Super Teams

CrunKSinatrA

Pre-Show Stalwart
The Warriors super team just won the NBA Finals and that's got me thinking about super teams in professional wrestling.

My idea of a "super team" would be a tag team of established singles.

To differentiate from a regular tag team since neither Hawk nor Animal had big singles careers but are arguably the greatest tag team of all time.

The Dudleys don't count either b/c TNA just isn't big enough of a stage.

But if you want to count TNA to include Edge and Christian w/ the Hardy Boys I'm not a cop or anything.

Also, a Marty Janetty can hold back a team from being super team.

So no Rick Steiners, Jim Neidharts, or Stevie Rays either.

But I do count XPac and Kane as a super team but on bare minimum lower end for consideration.

The main reason these super teams never dominated the tag team scene with long reigns is b/c of the volatile nature when the single's star egos eventually clash.

So who takes the crown...

The Mega Powers have Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage and would be the number one seed in a tournament.

But the Two Man Power Trip also has all timers with Stone Cold Steve Austin and HHH.

HHH also counts towards DX with Shawn Michaels, and Shawn Michaels is half of the Two Dudes with Attitude w/ Diesel.

The Rock and Sock Connection also merit consideration with the Brothers of Destruction.

John Cena won tag team gold with Bautista, and Edge reigned with Hulk Hogan.

Chris Benoit casts a dark shadow on his team ups with Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle.

The Outsiders represent the NWO, along with Sting and Lex Luger from even before the Wolfpac days.

Big Show was also part of monster tag teams w/ both Kane and Undertaker.

Jerishow and JeriKO also had good runs.
 
The Mega Powers were absolutely my favorite "super team" growing up.

Both Hogan and Savage were already established singles stars by the time of their formation in 1988. Hogan had dominated the Heavyweight scene for four years and was without a doubt THE top star in the world of professional wrestling. Savage was an up and coming force in the WWF having already won the Intercontinental title in 1986. The two would even feud prior but Savage (due to his high-flying style. colorful wardrope, intense promos and of course Liz) was gaining momentum as a babyface. This all culminated in his iconic babyface turn in late '87 and subsequent team with Hogan.

Dominant was the word to describe this team. They had everything. The power of the Hulkster and high-flying, high-impact, quick moves of Randy Savage. Not to mention the brains and beauty of Liz who could often distract opponents as evidenced by SummerSlam 1988. The team was short lived (lasting only approx a little over a year) but no one can deny they were one of the most dominant pairings ever and engaged in (IMO) the most memorable WWF storyline ever produced.

They would team once again in WCW but by far their most memorable run was in the WWF.
 
I dont think Nash & HBK count because that was before Nash push and elevation to top singles status wasnt it ? Wasnt he still more or less the unknown body guard, aka Vinnie Vegas during those years.

Likewise DX in it's mid 2000s return counts but not in 1997, HHH was relatively new on the scene and not an established singles star.

Kane was well established before he & Taker teamed, as was Foley with The Rock. Lex Luger was in the midst of a monster singles push when he was paired for the summer if 87 in Team Package with Ric Flair, wrestling the Rock & Roll Express.

With that in mind, in terms of the success of the pairing, their longevity, and the individual success the two members had prior to joining...

MegaPowers: By 1988 Randy Savage was in his prime of a HOF career and reigning World Champ. Hogan's career at this point is well documented. Ran much of 1988, even main eventing the S-Slam PPV, and main evented numerous times in 1995-96 in WCW, including the Jan 96 Clash Of Champions vs Ric Flair & Big Show.

SuperPowers: Uniting a year and half before Hogan & Savage, The SuperPowers united two arch rivals, pitting the NWA's longest tenured fan favorite main eventer with it's red hot newest main event heel, brought together by their mutual respect for a fallen ally (nemesis) in Magnum TA. Dusty Rhodes was also the embodiment of the hard working middle class family man while Nikita Kolloff had been the poster child for the Anti American hated Russian villain at the height of the new Cold War. They remained inseparable for almost two years, despite their continued successful singles careers, and actually beat their arch nemesis The Four Horsemen in the finals of the 1987 Crockett Cup Tag Team Tournament as well as multiple War Games encounters.

Rock & Sock Connection: Higher on entertainment value than longevity no doubt one of the best remembered (if shorter lived) pairings, though they did reunite circa 2003 to battle Evolution at W-Mania.

Sting & Lex Luger: Never stayed together long enough to have a singular impact but they did enjoy success in 1988 and again in 1996.

DX Reunion: Won almost every fued. Several very good moments even if some of the humor was stale with both HHH & HBK much closer to 50 than 25 (or even 30) at this point in their careers.

Rated RKO: One of my favorite pairings, two seemingly unrelated singles stars joined only by a common enemy, their respective styles and gimmicks (the Rated R SuperStar Edge, violent and unpredictable with The Legend Killer, assassin like Randy "Viper"Orton) played well off each other. Comparable to the seemingly just thrown together pairing of Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson (different styles, different characters, working almost exclusively singles matches, in Tully's case for several years, in Arn's case about a year plus, joined only by their common association with The Horsemen).
 
The greatest Super Team in Professional Sports Wrestling Entertainment history (on paper) is Jeri-Show. I don't have to go through all of their accolades, but I must mention this. You have the first ever Undisputed WWE / WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and the only Quadruple Crown World (WWE, WCW, ECW, World Heavyweight), as the Unified WWE World Tag Team Champions.

Other Super Teams I enjoyed:

Mega Powers
Mega Bucks
Ultimate Maniacs
Mega Maniacs
Two-Man Power Trip
Rated RKO
Rated Y2J
Main Event Mafia
 
One that hasn't been mentioned is Stone Cold Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels in 1997.

It only lasted about a few weeks but they gave us so much quality in that time. I really loved the dynamic and chemistry between the two and it really shouldn't be a surprise considering they both come from two great tag teams in The Hollywood Blondes and The Rockers. Their constant arguing and bickering with each other reminded me of John McClane and Zeus from Die Hard With A Vengeance, it was hilarious. Their Tag Team Title matches against Bulldog & Owen and LOD in which they made LOD look dominant were great and their King Of The Ring match was underrated classic. Shame they didn't last longer as I loved the concept of The Hart Foundation's two greatest enemies coming together to battle them even if they themselves didn't really get along.

I loved all of Austin's teams but Austin and Michaels was my favourite pairing and is one of my top 5 favourite tag teams.
 

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