I Miss The Naturals

[The Roid Rage]

Yeah! You guys remember them? The Naturals. Here is a refresher just in case you don't.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vva7fMhA7Jc

They were the very thing that hooked me with TNA. It was their tag team division in general but The Naturals particularly(which ties into another thread). These two were one of the best tag teams I have seen for a long time before and since their time in TNA. They were going to get a shot at the WWE after being released by TNA but one of them announced it on MySpace, and it was all canceled. I was so excited when I heard they were going to get a WWE tryout because I knew they would impress the talent people at WWE, so that meant it was only a matter of time until they were the new WWE Tag Champions.

If they would have come to WWE I think we would be talking about them right now instead of Rhodes and DiBiase, Jerishow, Worlds Strongest Tag Team, or Cryme Tyme. Odds are though we might not have got Miz and Morrison either and they were really good, so I guess everything happens for a reason. But still, they are the team that should have been but never was in WWE,

They were a real tag team, not one of these thrown together duos, all the way down to the matching attires, and synchronized tag team maneuvers. They reminded me of a modernized mix between The Hart Foundation and The Rockers, they even had Jimmy Hart as their manager once, and as we all know "The Franchise" Shane Douglas.

They were just booked poorly in the company for the most part. I mean, they had good matches, and good feuds, but they were always booked on the loosing end. That's not how you get a team over. If you can find more of their matches just watch how the crowd reacts to what those two do in the ring, it is very positive. But, no one is going to get behind a team that always looses and they were always playing second fiddle to Americas Most Wanted or Team 3-D, or someone else. the video I posted was the only winning match of theirs I could find.

They had everything a Tag Team should have, and they were the most impressive tag team I have seen in the ring for a long long time. I only wonder if maybe there is a chance that they could ever make it back to a WWE tryout or something. They were a big deal to me, and most others aren't because of the era I was introduced to wrestling in The Hogan Era. If you look back at the tag teams of that era, they were the best.

The New Generation gave us jokes like The Bodydonnas, The Smoking Gunns, The Heavenly Bodies, Yokozuna and Crush, The Godwinns, Men on a Mission, Tatanka and The 1-2-3 Kid, Bob Holly and The 1-2-3 Kid so on and so on. Teams no one liked or cared about and it was this time in wrestling that killed the tag team. I never liked any of these and I never knew anyone who did. After that it was on to the Attitude Era, and the tag teams weren't much better, or at least that division was no better.

Moving into the time after the merger, I guess we have had some ok tag teams, but none that really embodied anything that the old teams did, except The Naturals. That is just my opinion though. I thought they were really cool, and they did have an old school tag team feel to them the way they worked together and seperately, and they really had the 2 man tag team spots and moves down really good. They did stuff I had never seen before, or thought of seeing.

I wish they could come back in WWE or TNA. I thought they were the best thing in TNA while they were there, and that was what kept me watching TNA at the start to begin with. Now their tag division has lost some luster as well. It's lost it's importance to the show. I think they should build it back up if they can. Let me know what you thought of The Naturals.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

I too had a soft spot for them when they were on the go. They weren't ever my favourite tag team but they did have the ability to go with the best tag teams at the time and struck me as a kind of early Hardy Boyz type team but with more wrestling and less high flying.
As you say, it was perhaps bad timing that they never got the final big push that could have cemented them with AMW and 3D and kept things interesting for a longer time. I was never too sure about Shane Douglas' involvement as their manager and the subsequent storyline, as looking back, it seemed if anything that it was set up to bring about the end of the Naturals, which was a shame.
Personally, I would have loved to see the Naturals and London & Kendrick go at it around this time as it would have been a fast paced match and they probably would have raised each other's performances. On a side note I will be upset if in a few years we see a same thread about the MCMG

 

[Lazerball]

i thought they were a waste of time, and really never impressed me, at least not as much as other teams. the reason they played second fiddle so much was because they were. they couldnt draw near as well as other teams, and thats why they never went anywhere, teams need to be over with fans, as u pointed out they had managers, because niether of them could talk, and in a world where talkin is important thats not goin to cut it. they were average in the ring, not great, but not bad, i dont know why u had to waste a thread on them to be honest, dead and gone sums them up.

 

[Da Prophet]

They were my fav tag team.they were the reason i watch wrestling.The shit they did.

They had charisma,talent,and a good in ring style.

Wish they werent GONE.
RETURN NATURALS AND SAVE THIS SHIT HOLE CALL "TNH"

TOTAL NON-STOP HOGAN.

WOO WOO WOO

YOU KNOW IT!

 

[Xtreme_Animlas2314]

I enjoyed the Naturals even though they weren't my favorite team in TNA at the time. They were a team though and it helpded with the tag team division while they were there. Unfortunately TNA didn't want them anymore!! Their feuds with AMW weren't pretty great matches but if you put them up against the top ten tag teams of all time they aren't there yet. Can move up in the rankings if given a shot thats for sure. Teams like the Briscos from ROH, MCMG, Hardyz, London/Kendrick, SAT, Triple X, and etc. Teams are the same size will be great to go against before go after the teams like Team 3D or well really anyone in that size capicity.

I wish TNA would give them another shot considering the tag team division is getting a little low with two tag team titles that are in TNA right now.

We need something else to spice this division up.!!!

 

[The Roid Rage]

I thought they were a waste of time, and really never impressed me, at least not as much as other teams.

