Recognizing The Forgotten Tag Teams

[The Brain]

A week or two ago I did a thread recognizing some of the forgotten stars of wrestling. It was meant to discuss some guys who rarely, if ever, are mentioned on the forums. This thread is the same thing but the tag team version. Teams like LOD, The Hart Foundation, and The British Bulldogs are often recognized on the forums. Who are teams that never seem to get enough recognition here?

I’ll start with The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers. I think this team is very underrated. I never cared for them as a face team at all, but when they turned heel in 1988 they really stepped up their game. They had kind of a confusing heel turn when they decided to move from Montreal to the United States. They went on an on about how much they loved the USA. Doesn’t seem very heelish does it? There was just something about them that made them seem very insincere and the fans weren’t buying it. The fans suspected that they shouldn’t trust the Rougeau Brothers but they hadn’t done anything to really turn heel.

Eventually they took on Jimmy Hart as a manager and the heel transformation was complete. We now had more than enough reason to hate the Rougeaus. Jimmy Hart had recently split with The Hart Foundation and there was a story where the Harts still owed him a percentage of their earnings. Jimmy Hart decided to give that money to the Rougeaus. With their false sincerity, new manager, and a feud with the newly popular Hart Foundation, the Rougeaus were becoming the most hated team in the WWF.

There were other things that made the Rougeaus hated too. The fans looked at them as wusses. They were always hugging each other and doing some sort of flamboyant taunt at their opponents. They sang their own entrance music about how they were ‘all American boys.” Half the song was in French and there was the classic line “we don’t like heavy metal, we don’t like rock and roll, all we like to listen to is Barry Manilow.” As a kid I absolutely hated the Rougeaus which makes me appreciate them when I look back. By the way, I now find their theme song to be awesome.

One thing my hatred made me overlook was the Rougeaus were pretty good in the ring. They had good matches with The Harts, The Bulldogs, and The Rockers. They never got a title run as they were around during Demolition’s domination. I would have liked to have seen a short program between Demolition and The Rougeaus but it never happened.

So The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers are my choice when recognizing the forgotten tag teams. Who’s yours?

As a little bonus here’s the sweet Rougeau theme.

[YOUTUBE]hn701jXWtkE[/YOUTUBE]

Edit: I hope you guys can see the video. From my computer I can't see it or tell if it posted.
Tastycles Edit: We couldn't, I fixed it

 

[Ferbian]

I'm actually gonna take a team off the ones that you say the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers had great matches with - That team will be The Rockers.

Not only did it "establish" one of the greatest wrestlers in the history of this industry. Overall and in-ring performance wise. But they also produced some awesome tag team wrestling. From what I've heard through some of Shawn Michaels DVD's The Rockers are considered to be revolutionaries of the team combinational moves. The double elbow drops, the drop kicks and everything. They were agile as few others, and energetic like you had barely ever seen before. Shawn and Marty tore down the house even back before they were considered show-stealers.

I applaud the fact that they managed to come up with move-sets simply through the way of using small dolls, and then if the dolls could do it, they most likely could as well. It's pretty brilliant how they managed to quite simply bring new moves and combinations you had never seen before, simply through the usage of dolls.

Shawn and Marty to me would always be considered pretty underrated. The very fact that they never truly kicked through as champions in WWF is something I find beyond believable, considering how immensely talented the two were.

So, while there's plenty of great tag teams that doesn't get enough talk around here, I definitely feel this is one of the most underrated and undiscussed tag teams on this forum.

 

[spinningtorturerack]

I would recognise the Acolytes Protection Agency (or APA) as an over looked tag team. These two veterans, one former and one future world champion, worked very well together providing an almost modern LOD, in terms of being a power tag team. Sadly these two, sometimes along with their valet Jacqueline, are often forgotten when naming the great tag teams of the attitude era.

They had great chemistry, funny skits, but at the same time were a dominating tag team that were never a walk over (unlike T&A who thought they meant business, but in reality were a bit naff).

