*Merged* All Tag Team Division Discussion

[THTRobtaylor]

I would bring back:-

New Age Outlaws - Road-Dogg has gotten 2 good pops in recent weeks, and if Billy Gunn is in any kind of shape then I think a short run for them would be a good way to get interest in the tag division.

Hart Dynasty - This team should never have split. DH Smith being fired was a poor decision really when guys like Ryan have been kept on.

The Headbangers - There is a web campaign going to get them back, whether they are up to it I don't know... but I think it might be fun to see them one more time.

Demolition - Of course Ax and Smash are too old... but the gimmick itself should come back with 2 new members and either of the original guys as the manager. WWE had Dakota Darsow for a while so bring him back as one and you have the Demoliton 2.0 type thing, add an FCW guy in there too.

 

[sephx42]

Especially after the Rumble, though it's a pipe dream, you can't beat the pop New Age Outlaws would get. They carry enough reaction to put a real sharp focus on the division, and would make great 10:00 hour RAW action. One can only dream.

 

[dwith]

If they were serious about reinvigerating the tag team division which I don't believe they, they would have to rehire several tag teams to make it believable.
First and for-most
1)ROAD DOG & BILLY GUNN (NEW AGE OUTLAWS),
2)TOO COOL
3)M&M
All of these team's to go along with THE USO'S, and this could make some good tag team action with alot of fun mixed in.

 

[DeathClutch]

They need to have the tag belts in speciality matches to garner interest in them, and give off the illusion their important enough to be in xyz match..

Too cool (Any combo), APA (nothing to big but for a couple of apperances), NAO's, Christian/Jericho, Goldust/Booker maybe Kane/Mankind...

 

[Shotaro]

Honestly why do people seem obsessed with bringing talent back? The WWE's biggest problem is their seeming inability to build new guys. They need to build the division from the ground up and Air Boom and even Epico/Primo are steps in the right direction. They have the talent there in the roster they just need to use it better.

It's a damn shame Bourne has seemingly hit the detonate button on his WWE career - Air Boom could've been the team to make the Tag Titles important again

 

[#hamler]

I'm agreeing with everyone else here. While I certainly wouldn't mind bringing in more tag teams, WWE has a substantial amount of talent that aren't being used right now. The WWE needs to quit looking to bring people in, and look within to find what they need. Guys like Curt Hawkins, Trent Berretta, JTG, Johnny Curtis, Michael McGillicutty, Justin Gabriel and numerous others who aren't doing anything significant enough that they cannot be repackaged, paired with another superstar to form a tag team. These guys are just waiting to be used; use them.

New Age Outlaws - Road-Dogg has gotten 2 good pops in recent weeks, and if Billy Gunn is in any kind of shape then I think a short run for them would be a good way to get interest in the tag division.

I'm actually all for this. If the WWE ever wants to rebuild any division, past stars are a way to go. If the WWE can manage to put these two guys back together and force them in a tag team together, the New Age Outlaws will be the absolute perfect team for some newer team to go over on their way to the top of the tag team division. If two established veterans come out of retirement to go for the tag title belts, that will obviously raise the two belts' value. Depending on if they are still over or not, Billy Gunn and Road Dogg will definitely help the division.

 

[Takerforeverandever]

THE MISTICS: Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara
THE ANIMALS: Mason Ryan & Ezekiel Jackson
THE STRONGEST AND LARGEST TEAM: Big Show & Mark Henry
THE SOCKOBRA TEAM: Mick Foley & Santino Marella
AIR BOOM: Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne (if he finishes rehab and comes back)
THE FUNK TEAM: Brodus Clay & Drew McIntyre (that could be...weird...but funny at the same time)
plus... Epico & Primo, Tyler Reks &...mm whoever wants to create a jobbing team with him.. etc etc

Bringing old teams would be a bad idea if you can create new teams like these.. The only teams I would bring from outside the WWE are The MCMG from and Beer Money from TNA
The Hardy Boyz would be awesome.. but bringing back Jeff would be to main event as a single wrestler in important feuds. And well.. Matt is not in his prime

