Best Tag Team Wrestler.

[ScruffDog]

So the question is not what the best Tag Team is, but what individual superstar is the best tag team wrestler.

I have two I want to mention

Kane- He held the title 11 times with an average title reign of 54.18 days. He has held the title with 7 different superstars: Mankind, X-pack, Hurricane, RVD, Undertaker, Big Show, and Daniel Bryan. This is a record for most times Tag team Champion with a different partner.

and

Edge-He held the title 14 times, which is the most by any individual superstar, with an average reign of 30.43 days. He has held it with 6 different superstars: Jericho, Randy, Hogan, Benoit, Rey, and Christan.

There have been so many great Tag Team wrestlers, who do you think is the best?

 

[Kliq69]

Billy Gunn plain and simple.

While the guys you mentioned had productive careers outside of a tag team (so much that they're more known by their single achievements or overall body of work) while Gunn didn't really. They tried several times to push him as a single star and it just didn't work.

When you look at the variety of teams he was on, it becomes even more impressive. He was with Bart as rodeo cowboys, then RD as the Outlaws/DX, then with Chuck as gays. He didn't carry over the same gimmick, didn't keep the same team name, and even modified his working habits depending on what team he was on.

More importantly, his teams weren't "super-teams". Except for Christian with Edge, and Hurricane and Waltman with Kane, each of those reigns were as part of a super-team and not as an actual team. Every time Billy won the tag belts, he was on a real team, comprised of tag team wrestlers, with no real star between them. Comparing his reigns and thus worth as a tag team specialist to Edge teaming with Hogan, Orton, or Jericho or Kane with Show or DB is ridiculous. I'd assume two former world/wwe champions could easily walk over a random tag team, whereas Billy debuted with the Gunns, went from jobbers to stars with RD, and totally went all out portraying the Billy of Billy & Chuck.

I'm very surprised he hasn't been hired as a road agent specifically to work with the tag teams as he was always amazing at the the psychology aspect of tag wrestling and could help some of the younger teams make their matches stand out on the card.

 

[matman8540]

They're nice. But the best ever tag-team wrestler is AA--Arn Anderson. He has held regional and world titles with the following wrestlers:
Ole Anderson (National tag titles 1 reign 10 months)
Tully Blanchard (NWA/WCW 2 reigns totalling 323 days, WWF 1 reign 76 days)
Larry Zbyszko (WCW 1 reign 75 days)
Bobby Eaton (WCW 1 reign 108 days)
Paul Roma (WCW 1 reign 32 days)
Put it this way, winning a title with Paul Roma should put him at the top of the list. Although it's only 7 reigns, it's with 5 different wrestlers; averaging a total of 130.57 days.

 

[Radical Canadian Goose]

I would have to agree with Billy Gunn. He was primarily a tag team wrestler and nothing else. Plus what he did with the teams that he was in could be considered legendary. Another name that I would throw in the mix even though I don't really remember much about him is Barry Windham. From what I remember is he was a tag team specialist. I could be wrong, just throwing a name out there

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

I gotta go with Ricky Morton.

It's nice throwing out stats like this guy won it with x number of partners and for an average of y number of days but that usually means that the promotion they work for couldn't find anything else for them to do. Ricky was a tag specialist, pure and simple, and was so good at being the babyface in peril that the term "playing Ricky Morton" is still used to this day and if you want to see his influence, look no further than a certain HBK who started in the Rock N Roll Express rip off Rockers playing the Morton role (to Marty Jannety's Robert Gibson) and tweaked it into the Showstopper that everyone knows and, if not loves, respects as one of the best performers ever.

Special mentions - Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton and (IMO the best since the turn of the century) James Storm.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Barry Whyndam and Mike Rotundo were WWE Tag Champs and he had a brief NWA Tag Title run with Lex Luger but most of his career was as a singles star, either in Florida, NWA, or WWE. His World Title feud vs Ric Flair (awesome matches, every bit as good as Flair-Steamboat or Hart-Michaels if not better) and his US Title run as a heel with The Horsemen are what his career is best remembered for. Like Rick Rude, Lex Luger, Steve Austin, Flair, etc Whyndam was primarily a singles star who also had some tag team success.

Best Tag Wrestler: Arn Anderson. 5 different partners winning championships, plus he & Flair were a Top 10 ranked Tag Team in Pro Wrestling Illustrated in 1996. Anderson's success as a top tag wrestler lasted much longer than guys like Edge and Gunn (1985-96). The Brain Busters were the 1st team in wrestling history to win both NWA/WCW Tag Titles & WWE Tag Title. Anderson was terrific on the mic, standing out despite working with other dominant promo guys like Flair & Blanchard. In the ring Arn could bounce around and brawl with giants convincingly like The Road Warriors or Nikita Kolloff or trade technical holds and off the top rope maneuvers with speedsters like The Rock & Roll Express & The Rockers. Arn had great bouts with R&R, either with Ole, Tully, or Flair. The Brain Busters vs Rockers is often considered The Rockers best tag matches outside the AWA.

