Can A Tag Team Be Taken Seriously Without A Single Entrance Theme?

[That Other Guy]

We've all heard that Triple H hopes to rebuild the tag team division with his newly-acquired corporate power by bringing in people like the Kings of Wrestling, etc. I'm all for that. The division has been teetering on the brink of oblivion for quite some time. But bringing in outside teams isn't enough. You must create teams from the talent already on the roster. Enter Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston.

These two singles wrestlers were thrown together for what seemed to be a one-time pairing. But then something interesting happened. The announcers started talking about them as a team. Fast forward a week or two and we have Air Boom. Critiques aside, we now have a team with a name which does add an air of credibility to the team. They seem to work well together and certainly have the athletic ability to pull off some interesting spots. However, there is one key element missing. If these guys are truly a team for the long haul, which appears to be the case considering how quickly they got the belts, do they need a new theme song?

We have seen singles wrestlers put together before, and each time it happened their entrance theme was a mash-up of the separate themes (Big Show and Chris Jericho and Show-Miz come to mind). Can a tag-team truly expect to remain a stable without a unified entrance theme? I'd like to see a new song for Air Boom, a song that immediately lets you know that the team has arrived and not just one member (i.e. the Legion of Doom, DX, the Dudleyz, etc.) In their match tonight, we got Bourne's theme and entrance followed by Kingston's. To me, having them come out separately does not lend credibility to the team.

What are your thoughts?

 

[H33LTurn]

I think they can. I wouldnt like to see R-Truth and The Miz come out together because I think they're just two completely separate personalities. The only thing that the single entrance does is show some form of unity. If the team works together then it doesnt need to come out together to reinforce that fact. An entrance shouldnt have such an impact on a team anyway.

 

[hollowpoint]

I agree with you. Coming out individually doesn't really add to the team, it only showcases the individuals of that team. All the great teams came out together. It showed unity and showed that they are gonna stick together. Hell even the Miz and John Morrison came out together and they were an Awesome team(pun intended). They need to incorporate Kofi's Boom pyro with something for Air Bourne and it woud be perfect.

 

[Paralyzer Z]

Coming out individually makes the teams look second rate and thrown together.
Plus when superstars themes get mixed up in a singular theme it is always awesome. But to me how entertaining the duo is, is what I based my judgment on. Sure entrance help them look legit but it's all about ring work.

 

[hollowpoint]

I agree to a certain point about the importance of in ring work, but it starts with coming out together as a team. Especially if you want to establish the division and get the crowd behind your team. I think they work well together in the ring and they have comparable moves. Both are high flyers, but Kofi can do it on the ground as well.

 

[LegendKiller716]

I think if the WWE wants the team to last, the should go all out at or the night after NOC.

I'm saying a new song, and new video, matching attires (or at least the same color), and announce them as Air Boom (not as Bourne and Kofi).

Let them start building credibility, and then start sprinkling in the new blood. I think Air Boom will be a good team to start building around.

 

[daddyJ_t]

i think by keeping the mashup themes or seperate, leads us to believe that they may go seperate again and dont want to push the team long term. with a team theme it does tell us they are a team for the long run and not jus a filler until other real teams show up. granted it was jus a video montage, but stone cold and hhh at least had the theme of mansons fight song going for them when they were the 2 man powertrip. and we all knew hhh and hbk were seperate stars, but we believed them as a long term team as soon as we heard the infamous... are u ready? teams with a single banner i think is more credible

 

[dadubay]

I want to be nice on here but I feel that I must ask the question: why is an entrance theme so important? To answer your question, a simple no would do but that is only because entrance themes are irrelevant. Entrances can only enhance unless you are R Truth.

 

[daddyJ_t]

entrance music is also used for dramatic effect, llok back to when the ultimate warrior destroyed honky tonk man. the crowd went nuts when his music hit. its part of a banner to make the crowd get fired up to love u or hate u

 

[Skairipa Matrix]

i was just thinking this during air booms enterance! id love to see them get a tag team enterance theme as i always felt it would be better tht way but unlike jerishow and showmiz i dont think there themes should be mashed up as evans theme and kofis theme i dont think would sound good mashed up together id say give them a brand new theme for a tag theme all together and when they are in solo matches use their solo theme

 

[xoxo French Kiss xoxo]

Can a tag team in the WWE be taking serious?