 

[The Major Broski]

NOA would be good but Billy Gunn is basically beging for a jor with WWE now as for talent right know I would loved legacy back together could really kickstart ted back into the postion he used to be also the uso's need a push if they want to take it seriously

 

[The Major Broski]

THE MISTICS: Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara
THE ANIMALS: Mason Ryan & Ezekiel Jackson
THE STRONGEST AND LARGEST TEAM: Big Show & Mark Henry
THE SOCKOBRA TEAM: Mick Foley & Santino Marella
AIR BOOM: Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne (if he finishes rehab and comes back)
THE FUNK TEAM: Brodus Clay & Drew McIntyre (that could be...weird...but funny at the same time)
plus... Epico & Primo, Tyler Reks &...mm whoever wants to create a jobbing team with him.. etc etc

Bringing old teams would be a bad idea if you can create new teams like these.. The only teams I would bring from outside the WWE are The MCMG from and Beer Money from TNA
The Hardy Boyz would be awesome.. but bringing back Jeff would be to main event as a single wrestler in important feuds. And well.. Matt is not in his prime

ok foley is not on a full time schedule and big show and henry have been fuding for moths and all of a sudden they becom a team sorry won't happen. I wouldn't ryan near the ring never mind the tag titles. Again drew and Brodus would make no sense. i honstly think that bourne will be gone when his suspensions up and Reks and Hawkins are already a tag team

 

[PlayTheGame]

I don't think bringing back really old guys like a Billy Gunn or Road Dogg would "revitalize" the tag team division. It would be a nostalgia act and they would just be shells of their former selves. Do you think they could even put on quality matches now? I really doubt it. Sure, they might get some pops, but they would be horrible in the ring.

What the WWE needs to do is package some of the guys that it already has into tag teams (Air Boom was a good example of this). And, maybe even more so, MAKE SOME STORYLINES around the tag division. It shouldn't just be TEAM A is challenging TEAM B tonight! Make sure you watch! They could easily add more focus to the division if they spent more time and creative energy on the division IF they were really committed to trying to bring it back (but I don't think they really are anyway).

 

[DirtyD79]

The thing is it's not so much a matter of bringing anybody back, its that they the need to stop using the tag division as a place to dump guys who got nothing else to do. They also need to stop splitting up tag teams as soon as they're getting over. I know the thinking is they're hoping to create the next Shawn Michaels but the problem is they often end up getting two Marty Jannettys. Sometimes a tag team's popularity is a case of the whole being greater than the sum of it's parts. Maybe it's their chemistry or maybe their characters work best because it involves two wrestlers doing it, who knows

And even with the case of The Rockers, Shawn Michaels turning on Marty Jannetty didn't get over simply because he kicked Marty to the curb (or rather through the plate glass window) it was because it was unexpected. For years we saw him and Marty as a team of All for one, one for all babyfaces. For Shawn to turn like that was out of the blue and they were a beloved tag team so naturally fans were upset and had every reason to boo Shawn and want to see Marty score some vengence when he came back. Nowadays it happens so often that there's no more surprise to it. Every team follows the same exact path.

 

[The Deadly Viper]

It was nice to see him back at the royal rumble it has to be said. Whether I would like him back, it depends, is he ready, and could he do a WWE schedule? He is aging a little I have to say, however I love the Road Dogg. I know it probably won't happen, but I mean I loved seeing him again, and obviously would love to see him again on a regular basis. However his body just can't handle it no more.

 

[Rampage Bentley]

I think bringing back old tag teams would be a great way to revitalize the tag division... but not to work regularly... just one time deals...

Here's what I'm thinking...