For performance ability, promos, important matches at big events, and titles (with multiple partners) over a decade, Arn Anderson is clearly The Best Tag Team Wrestler in the last 30 years.

 

[lil bitch Kid]

In terms of pure tag team wrestler, I think you'd have to look at it as the guy who didn't really accomplish anything else other than in tag teams, and that started as a tag wrestler. That being said, I really think there are only a couple of options:

- Billy Gunn: started out in the smoking Gunns, and then after a forgettable Rockabilly gimmick, he jumped into the NAO. Sure he had a couple of IC title runs, but nothing memorable.

- Arn Anderson: yes he had a couple of TV title runs, but again, very forgettable. He tagged with Ole and then long term with Tully. He also had title runs with Eaton and Zybysko.

Out of the two, I think that Arn had more impact as a singles wrestler than Billy did, so, I'd say Billy is the top pure tag team guy.

 

[HBKperfect23]

Billy Gunn is definitely a good choice. The smoking gunns and of course the NAO were both great teams.

I have to throw in Davey Boy Smith and Owen Hart. Davey was a part of perhaps the greatest tag team of all time with Dynamite and had a great run with Owen in the 90s. Owen was a tag specialist. KoKo B Ware, The Anvil, the super team with Bret, Yoko, Davey, JJ. His last 3 partners formed pretty legit tag teams.

 

[Rabbid Wolverine]

I'll go with a name not mentioned.. how about Owen Hart? He was successful with Yoko, Davey Boy and Jarrett. He was not only a great singles wrestler but worked very well in a tag team, especially the first 2 teams.

 

[OldTimer]

Tony Garea:
a) WWWF Tag Title with Haystacks Calhoun, 1973.
b) WWWF Tag Title with Dean Ho, 1973-74.
c) WWWF Tag Title with Larry Zbyzsko, 1978-79.
d) WWF Tag Title with Rick Martel, 1980-81.

 

[matman8540]

Actually, while I'm thinking about this; how about Ole Anderson?
7 time NWA tag team champion with Gene Anderson
1 time NWA tag team champion with Stan Hansen
19 time Georgia & National champion with Gene Anderson (7), Ivan Koloff (5), Lars Andersen (2), Rene Goulet (1), Ernie Ladd (1), Jerry Brisco (1), Thunderbolt Patterson (1), and Arn Anderson (1)
7 time Atlantic Coast & Mid-Atlantic tag team champion with Gene Anderson
1 time Florida tag champion with Ron Garvin

Seriously, I do remember him teaming with Koloff, Lars, and Ladd. He could have teamed with Goulet in the late 70s, I never remember him teaming with Brisco.

 

[lowandmighty]

Its Kane. He's just really good for just about any type of team, big and small, big and big, big and bigger.

This is entertainment don't forget so a good story and team dynamic makes for a good team. Guys like the legion of doom and the new age outlaws are pretty much just teams and thats it, they're almost the same guy with a few differences.

Kane on the other hand is pure gold for any tag team because he's a monster so it makes it interesting when he shows emotion. He can act the big brother role pretty good, take charge of a team when his smaller opponent is down and also compliment his partner by being slow giving them the chance to capitalize and then show his praise. He can save anyones ass basically.

He's like when back up arrives in a movie, he evens up the odds and more.

I've said it before so why not one more time, the best tag team in the world is Kane and anyone.

 

[mesl]

Good tag team wrestlers work well with others.. In and out of the ring, quick tags.. breaking up pins, distracting the ref, double teaming on the 5 count etc. Subtle things which like that sepparate the singles wrestlers from true tag team wrestlers.

Kane is more of an individual wrestler.. Kane basically just stands there on the apron while his partner gets hammered until he gets tagged in and cleans house with the same moves every week. He has been successful, entertaining.. But to me he is always a singles star in a tag team.

 

[rokuma]

I'll go with a name not mentioned.. how about Owen Hart? He was successful with Yoko, Davey Boy and Jarrett. He was not only a great singles wrestler but worked very well in a tag team, especially the first 2 teams.

For the record, I agree w/ Arn Anderson and Billy Gunn. Bobby Eaton and Ricky Morton were interesting, but they didn't get the notoriety of AA or Gunn.

As for the quote above, you could also make a very strong argument for Davey Boy Smith. One half of the British Bulldogs, teamed with Luger for a while as the Allied Powers, and had one final strong run with Owen Hart as tag team champions. Not a shabby resume.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

Bubba Ray Dudley aka Bully Ray. A lot of great Tag Team wrestlers have been mentioned already, but I want to mention Bubba Ray. From ECW to WWE to TNA, he and D-Von Dudley have won all the major Tag Team titles; ECW Tag Team Championship, WCW Tag Team Championship, WWE Tag Team Championship, IWGP Tag Team Championship, NWA Tag Team Championship, TNA Tag Team Championship. They have moved from federation to federation as a Tag Team and have found all of their biggest success as a Tag Team. Bubba Ray overshadows D-Von as a wrestler though. He had a good moveset that could work for a singles competitor. And now look at him; he's elevated so much. He has yet to win a singles title that means something (the WWF Hardcore title doesn't count) and has a long catalog of Tag Team title victories under his belt to show his dominance in that division. He and D-Von have taken on and defeated Tag Teams comprised of star power. That says a lot. He's done it all as a Tag Team wrestler.