 

[LooseCannon1]

im going with the Owen Hart and The British Bulldog they were an awesome heel tag team.Always had very good matches no matter who they were facing they never seem to get reconition from wwe.Wwe put out a dvd on wrestlings greatest tagteams the only team that they forgot was bulldog and owen dont know if it had anything to do with the lawsuit with martha hart but still i think they dont get reconized as one of the best tag teams in the mid 90s

 

[#hamler]

I'm going with America's Most Wanted. They never seem to get any credit at all and they deserve at least a little. America's Most Wanted put the oh so great TNA Tag Team division on the map. They defeated all the top tag teams in TNA just in their first run with the titles alone. They lost their first tag titles to Brian Lee and Slash but beat them months late for a second reign. They defeated Triple X on numerous occasions aswell as the Naturals. America's Most wanted took part in a lot of TNA's first gimmick matches like the 6 sides of steel, Fatal Four Way Elimination style tag team matches, or Bullrope matches. AMW not only put TNA's tag divison on the map, but with the help of the X-Divison, they put TNA itself on the map. On iMPACT, AMW lost a "Tag Team vs.. Titles" match which Chris Harris and James Storm had to split up if they lost. Storm hit Harris with a beer bottle and they haven't teamed since.

Over their career as a tag team, they feuded and defeated top NWA and TNA tag teams such as "The Desciples of the New Church", "Triple X", "The Naturals", "LAX", "Team 3-D", and "3 Live Crue". James Storm went on to form the best tag team in history of Beer Money Inc while Harris went on to WWE and ummm....nevermind. But this team doesn't get the recognition they truly deserve.

 

[Somewhat Large Gonzalez]

There are three teams that come to mind...

DEMOLITION - Sure, they're popular amongst wrestling fans like us, but they've also been called cheap LOD knock-offs. If any team ripped off The Road Warriors, it was Powers of Pain. Demolition had a unique look, a classic finisher, and they're probably the only tag team from that era that isn't referenced every once in awhile on Raw.

THE HEADBANGERS - Ah, the forgotten tag team of the Attitude Era. Again, they had a unique look. From what I could tell, they were solid workers. I don't know why WWE bashed them several years after they were released.

THE SKYSCRAPERS - WCW had a couple of decent tag teams, too. My favorite iteration of the scrapers was Dan Spivey and Mark Calaway. They were surprisingly agile for big men. I wonder whatever happened to "Mean" Mark Callous.

 

[Trivia247]

There were plenty of Overlooked tag teams in the WWF of the 80s. The Islanders was a solid tag team. Haku and Tama I believed really showed their abilities in the 87 Survivor series, being the last heel team, but still going for an extended period of time and still look like they were fresh.
Same credit I also give to the Young Stallions and Killer Bees, The Bees had considerable experience and had many memorable matches with the Hart Foundation, and Fab Rougeus. All three teams despite how good they were never saw Tag team Gold.

 

[MaddMatt]

I never hear much mention of the Steiner Bros. Their days as a tag team in the WWF during the early to mid 90's established them as a dominant tag team. Much of the attention given to the Steiners is directed at Scott and his horrendous singles career, but as a tag team they were fantastic. They were unique, exciting to watch, and had good feuds, whether they were defending or chasing the tag titles. At a time when tag team wrestling was still a respected art, they were the baby face tag team of the WWF

 

[akpolarbear]

Come on guys, I know there are a few old schoolers here. What about Jeff Jarrett/Owen Hart ? Power and Glory ? Strike Force ? The Colossal Connection ? These are just 4 tag teams that no one really talks about. Jarrett/Hart was on it's way to becoming a damn good team and then we lost Owen. Power and Glory was another team that seemed to work well together and had the look to give a run at the gold. Strike Force for the younger folks was Tito Santan and Rick Martel that managed to take the gold at one point but they took Martel to the Model gimmick and Tito went single and had a run at the Intercontinental title. Colossal Connection was a team that formed for less then 6 months if I remember correctly. Andre and Haku were just about the scariest team to show up on the Tag Team scene and good god they looked like they would squash all comers but alas they had their falling out at Wrestlemania VI and we never got to see Andre with more then the Tag Team title for a short run as his health was deteriorating and we would lose him to injury retirement.