I would have to question your taste in wrestling then because these guys were quite possibly the best tag team TNA had. I will get into explaining their shortcomings in responses to your other comments.

the reason they played second fiddle so much was because they were.

Uhhh, OK? First of all what you said right there makes no sense and sounds like broken ebonics or something. I am not going to get started yet, I am saving it.

they couldnt draw near as well as other teams, and thats why they never went anywhere,

Really now, that's all there was to it??? It couldn't have been how weekly they were booked, or as I said that they were made to play second fiddle to people who should have been putting them over like Team 3-D, AMW, Team Canada, Triple X, and real winners like "Diamonds in the Rough". Not to mention getting thrown under the bus of Planet Jarret at one time as peripheral members, meaning no one important, and being separated in early 2006 only to be reformed with Shane Douglas(again, all weak booking).

teams need to be over with fans, as u pointed out they had managers, because niether of them could talk, and in a world where talkin is important thats not goin to cut it.

The thing that was so beautiful about them though, was that they were so good in the ring, you didn't care what they had to say or they had anything to say at all, they didn't need to, you just wanted to see them wrestle, they were that damn good. I'm not going to argue that the ability to speak naturally on the mic isn't important, everyone know to some degree it is. But, it is a skill that can be developed, and that you have to give people the opportunity to develop. They never got much opportunity to do that, and that is an issue that was out of their hands.

they were average in the ring, not great, but not bad, i dont know why u had to waste a thread on them to be honest, dead and gone sums them up.

I'd have to argue that. The others who posted all said that they were great in the ring, and that they were one of the main reasons they even watched TNA, so I don't get where you come off with all that. More importantly, Vince McMahon was interested in them and wanted to pick them up. Unfortunately one of them made the mistake of letting people know they would be getting a shot in WWE, which lead to them not getting that shot.

But I must concede that they had to be pretty damn good for Vince to be interested in picking them up from TNA. Obviously he knew it was a mistake for TNA to let them go and was going to capitalize on that until one of them gave out too much info for them to be comfortable with. I think that if they were in the WWE they would have had great success, and no doubt they would have captured tag team gold there.

I think it is also arguable that they were the blueprint for the Motor City Machine Guns which has been successful. But guess what?? They got booked the right way, and got mic time, and got good feuds. It was simply a matter of investing in one over the other. I think that they made the Motor City Machine Guns to make up for the loss of The Naturals, and that they knew they had lost some depth in their tag team division as a result of letting them go, but realized it too late.


As for your questioning of why I supposedly "Wasted a Thread" on them, I'd have to ask in response why you bothered to waste a post on what you had to say??? It was neither truthful, accurate, and added nothing to the conversation of value. They may be dead and gone to some degree, but you never know what the future holds. They might get another run in TNA or another shot in the WWE at some point, the end hasn't been written for The Naturals just yet. Watch out for them to make a comeback in the next year or two somewhere. They are good, and have a lot to offer anyone who wants to strengthen their tag team division.

 

[Trill Co$by]

TNA never booked the Naturals weakly, and neither does Memphis Wrestling or any of the indy promotions. The Naturals are a gifted tag team that should be brought back into TNA.

They are still one of my favorite tag teams today, and I have a feeling that they might find their ways back to TNA soon.

 

[NSL]

I'm glad to see The Naturals getting some love. In my thread on the greatest tag teams in TNA history, they got absolutely no love, and I couldn't convince anyone to even consider them. With or without Shane Douglas, they were a great in-ring team, and had a very good feud with AMW, who are unquestionably the best true tag team of this decade.

I'm not sure if they'd work if they returned right now. They were a "jack of all trades" team, and didn't overly excel in any one area. They could fly, but they weren't the Machine Guns. They were technical, but they weren't, 3 Live Kru. They were strong, but they weren't AMW.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

With or without Shane Douglas, they were a great in-ring team, and had a very good feud with AMW, who are unquestionably the best true tag team of this decade.

I'm not sure if they'd work if they returned right now. They were a "jack of all trades" team, and didn't overly excel in any one area. They could fly, but they weren't the Machine Guns. They were technical, but they weren't, 3 Live Kru. They were strong, but they weren't AMW.

SO basically, they were the Too Cool of the W.W.E.

They were good enough to be one-time Tag team Champions for a short lived reign, but not nearly good enough to be remembered in the long run of things. Thats basically what you've just unofficially said with your ending statement.

Let me clarify, I love The Naturals. I loved them alone, I loved them with Chris Candido, I loved them afterwards. They were a very solid overall team. Not average, but more in my category as above average. By that, I mean they were very solid in every area, but not to the point of being "great", yet not just plain.

To be honest, I firmly believe they were one part of the glue that helped to keep A.M.W in place as a Tag team that will forever be viewed as one of T.N.A's very best. It was their feud with each other, that made me recall the days of Edge/Christian and the Hardys. They had very stand-out matches and thrived with one another.

The problem with the Naturals is the fact that similar to the Hardys, they never got recognized quickly and fell into the position of a team that was just there. Unlike the Hardys, who re-emerged and found their spot - the Naturals reversed that. They took an opening, and just rolled with it moderately, never making any one solid impact here or there when they were the top team. Thats why they failed.

There look was perfect, their team-work was great. Their finishing move was unique at the time, and one of it's kind. They had all the right parts, but just never found a way to connect them to complete the puzzle. I miss the Naturals.. but they'd never work in today's T.N.A.