LODemolition
Championship Contender
I've been a wrestling fan since the mid 80's and my favorite matches always have and will be the early 90's tag team of WWE, headlined by teams like Legion of Doom, Demolition, and the Hart Foundation. In fact, one of my ultimate pet peeves is that the card for WrestleMania VII didn't give us the great matches that were available to us at the time (LOD vs. Demolition and Hart Foundation vs. The Rockers). But who are the most underrated teams in WWE history in your opinion? They don't have to necessarily be teams who never won the gold, just teams who were underappreciated or maybe not used to their full potential. Here is my list of the top 5 underrated WWE tag teams (in no particular order) ever:
Honorable mention: The Brain Busters
If their stay had been longer than just a year, I have no doubt that they wouldn't be on this list because they'd be considered one of the greatest teams in history. They're the team that was chosen to end Demolition's 478-day title reign for a reason. Blanchard and Anderson were a great addition to the tag team division in 1988 and had a terrific finisher in the spike piledriver, but unfortunately they only remained with WWE until Survivor Series '89.
1. Power & Glory
Speaking of terrific finishing moves, Hercules and Paul Roma had one of their own in the power-plex. When they became a team in the summer of 1990, they looked like they already had years under their belt as a duo. With Slick as their manager, their first feud was with The Rockers, where they'd score the victory in their Summerslam matchup. They never won the championship and lost in a quick squash to the LOD at WrestleMania VIII, which was unfortunate but I understand it. Their run as a team also only lasted about a year, as they'd part ways after their Summerslam '91 loss, where they'd team with The Warlord to face Ricky Steamboat, British Bulldog and Texas Tornado.
2. Powers of Pain
The Warlord and Barbarian are probably at the top of the list of greatest teams to have never won the championship. They were a team for nearly 2 years, from June 1988 to March 1990, and in my opinion they should have remained a team. They became more or less jobbers after going into singles competition. They has a long-running feud with Demolition for over a year, which saw a double turn at Survivor Series '88 in which the Powers of Pain became heels and aligned themselves with Mr. Fuji. The feud even continued after their WrestleMania V loss to Ax and Smash. They were of course created as an answer to the Road Warriors at the time with similar face paint and haircuts, but they held their own and proved to be a formidable opponent
3. The British Bulldogs
A lot of people forget all about Davey Boy Smith's early wrestling career where he paired with the high flying Dynamite Kid. They made their way to WWE from Stampede Wrestling and won their first and only championship from the Dream Team at WrestleMania II. With a terrible back injury to the Dynamite Kid, the championship run only lasted about 9 months as they would go on to lose to the Hart Foundation. The rematch should've unquestionably taken place at WrestleMania III, but instead they chose to make it a six-man tag, with the Harts teaming up with "Dangerous" Danny Davis to face the Bulldogs and Tito Santana. The Bulldogs were thrown in a six-man tag at WrestleMania IV as well, instead of giving them the spotlight to themselves like they deserved. Who knows what could have been if they had been utilized to their full potential.
4. The Natural Disasters
As is the case with many tag teams, Earthquake and Typhoon were paired together when their singles careers had lost momentum. Typhoon had been previously known as Tugboat, and his name and ring attire would keep him from being taken seriously. Luckily, they got the jumpstart they were looking for when teamed up in the summer of 1991. They would feud with the Legion of Doom and challenge them for the tag team championship at the 1992 Royal Rumble, and would win but only by count-out. They would later turn face by splitting from manager Jimmy Hart and challenge again for the championship at WrestleMania VIII, beating Money Inc, but once again by count-out. They would finally win the championship belts in July and successfully defend them against the Beverly Brothers at Summerslam, but eventually lost them back to Money Inc that fall. Though they would both leave WWE the following year, they left their mark in tag team history as easily one of, if not the biggest team to ever step foot in a WWE ring.
5. The Rockers
Perhaps the most obvious team on this list, The Rockers are regarded as one of the greatest teams of all-time, but still underrated in my opinion. As many know, Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty did win the tag team championship from the Hart Foundation at a Saturday Night's Main Event taping in October 1990, but the match was never aired and the title change was never recognized by WWE due to the top rope breaking during the match. The Rockers are undoubtedly the most deserving of any team who had never been crowned champion, and their WrestleMania matches were mostly head scratchers as well. At V, it was a loss to the Twin Towers, and at VI it was a countout loss to the Orient Express. In their third and final WrestleMania as a team (at WM7), they would finally get their eluded win in the opening match...but against Haku and Barbarian? I just never could understand their booking. As I said above, the Hart Foundation, Demolition, Legion of Doom, and Nasty Boys were all on the roster at the time. Though they might not have had many memorable moments in the ring, there's no question they had the most memorable split of any tag team when Michaels gave Jannetty the superkick and sent him head first through the window of Brutus Beefecake's barber shop set in late 1991, ending The Rockers' 3 and a half year run, but beginning the singles career of arguably the greatest in-ring performer of all-time in Shawn Michaels.
