together or not.

The TRUTH is: they are "thrown together". There was no story-line leading up to their joining, and they have very different persona's. They were two singles wrestlers that were given the ball in the tag team division and told to run with it.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

I don't know why you go through the trouble of trying to prove that they AREN'T thrown together, and then state that it doesn't matter if they are thrown together or not.

The TRUTH is: they are "thrown together". There was no story-line leading up to their joining, and they have very different persona's. They were two singles wrestlers that were given the ball in the tag team division and told to run with it.

Why does there need to be a story-line leading up to their joining? Also, how are their personas different? I would like to know how 2 happy babyface fliers are all that different.

Throw together would be Wade Barrett and Morrison. Kofi and Bourne have a history, it's not explicitly spelled out but there is one and their personas match up.

 

[Headman]

One thing that is bothering me is most people are complaining that Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston were just thrown together, they've
actually tag teamed together multiple times since their debuts in 2008.
To me that is not thrown together, they are also friends in real life anyone who's paid attention to them for 3 years doesn't need Twitter to find that out. I've been a fan since 2002, I'm sorry if I offend anyone by I this, I just remember things and get pissed off when people don't get their research right and just need to find something to complain about. Here's all their matches before facing David and Michael, for people who doubt me:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jFIJ7nox4U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoeUqNwc_W4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuwBIei_HdU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwzbmbDo5gw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqaP62PCwSs

I would accept this if I thought there was a plan to make these guys a regular tag team. They've got a name which is cool, now they need matching tights, common theme music and a tandem move set. Then I will admit that they are not only not a makeshift tag team, but that they are the second coming of the Strike Force.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

I would accept this if I thought there was a plan to make these guys a regular tag team. They've got a name which is cool, now they need matching tights, common theme music and a tandem move set. Then I will admit that they are not only not a makeshift tag team, but that they are the second coming of the Strike Force.

They do have matching tights. They've both been wearing baby blue colors since their first match together, I even said that on a thread "this means they'll probably be a team". Just because their tights are obnoxiously similar doesn't mean they aren't. I think it was Bourne's marketing degree coming through having it be more subtle and not like "BLAM WE'RE FRIENDS AND SHOP TOGETHER"

 

[D-Man]

I would accept this if I thought there was a plan to make these guys a regular tag team. They've got a name which is cool, now they need matching tights, common theme music and a tandem move set. Then I will admit that they are not only not a makeshift tag team, but that they are the second coming of the Strike Force.

Thank you for proving my point from the post I made, earlier. This statement basically defines everything that is ignorance in pro-wrestling.

YOU want matching tights and common theme music because it's YOUR personal preference. But what difference does it make with Air Boom, considering that dozens of tag teams of the past were well known for being two separate bodies without a collective name, look, theme song, or gimmick? None of it matters, as long as they entertain us.

 

[ctln4rko]

I agree that Air Boom was thrown together. I am very upset that they were immediately given the titles. I think Air Boom can really succeed if Kofi goes back to what he was doing with Dolph in 2010, being angry and aggressive, and either Evan does the same or Evan tries to keep Kofi calm and one day, Kofi turns heel and they lose the titles.