Is anyone else missing the 'tough-scary' tag teams in wrestling?

[Mr_Wrestling_Number_7]

Road Warriors, Demolition, PAIN, Warlord/Barbarian, APA..they all shared a similar atmosphere. In my opinion, those tough dark tag teams that gave the division a little bit of flavor, and they all got their share of pops. Are we missing that in tag team wrestling? I know we have the Brothers but they are a once maybe twice a year thing. It just seems there aren't enough tough gimmick tag teams out there any longer.

So I ask would you like to see a modern day Legion of Doom complete with scary outfits and face paint? Or are you cool with what is out there now?

 

[Blue Chipper]

I'm sure an ambiguous, brawler tag team wouldn't hurt. It could only help contribute to the somewhat lackluster division right now. They couldn't completely save it or anything, but they certainly can bring some appeal into it, like Jeri-show has, but on a smaller scale. Not that they need another tag team, but perhaps this is the type that will be interesting and people might would actually care about them. Overall, I think it's not a bad idea, but, it definitely won't help anything significantly in the tag division right now.

 

[The Roid Rage]

Below was an idea I had had for a tag team a while back, I posted it in a thread about repackaging wrestlers. I had this idea for a tag team but wasn't sure who to plug into it so I just used a couple of the guys the IWC was going ga ga over at the moment and it was Ted DiBiase and Jack Swagger. I was describing a tag team like you are talking about. Someone tough, ruthless, and a bit scary. You can't have pretty boys out there trying to be scary though, it has to be guys that already look kind of disturbing, and make them look even more disturbing for effect.

Here's one for you, it probably wouldn't work now because wrestlers now are generally just themselves or something, the gimmick characters aren't so hot anymore. But, at any rate....You can take Dibiase Jr. and Jack swagger, have them both drop their real names and make them a tag team called Blood & Gore. Ted Dibiase Jr would be renamed Tyrone Blood, and Jack Swagger would be renamed Bobby Gore, together they make Blood & Gore. They would be quiet guys, not talk a lot, even when spoken too, they just look at you and stare you down and walk away. They would act like total bad asses and just go out and demolish people.

Some of you might be thinking the silent thing doesn't or won't work but I have one word to remind you how well it can, Sting. Remember when he didn't speak for like a year or something? It was crazy and made him a little more intimidating, the same thing would work for these two. Anyways, Blood & Gore would come out and dress like a couple guys who you would imagine as pit fighters or street fighters or something. Ted Dibiase Jr would be the more all out brutal guy who beats people with high impact moves and power, a lot of punches and kicks, real roadhouse shit. Then you can have Jack Swagger be the guy who get's more technical and likes to put people in submissions and holds that contort their bodies and make them scream. So one would be the guy to draw blood i.e. Dibiase, and the other more gory as he puts people through hell i.e. Swagger. You could have them both attacking people after the matches Dibiase always making someone bleed and Swagger always putting someone in a submission that makes them pass out or something and Dibiase could take their blood and rub it on his chest or something like that and laugh maniacally, while swagger does the same laughing maniacally at the pain he's putting his victim in.

They could feud with anybody really and eventually you could make them talk, and they can be all ruthless and talk about how they are out to become the champions and that no one will stop them or they'll do to them what they love to do to everybody, demolish them and leave them in a heap of blood & gore. There is a lot you could do with that team.

 

[Mr_Wrestling_Number_7]

I remember for a while they toyed with a Kane/Boogeyman combo...before Boogey sort of fizzled out. They did a one-shot with them but Kane was selling it as "I kinda like this freak" and it was a decent match if I remember right, against Steven Reagal and Dave Taylor if I'm not mistaken. I think that would have been a decent main stay tag team. I contend we need a freakish tag team..that COVET those tag titles. It seems lately that WWE forms tag teams for storyline reasons or for putting mid cards together when they can't figure out what to do with them yet.