There is one REAL tag team in the entire company, the Uso's. Rather than slapping the title on Bourne and Kingston, they could have put them on the Uso's and they would have mattered just as much as they do now, which is not at all.

I understand that the tag titles wont go away, and due to continuously poor programming on the WWE's part they won't be in a place to have a stable/real tag division at any point in time in the next 8-12 months. Unless they hire or call up 8-12 wrestlers from FCW/Dragons Gate/TNA/ROH Tag wrestling will still be dead in the WWE.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

It's an evolution. At first they were just 2 guys with similar personalities. They both wore baby blue. Then they got a team name, next they'll have an entrance. Not only that but they pretty much do come out the same. They came out of the curtian at different times, but both did Kofi's boom boom and both walked down the ramp and even had a nifty little jump in the ring.

It's going to be fun to watch them evolve. So far they've only really had showcase matches. I can't wait until they get into a serious feud and get some time to add some meat to the skeleton they've built.

 

[nikkamcdraco]

1. John Morrison & the Miz weren't really established stars when the became MNM, they more or less took off AFTER they tagged together so it made more sense for them to come out as a team, because that's how they were put together.

2. Entrance themes are very important. Everything in sports has it, it gives you a chance to see who's coming and to get excited for the match you're about to see. Think of the Chicago Bulls...they had an amazing theme and people remember that because they actually put work into it.

3. The obvious reason for the separate themes is it makes a good escape clause when they inevitably break up as a team. Since Bourne & Kingston were established as singles wrestlers they get their singles entrances. But yeah, if they continue to be a team for the next year or so they should start coming out together. Thats the purpose of a team. It wouldnt work with Jey Uso coming out then Jimmy (? I can't remember the others name at this moment) now would it?

4. I like turtles.

 

[KoC417]

Yes a tag team can be taken seriously with Separate entrances.

Kane & RVD. Entered separately EVERY time (as best I can remember) and they were FANTASTIC together. I didn't think they would split until the time was right. Their music was never "mashed up".

Sadly over the past oh I don't know 10 years the Tag division has become a joke with changes happening mostly every month or 2.

But back to the topic.. A tag team can be taken seriously with separate entrances. But if the WWE is serious about bringing credibility and such back to tag team wrestling then it's fine to throw random superstars together at first to see how they mesh. Give them separate entrances and if they click then let them enter together. It helps with the fan reaction too. It's a lot easier to just give 1 loud ovation for the faces than 2 separate ones.
To be perfectly honest their entrance really has no bearing on their "credibility" or whether they can be taken seriously it's how they do in the ring. Kofi and Evan will work very well together in the short run but won't last in the LONG run if WWE puts them up against a HUGE tag team (by huge I mean in terms of overall weight and such). For instance let's say they put Air Boom up against Mark Henry and Kane. No way does Air Boom legitimately win that fight. WWE needs to book tag team wrestling the smart way in order to help establish said tag team as credibly and worth while.

Sorry if my post is a bit jumbled it's 3:15 in the morning and worked an 11 hour day.

 

[JBK2008]

A completely different theme song would be great for Air Boom instead of a mesh of their individual songs for sure. It's just been too common the past couple of years. These two work very well together and I think every little change towards making them a credible team will help!

 

[HeenanGorilla]

Real quick, the Bulls' entrance theme was Steamboat's entrance theme also.

And back to the point, did you notice that after all of the Air Boom (Awful name. Well done, Miz!) hoopla and mentioning how the WWE Universe voted on it, after their match the announcer said the winners were Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne. Can the WWE start calling them Air Boom before expecting the fans to??

 

[Poop Master Flex]

I like the idea of having a tag team have their own separate music but at the same time it doesn't mean that a tag team can't be taken seriously, with that said OP you do have a point.