Have The Uso's go on about how they're a legit tag team and can beat anyone past or present, then we can get weekly one-shot returns of guys like The Head Bangers, The New Age Outlaws, MNM, The APA etc. and each one puts The Uso's over. Then they can go on to win the tag team titles and then go on to start beating "the future" taking on "jobbers," current FCW stars, and local indy guys until one team gets an upset victory over them... now they have a feud and you have the start of a legit tag team division.

 

[dman1373]

Just like another poster before you, you're not looking at things the right way. I fully understand how they were all originally tag team members who found success once they branched out into singles divisions. I also completely understand their contributions towards the tag team division 10 years ago. But when was the last time an audience bought a ticket to watch tag team wrestling?

All of your points are completely valid if you're referring to the past. But in today's market, no one pays to see tag teams. Tag team members are still flourishing once they embark on their journey towards the top of the singles divisions (i.e. The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, Christian). Prior to that move, they were making no real money for the company.

So, if we already know that tag teams are nothing more than a conduit for a superstar to draw money via the singles route, why do we need to improve the tag division by bringing in has-beens like Road Dogg? Like I said earlier: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.



Forgive me if I'm a bit skeptical (to put it lightly) about your supposed "conversation" with him after the Rumble.



I have never disagreed with this theory of veterans appearing on television as mentors or managers for newer talent. Just like the names you mentioned like Albano and Fuji, men such as Bob Orton, Tony Atlas, and Michael ayes have done wonders as managers of tag teams and singles competitors. Plus, it makes perfect sense to use them from a knowledge perspective for newer talent.



We all want things the way they used to be. But we all have to realize that times change. We've become the older audience that the WWE no longer wishes to cater to. Children are the most marketable group that the WWE aims at so we're just going to have to accept this newer ideology.

you act as if bringing in the nao would not be good for business. It doesn't have to make a rock vs cena money to be good for buisness. Just look at it objectively. If you look at any of the tag teams, they are not really over. Their not very charismatic. Hell, all of them lose viewers whenever their on. Well no matter what if you bring in the nao then their going to be the top team with the loudest pops. Now if you bring them in with a good crowd on raw, and i mean at the right time and place (in a wrestling town before a wrestlemania or summerslam), Then loud pop, and then the people that don't know them, will start to pay attention to them, and thats all a good team like nao needs. They then wrestle those not so over teams, and just by wrestling nao, more people will watch their matches. The more people that watch their matches the more chance of getting over they have. Now they are more over too. And even if no one gets a good rub, then atleast the newer crowd will know more about the nao, and then more people will by their dvd (which they will certeinly have. That reinvigorates the chance to sell dx merchandise which sell like hotcakes and now more of the kiddies know them so they can release action figures of nao, and they will sell better.

Nothing bad could really come from nao being in the wwe. Ratings would be up atleast slightly if they take one of the tag teams spots because they are way more over than any of them, and they have the ability to get over with the new crowd because they have more charisma than about 95 percent of the wwe lockerroom.

 

[AwesomeRko]

I would personally love to see the New Age Outlaws back in action, yet I don't necessarily think the tag division needs them.

The problem stems from WWE breaking up god tag teams too quickly, which would e fine if the members went onto prosper as singles competitors but they then just disappear making the whole thing pointless.

It is essntially a young mans game and should be used to push stars who aren't quite ready to break out on their own yet giving them a good amount of time to gain the necessary confidence and skills a la Edge and Christian.

If we still had teams like Crime Tyme, the Hart Dynasty and London and Kendrick combined with Primo and Epico, Air Boom, the New Age Outlaws (for nostalgia value) and maybe one or two other well fitted teams of young stars that aren't doing much eg Drew Mcintyre and Heath Slater or Riley and Gabriel we would have a pretty prestigious, competitive and interesting tag division.

 

[IHW]

Bringing in an old team or 2 sure wouldn't hurt.

If i had to pick, NAO's for sure. I met them once, great guys. They both can still go.

The real reason to bringing these old teams would be to teach the young teams that should be made a few things in the ring.

 

[Monkey_Mania]

This is so completely untrue. I think it's more about you wanting to see them than the division "needing" them.