 

[Post]

I rarely post anymore, but I couldn't resist this one. I made a thread about this a few years back and I love the topic.

I go with Mick Foley. He won the WCW tag titles with Kevin Sullivan and really had a nice run, especially considering WCW had zero faith in him. This was my favorite Foley time period.

Foley also had 2 ECW tag title reigns with Mickey Whipwreck before joining the WWE.

In the WWE Foley held the tag titles 8 times! His partners included Stone Cold, The Rock, Kane, Terry Funk, and Al Snow.

I realize how Foley in perceived today, but he wasn't always a complete joke. It is hard to ague against Arn Anderson, Owen Hart, Kane, or many others on the list.

 

[Judah's Lion]

Kane, Edge and Mick Foley should definitely get some honorable mentions. i'm not as familiar with wrestling in general pre 1985 or thereabouts, thus why i'm choosing some guys that are from after that timespan.

i also like Eddie Guerrero and William Regal. they both won the tag titles with 3 different partners and i really enjoyed their reigns. Big Show has done pretty well for himself in the tag team ranks. if memory serves, he's had 4 partners, at least.

but for me, i'm gonna stick with Billy Gunn. like so many have already said, his biggest accomplishments came from the tag team scene. Kane, Edge, Foley, Big Show and Guerrero are all former world champions. Regal has won every other title but the big one. Billy Gunn, because of his success in the tag team scene and because his three tag partners/gimmicks were so uniquely different, ultimately gets the nod from me.

 

[lil bitch Kid]

When you thnk about this question, you have to think about what these guys are best known for.

-Kane: best know as Taker's brother and their feud
-Owen: best known as Bret's brother, the guy who almost paralyzed Austin and sadly, for his death.
- Bubba Dudley: without D'Von, no be knows Bubba, so, individually, he can't be the best tag wrestler alone
-Edge: while well known for his tag years, without the Dudleys and Hardys, E&C don't take off; also, I'd argue Edge will be best remembered as the Rated R Ultimate Opportunist persona
-Foley: he will never be remembered for any tag team other than Rock n Sock
-Billy Gunn: best to only be remembered as a tag wrestler first with Bart and then with Roadie.

Think about it this way: if you were to bring any if these guys in, in theory, and wanted a pop for them, how would you do it? That will give you the best tag wrestler.

 

[King Kong Bundy]

There are so many great tag team wrestlers (many which are mentioned in this very thread) but there is one man who I would call the best and that is Road Warrior Hawk. I think of him (and Animal) and I think tag team wrestling. His entire wrestling career was dedicated to the division and I truly believed he paved the way for teams like the Dudley Boyz. He has won twelve different tag team championships and if that doesn't give you enough reason then I don't know what will. There are many wrestlers who do well when part of a tag team but there are few who have revolutionized or become as known for tag team wrestling as he has. It is easy to let the tail end of his time with WWF sway you, but Hawk truly was as good as it gets in the world of tag team wrestling.

 

[The Eighties]

I'd go with Owen and Arn, they both gelled well with multiple partners and just understood the nuances of tag wrestling so well.

Arn and Tully were a machine and Owen and Bulldog worked better than The British Bulldogs and The Hart Foundation IMO, they had great matches with a real variety of opponents from legends like the LOD, unknowns like Furnace & LaFon, and makeshift super-teams like Vader & Mankind. I also think Owen & Yoko are an underrated team.

 

[HBsam31]

I Would say Kane and Billy Gunn just off the top of my head. Kane has pretty much tagged with everytpe of wrestler and has had success with them. He is great on his own to, but in his tag teams he has always shined. Billy Gunn is a guy who never really had to much singles success, but when he was in a team he always brought that team to the top. he had a successful run with Chuck Polumbo as Billy and Chuck. That really says a lot there. I am sure there are more, but these two guys stand out for me.

 

[TheBottomLine]

I grew up around the time of the AE, so in my memory of tag team wrestlers around then, I would say D-von Dudley, Billy Gunn and Edge.

D-von for the number of tag titles he and Bubba won, breaking records, but I choose him over Bubba because Bubba had a single's run, although not a very good one, D-Von just was never a singles competitor, even in his ECW days I don't remember him having a singles run, hell I can't even remember his finisher, if he had one! But he was a great tag wrestler.

Edge, well he's won a hell of a lot of tag titles too, with Christian, Rey and Orton that I remember from top of my memory. Now I know he was very successful as a singles competitor too but in his earlier years he started off tag wrestling and grew into a singles competitor but I always enjoyed his tag matches, especially the rivalries with the Dudleyz and Hardys.

Well everything about Billy Gunn has already been said on this thread, he's a dynamic tag wrestler, being in all these different tag teams and having to adopt different character types for each.

Kane is a worthy mention but I feel he is thrown into a tag team when WWE don't know what to do with his character, and they can't just take him off TV since his character is one of WWE's staples and mainstays since the 90's.