When a tag team has their own distinguished music it makes them feel more like a unit instead of 2 individuals being paired together. It's just painfully obvious that when they can't even be bothered to make a team their own music that they aren't going to be together forever and overall makes you feel that the WWE can't be bothered to invest time in the tag division. The best tag teams were the ones that

A) Had the same gimmick
B) Had the same entrance music
C) Were a cohesive unit

It still doesn't mean that it can't be done. For example, Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle were great together as a tag team although they came out separate and kept their same gimmicks but at the same time it played into their gimmick as well being together. It wasn't 2 friends together, it was 2 individuals basically 1-uping each other every other match, they constantly argued and even would fight each other in the middle of a match, so in that case it worked.

The thing is though outside of them I can't really think of another good tag team that were individuals that were also a tag team. Even teams like Jerishow and ShowMiz weren't really that great, they just seemed good because they were up against shit the entire time.

All in all they don't need their own entrance music, as long as they can be cohesive and act like a tag team it will be fine, but tag entrance music and gimmick always helps to show that these 2 guys are ACTUALLY a tag team.

 

[Good Golly It's Ollie]

1. John Morrison & the Miz weren't really established stars when they became MNM, they more or less took off AFTER they tagged together so it made more sense for them to come out as a team, because that's how they were put together.

2. Entrance themes are very important. Everything in sports has it, it gives you a chance to see who's coming and to get excited for the match you're about to see. Think of the Chicago Bulls...they had an amazing theme and people remember that because they actually put work into it.

3. The obvious reason for the separate themes is it makes a good escape clause when they inevitably break up as a team. Since Bourne & Kingston were established as singles wrestlers they get their singles entrances. But yeah, if they continue to be a team for the next year or so they should start coming out together. Thats the purpose of a team. It wouldnt work with Jey Uso coming out then Jimmy (? I can't remember the others name at this moment) now would it?

1. MNM stands for Melina/Nitro/Mercury - before Morrison was Morrison, he went by "Johnny Nitro", and Melina managed that tag team, the other member of which was Joey Mercury. Miz and Morrison were a separate tag team that rose up after Morrison's repackage. Obviously it also has the advantage(?) of sounding like a rapper/brand of chocolates.

2 & 3. I can see the attraction of a single entrance - just look at the Dudleys or the Hardys. But these, in their heyday, were 'clone' type teams - the two members more or less counted as one entity. Edge and Christian went out of their way to keep their attires different, but still fell under this banner for the most part. I am not saying this is a bad thing, after all, remember that Tropes Are Not Bad, but it was pretty much how tag teams have always been done, mostly.

Ultimately:

A single entrance theme is best for 'cloned attire'-type teams, but WWE isn't using those type of teams any more - the only one left is the Usos. Also this is better for less clearly defined teams, like Otunga/McGuillicutty, who have less clear personalities, than say, Miz/Truth.

I feel separate entrances work better when you have two very established personalities - Miz and R-Truth, for example - who have been put together for storyline reasons rather than just because their gimmicks/characters match up well.

So generally speaking it depends.

I have to add, I heavily approve of WWE using higher-card people as tag teams again. I think that's all the problem was with the division. No-one cares about jobbers, but they do care about wonderful personalities like Kofi or Miz and Truth. Big Show/Jericho proved this. The Dudleys, Hardys, E&C have always been bigger stars to various degrees, unlike most tag teams of the past 5 years.

 

[Wrestlingfan100]

We've all heard that Triple H hopes to rebuild the tag team division with his newly-acquired corporate power by bringing in people like the Kings of Wrestling, etc. I'm all for that. The division has been teetering on the brink of oblivion for quite some time. But bringing in outside teams isn't enough. You must create teams from the talent already on the roster. Enter Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston.