This I agree with to an extent.

Tag team wrestling needs a whole lot more than just ONE tag team to revitalize the division. Not to mention the fact that everyone seems to think that bringing back an "Attitude Era" personality will somehow catch lightning in a bottle again. Guys, face it... the Attitude Era is LONG SINCE over. As much as we remember it all, the majority of the audience has gotten over things that have transpired in wrestling over 11 years ago. Every time the WWE throws us a bone and provides us with a surprise appearance by a former staple of the Attitude Era, they get little to no crowd reaction (of course, Road Dogg was an exception at the Royal Rumble). This just proves how that era of wrestling is over, done with, and is never making a comeback.

Tag team wrestling does need that one tag team to revitalize the division. Its as simple as giving the audience a tag team to care about, something a NAO reformation would, judging by the reactions Road Dogg got it would obviously do.

I do agree that the attitude era is over and that fans need to get there heads out of there ass, nothing new here.

But most importantly, it's been said a billion times before and apparently none of your are listening so I'll say it again: tag team wrestling does not draw money. That is why the WWE doesn't put more muscle behind the machine that fuels the division. No matter how much they try, no one ever cares about the tag division and they're making plenty of money by concentrating on the singles divisions right now.

This is where I sorely disagree. I dare you to revise that statement and bold and ask some teams by the names of The Freebirds, The Midnight Express, The Rock and Roll Express, Arn and Tully etc... Not only is that statement completely ludicrous it's also false. Tag team wrestling can draw money, and it has in the past. It's just that no organization is willing to put the time and effort into it. A reunion of the NAO could give a shot of adrenaline to the tag division and get people to care about it, just as they once did.

So don't expect the Road Dogg to come back on a full-time basis anytime soon. Not only is he over the hill, he'll do nothing to spice things up in the WWE. Sorry to burst everyone's bubbles but it's true.

It's not true, because it hasn't even happened yet. Why not take a chance? They put time and effort into everything else including a boring Mason Ryan, why not the tag division, and why not the most charismatic tag team in the last 15 years?

 

[Headman]

Demolition. I don't care how, just do it.

On a serious note I agree with DirtyD79. It's not about bringing back old teams, it's about treating the tag team division as if it matters instead of using the tag champs as jobbers to bigger stars. You would never see Ric Flair come to the ring and crush Road Warrior Hawk. Hawk would give Flair a run for his money because as one half of the tag team champions Hawk was one of the best wrestlers in the company. Even Vince had the since to keep his tag champs looking strong early on. Demolition Ax was able to hold his own against Andre the Giant. For the last decade or so the tag team champions usually rate just below the crappiest jobber in the singles division.

 

[Ding_Dong_#2]

All the tag teams that had any quality are either too old/retired/split to come back into WWE now. The Hart Dynasty had potential and there was no harm in having them reform - a mistake was made there methinks.

What would get interest in the Tag Team Division is one made of monster heels a la Skyscrapers or an all-conquering Road Warriors/Doom/Demolition team but Vince McMahon has never been keen on the idea, preferring to keep the big men in the singles division but they are missing a trick. I would like to see Ezekiel Jackson & Titus O'Neil team up.

 

[D-Man]

Thats because the steiner brothers were never WWE tag team champions

You're kidding, right?


And guys, stop spamming in the thread.

I don't think it's a matter of bringing back former, popular tag teams in order to liven up the tag division. Those teams can never be more than temporary unless someone finds a time machine and gets them back to their primes again. The problem with old teams is that we've seen them all before.

The only way the WWE could liven up the division would be to find a team that has something that no other great team in history has had. The problem is that everything has been done before.

- Your dominant, power team was the Road Warriors.
- Your agile, mat-technician team was the Hart Foundation.
- Your team with tons of heart was the British Bulldogs.
- Your death-defying team was Edge & Christian or the Hardy's.