Those are my top 5 underrated tag teams in history. Who are yours?
Honorable mention: The Brain Busters
If their stay had been longer than just a year, I have no doubt that they wouldn't be on this list because they'd be considered one of the greatest teams in history. They're the team that was chosen to end Demolition's 478-day title reign for a reason. Blanchard and Anderson were a great addition to the tag team division in 1988 and had a terrific finisher in the spike piledriver, but unfortunately they only remained with WWE until Survivor Series '89.
1. Power & Glory
Speaking of terrific finishing moves, Hercules and Paul Roma had one of their own in the power-plex. When they became a team in the summer of 1990, they looked like they already had years under their belt as a duo. With Slick as their manager, their first feud was with The Rockers, where they'd score the victory in their Summerslam matchup. They never won the championship and lost in a quick squash to the LOD at WrestleMania VIII, which was unfortunate but I understand it. Their run as a team also only lasted about a year, as they'd part ways after their Summerslam '91 loss, where they'd team with The Warlord to face Ricky Steamboat, British Bulldog and Texas Tornado.
2. Powers of Pain
The Warlord and Barbarian are probably at the top of the list of greatest teams to have never won the championship. They were a team for nearly 2 years, from June 1988 to March 1990, and in my opinion they should have remained a team. They became more or less jobbers after going into singles competition. They has a long-running feud with Demolition for over a year, which saw a double turn at Survivor Series '88 in which the Powers of Pain became heels and aligned themselves with Mr. Fuji. The feud even continued after their WrestleMania V loss to Ax and Smash. They were of course created as an answer to the Road Warriors at the time with similar face paint and haircuts, but they held their own and proved to be a formidable opponent
3. The British Bulldogs
A lot of people forget all about Davey Boy Smith's early wrestling career where he paired with the high flying Dynamite Kid. They made their way to WWE from Stampede Wrestling and won their first and only championship from the Dream Team at WrestleMania II. With a terrible back injury to the Dynamite Kid, the championship run only lasted about 9 months as they would go on to lose to the Hart Foundation. The rematch should've unquestionably taken place at WrestleMania III, but instead they chose to make it a six-man tag, with the Harts teaming up with "Dangerous" Danny Davis to face the Bulldogs and Tito Santana. The Bulldogs were thrown in a six-man tag at WrestleMania IV as well, instead of giving them the spotlight to themselves like they deserved. Who knows what could have been if they had been utilized to their full potential.
4. The Natural Disasters
As is the case with many tag teams, Earthquake and Typhoon were paired together when their singles careers had lost momentum. Typhoon had been previously known as Tugboat, and his name and ring attire would keep him from being taken seriously. Luckily, they got the jumpstart they were looking for when teamed up in the summer of 1991. They would feud with the Legion of Doom and challenge them for the tag team championship at the 1992 Royal Rumble, and would win but only by count-out. They would later turn face by splitting from manager Jimmy Hart and challenge again for the championship at WrestleMania VIII, beating Money Inc, but once again by count-out. They would finally win the championship belts in July and successfully defend them against the Beverly Brothers at Summerslam, but eventually lost them back to Money Inc that fall. Though they would both leave WWE the following year, they left their mark in tag team history as easily one of, if not the biggest team to ever step foot in a WWE ring.
5. The Rockers
Perhaps the most obvious team on this list, The Rockers are regarded as one of the greatest teams of all-time, but still underrated in my opinion. As many know, Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty did win the tag team championship from the Hart Foundation at a Saturday Night's Main Event taping in October 1990, but the match was never aired and the title change was never recognized by WWE due to the top rope breaking during the match. The Rockers are undoubtedly the most deserving of any team who had never been crowned champion, and their WrestleMania matches were mostly head scratchers as well. At V, it was a loss to the Twin Towers, and at VI it was a countout loss to the Orient Express. In their third and final WrestleMania as a team (at WM7), they would finally get their eluded win in the opening match...but against Haku and Barbarian? I just never could understand their booking. As I said above, the Hart Foundation, Demolition, Legion of Doom, and Nasty Boys were all on the roster at the time. Though they might not have had many memorable moments in the ring, there's no question they had the most memorable split of any tag team when Michaels gave Jannetty the superkick and sent him head first through the window of Brutus Beefecake's barber shop set in late 1991, ending The Rockers' 3 and a half year run, but beginning the singles career of arguably the greatest in-ring performer of all-time in Shawn Michaels.
Those are my top 5 underrated tag teams in history. Who are yours?