A freak tag team answers so many ill's. They are demented and therefore made for each other. They are obsessed with the tag titles, much in the way LOD were. ONE tag team really selling the titles like this helps make the other tag teams more interesting. Because now you have an extra 'style' of tag-team that you have been missing for a few years and this would contrast in an interesting way with the other teams out there.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Road Warriors, Demolition, PAIN, Warlord/Barbarian, APA..they all shared a similar atmosphere. In my opinion, those tough dark tag teams that gave the division a little bit of flavor, and they all got their share of pops. Are we missing that in tag team wrestling? I know we have the Brothers but they are a once maybe twice a year thing. It just seems there aren't enough tough gimmick tag teams out there any longer.

So I ask would you like to see a modern day Legion of Doom complete with scary outfits and face paint? Or are you cool with what is out there now?

Seeing a couple of teams that have that "intimidation" factor again would be nice.... it could be a way to get something to do for those guys who are doing nothing currently. Have a few of them repackaged to look like monsters, or wear various shades of face-paint, or just give them a "scarier" character. This gives those guys something to do, and at the same time it adds more teams to the tag team division. I would like to see something like this instead of being ok with what is out there now because it would add more to a division that could use more interesting characters in it.

 

[HBK-aholic]

I don't really like this idea. The whole scary outfits/face paint for a tag team is a good way to get them recognised but I don't think the crowd would be able to relate to them in a way they relate to the bigger stars at the moment. With wrestling moving further away from the kayfabe we all knew it as, it seems 'real' people are the way to get over, as opposed to gimmicks such as masks. Mysterio is over with a mask, but if you look at the likes of Triple H, Shawn Michaels, John Cena, Randy Orton etc, the bigger stars, they're more 'normal' and I prefer that type of star.

That being said, the tag team division could use something like that - it couldn't hurt simply to see the crowd reaction a few times, and if the wrestlers are good enough it might work.

 

[Mr_Wrestling_Number_7]

I do love the 'real' wrestler of today. Austin showed that you can be yourself, Rock showed you can say what is directly on your mind and these angles were successful. I think tag teams are another animal. I think in the tag-team world you can let your hair down and get creative somewhat. It gives you the perfect avenue for gimmicks without interrupting what you have going with the singles circuit.

I mean, we'll have no shortage of mat wrestlers, brawlers, and high fliers. I think adding in the 'rough necks' as I like to call them just gives you one extra tool to use. The Road Warriors were great because they were one of few tag teams that could switch from face to heel in one night without any build up and it actually be believable! lol. All you had to do was look at them and see why they would.

If you can sell Umaga, you can still sell a bruiser tag team with paint and/or spikes. Maybe let Animal be their manager.

But I agree, let the singles stay realistic because that angle has all the longevity.

 

[NSL]

I love the brawling tag teams. The Brothers Of destruction were that team for a little while, and a reunion would be nice to see with the tag belts finally getting some credibility back, although...Where have they been (the belts)?

A lot of teams today are a blend of speed and power, or just loaded with technical ability...And, while that's all good, it does make me wish a team would come in that could just dominate, and tear their opponents to shred. TNA has a team that could do it, but they're not nearly big enough to "overpower" their opponents, and make it look convincing.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

I'd say tag teams are the most in need of a gimmick, but usually you can get them over with a decent sounding name and some good double team moves. Demolition, LOD and teams such as them had signature tag moves, APA used to end matches with a Double Powerbomb or 2, Hardy's used to combine their individual moves into double team moves/sequences, Dudleys still use the 3D obviously, The Eliminators had 'Total Elimination', M&M did the 'Snapshot', the Hart Dynasty do the Hart Attack, Miz and Morrison did the slingshot backbreaker with a springboard elbow to follow up, and even Cade and Murdoch did the lariat/chop block combo.

But look at today's teams. Jerishow did nothing you could call a decent tag team move, DX just do their finishers one after another on the same guy, and while Cryme Tyme work together with some double teams, it's always infrequently (those two don't even have individual finishers, and the wonder why they're rarely used?).

Remember how shit the Headbangers used to be? But everyone seemed to love them for their tag teag offense, which i feel is an aspect of tag wrestling that few WWE teams even consider worth doing, but then what do you expect when the boss doesn't care about that type of wrestling?

I don't think gimmicks are really neccessary for a tag team to get over, they just need to look as though they work cohesively as a unit, with their own signature tag moves, otherwise they may as well join the list of 2 guys who got lumped in a tag team.