I could probably go on but you all catch my drift. There needs to be some sort of "movement" in the tag division similar to that of the Attitude Era. Back then, it was violence and death-defying, dangerous maneuvers. In the 80's, it was purity of wrestling. In the late 80's to early 90's, it was characters. Present day pro-wrestling really doesn't have any tag teams bringing anything new to the table.

 

[wushady]

It definitely wouldn't hurt to bring Harry Smith back, to reform the Hart Dynasty and Haas and Benjamin. Or even just Benjamin to form a team with someone else. They have many guys that are very talented, but barely get any TV time. In my opinion they would be better off in the long run forming teams with younger underused talent. Then they would bringing back older former talent.

 

[M3420]

In my humble opinion, the tag team era is over. The last bit of greatness set sail at the conclusion of the TLC era. The Dudleys, Edge and Christian, and the Hardys will always go down as the best in my humble opinion, but I know that if I looked at some of the older school teams, there would also be plenty of others to suggest. (Demolition, LOD, Rockers, whatever ultimate warrior and sting were called, etc.) **kidding about those last two. Wrestlemania usually doesn't even feature a tag title match anymore and most real wrestling fans probably forget who the tag champs are. It's Cryme Tyme right? JK JK

I'd have to retract a little bit and throw a bone to the Miz and Morrison era, and say that the tag belts need to be given to company workhorses who are on their way to the world title picture and can appear on every show that WWE has going. While I'm not the biggest Miz fan, I think it added to his strength as an up and comer when he was carrying the US title, tag belt, AND briefcase at the same time. Granted it was a tad over the top, but it got him onto our screens and into our discussions.....

 

[HBKeith]

I'd like to see the NAO return here and there but nothing full time. I'd love to see the titles stripped and then put up in a tourney or MIB tag team ladder match. I honestly think that would create some good story lines and also put some teams together to try to win gold. Regal and Drew, Zeke and Mason Ryan, Reks and Hawkins, Percy Watson and Titus O'neil to name a few. I don't care if people have never heard of guys, make it an invitational so to speak and get the titles back to some sort of relevance.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

In the late 90's to early 2000's, several marketable tag teams existed in the WWE. Teams like the Dudleys, Edge & Christian, Hardy Boyz, Los Guerreros, Legion of Doom, APA... and the list goes on. Just look at the star power that made up those teams for a minute. At present day, the WWE has few tag teams with synergy, let alone any kind of drawing power. They tried to fix this by creating teams like Miz/Morrison, Jeri-Show, Show-Miz, Air Boom, and Rated RKO but where did it get the division?? Absolutely nowhere.

So your basis on tag team wrestling not being a draw is because they don't put much of an effort into it anymore?

There are two periods in WWE/F history since McMahon took over from his dad that tag team wrestling has worked, and worked well. In the mid-late 80's when he had teams like the Bulldogs, Hart Foundation, Demolition, Rockers, Killer Bees, Strike Force, ect... and in the Attitude Era with teams like E&C, Hardy's, Dudly's, APA, ect.

During both those periods, tag team wrestling was absolutely a draw, and not so coincidentally, the WWE did their best business ever during those periods.

But why did tags work then and not any other time? It's simple. They actually put the time into the division. They recruited established tag teams. They put guys who normally would have been stuck in the mid card with nothing to do into exclusive tag teams. They promoted the division and made it feel important.

They have not done that in about a decade now. Yes occasionally they put together a real tag team, but typically it's only one or at the most two at a time... and they never keep them together for any length of time. How is a fan supposed to get invested in the teams... or the division itself for that matter... when it's treated as an afterthought?

No, tag team wrestling draws... but like anything else, only if the efforts put into it to make it a draw.

 

[AndThat'sTheBottomLine]

They need to utilize the talent they already have. The usos Airboom if Evan Bourne can get right. Epico and Primo arent that bad. Bringing back an old team or two wouldnt hurt though. Id choose the new age outlaws with Billy Gunn and Road Dawg would be great. Christian and Jericho. But they really need to use what they have.