These two singles wrestlers were thrown together for what seemed to be a one-time pairing. But then something interesting happened. The announcers started talking about them as a team. Fast forward a week or two and we have Air Boom. Critiques aside, we now have a team with a name which does add an air of credibility to the team. They seem to work well together and certainly have the athletic ability to pull off some interesting spots. However, there is one key element missing. If these guys are truly a team for the long haul, which appears to be the case considering how quickly they got the belts, do they need a new theme song?

We have seen singles wrestlers put together before, and each time it happened their entrance theme was a mash-up of the separate themes (Big Show and Chris Jericho and Show-Miz come to mind). Can a tag-team truly expect to remain a stable without a unified entrance theme? I'd like to see a new song for Air Boom, a song that immediately lets you know that the team has arrived and not just one member (i.e. the Legion of Doom, DX, the Dudleyz, etc.) In their match tonight, we got Bourne's theme and entrance followed by Kingston's. To me, having them come out separately does not lend credibility to the team.

What are your thoughts?

WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They were not thrown together, they tag teamed alot with eachother for 3 fucking years.
They tag teamed together Evan Bourne's second fucking match in his WWE career, they've faced and been booked to beat Legacy. They've beaten the team of Swagger and Dolph Ziggler a few months ago do your motherfucking research you smarky ass idiots.

 

[[cL]]

I totally agree. I think its a great Idea. I mean think about it. Triple H has 2 theme songs. well 3 if you count the DX music...4 if you remember the old Evolution music. Whenever they put people together for a significant run, they would either mash up the music or change it all together. If they've put Bourne and Kofi together to revitalize the tag team division (as HHH has been saying) then I think its important and I mean SERIOUSLY important to brand AirBoom, give them a logo, matching outfits, MUSIC and make them learn traditional and contemporary tag team movement. Not just the "Hot Tag". Theres got to be double team moves and the like. I do enjoy their separate finishers, BUT I think it would even be cool to figure out a way to make them cohesive. But again, all this is predicated on whether they REALLY want to bring back the tag team division. (again, i'm going by what HHH said in an recent WZ post that I read). Their needs to be some real tag teams in the WWE. I know most people don't care for it anymore but as for ME, I am a HUGE tag team fan. LOD, Demolition, the Midnight Express, The Rock and Roll Express, the Freebirds, Tully and Arn (the Horsemen) I mean I LOVED Tag Team wrestling. It sucks that it's failed so badly in recent years but if they put the time and effort into making Kofi/Bourne a legit tag team and then bring in (for the love of God) Beer Money and K.O.W. and give the Uso's (who I think if they turn them into straight SAVAGES will be a DOMINANT tag team) a good push, you can really breathe some real life into the tag team division.
Which desperately needs it.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Why does the IWC always have to be so closed minded about so many things revolving around professional wrestling? You people are seriously telling me that a team can't be taken seriously unless they come out to a single entrance theme? See, this is why pro wrestling companies shouldn't generally look to the internet or try to please the utterly unpleasable IWC.

As long as Kofi & Evan Bourne are able to put on decent wrestling matches, as long as they're able to continue to bring a sense of renewed interest to tag team wrestling in WWE, as long as they're able to generally keep you entertained and invested in what they're doing then I don't see a problem. All those things are what's actually important when it comes to a tag team.

It's true that old school traditions work best in many aspects of wrestling but have we really become so smarky that we can't get into a team simply because they don't have the same entrance music? Have we really fallen so far as to complain about something that, in the grand scheme of things, can be viewed as irrelevant?

 

[[cL]]

I am so sick of people getting on these forums bashing people who just want to add their opinions. The IWC is the IWC BECAUSE OF OUR OPINIONS. If you don't like it, be the heck out and stop moaning and complaining. LONG LIVE THE OPINIONATED IWC!!!!

Now on to the question so I don't get spammed. Kofi/Bourne, should get a unified theme song cause its just better in my OPINION. I pretty much said what I wanted to say in my earlier post....I just hate doosh bags who come into these forums bashing people who create them. They create them because they're fans. They may not be as knowledgable and they may even be pretty dumb sometimes but who the heck are YOU to bash them because of your so called great knowledge of wrestling....Shut the freak UP!