I know there are more teams that we can think of. Brainbusters, Doom, All American Males, Midnight Express, The Freebirds... come on old timers lets show these kids what Tag Teams used to be and show them what it should be.

The Brain hit on a good one to start this with in the Rougeau Brothers and this was a team that saw one of it's own Jacques go on to be managed by a Hardcore Legend during the Raw Era later when he would become form of The Quebecers along with Pierre when they competed against the Steiner Brothers which lead to a run with the Tag Titles. Find some videos of them on RAW and take a good look a their manager Mr. Johnny Polo. If you can't place him, give him a bit of a gut and think to the last EV 2.0 person fired in TNA and you have your answer. Thats right Kiddies, Polo would go on to become Raven in ECW/WWE/WCW/TNA.

 

[LamaNamaneumi]

I want to give a shout out to The Bushwackers. They might not have been the greatest wrestlers, but I found them to be entertaining. Hell, they had every kid and half the adults doing their funny little arm-walk-thingy. During the time when the fed was stacked with tag teams, Cousin Luke and Cousin Butch seemed to get over.
Most people forget that they weren't always the happy goofy Bushwackers, but at one point they were the violent Sheepherders. Check this match out...
[YOUTUBE]FEEqxudNNhc[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Scorpina]

One team I was always a fan of that never seem to get their just respect are Harlem Heat. They had a great career in WCW, and put on some awesome matches - especially with the Steiner Brothers, The Road Warriors and Sting & Luger. I think, largely, they're forgotten because Booker T. became such a breakout singles star, while Stevie Ray didn't really do much either (and, in fairness, was never really as good as his brother). Well, likely that and the godawful 'Harlem Heat 2000' angle they did with Ahmed 'Big T.' Johnson. Ugh.

 

[FutureChamp328]

The Public Enemy without a doubt. Paul Heyman used Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge to begin his vision of ECW. They were hilarious to watch but when they got in the ring they were still two tough guys from Philly who could fight. Also who could forget some moments they were a part of like the chair indecent and when they had the crowd dance in the ring until it collapsed. Even though they got almost no time on WWE or WCW they were easily one of the best tag teams from ECW.

 

[RickRaspberry]

I have always loved the Nasty Boys...yeah their ring work leaves some to be desired...but back in the day man, they bump their asses off. They made everyone else look great.

They had awesome tag team chemistry, as most teams in the 80's/early 90's had. They cut off the other side of the ring, frequent in and outs. They were tag team of the year in 94, held gold in pretty much every promotion they worked....They were amazing.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

I've got an interesting one. The Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff - The Anti-Americans. While they were only tag team champions for a short period (78 days), they were definitely an intriguing duo. Neither was particularly outstanding in the ring, or even on the mic as both were from foreign nations (Volkoff was from the then USSR & Sheik is, infamously, from Iran).

However, it was the fact that they were from foreign lands (and ones that the USA was either having a war with or were disliked severely in) that got them over as a team. The Sheik by this point had already been a WWF Champion and was so over as a heel it was ridiculous. He was booed left right and centre as soon as he entered the arena. The same went for Volkoff as he sang the Soviet national anthem also. The pair were total masters at getting heat and they were a great team at getting heat, making them a great pair of heels also.

 

[Disturbed]

I was hoping I would be the first to say Harlem Heat. Well I guess I can take runner up because I was and still am a big fan of theres. In August on 1993 they debuted in WCW and in 1994 Sherri started to manage them. Which in my opinion was a great idea because Sherri has helped so many guys get over. Speaking of getting over, Harlem Heat got Booker T over. If it wasn't for Harlem Heat then Booker T might not have went on to become a five time, five time WCW world Heavyweight Champion and then go on to WWE to main event and become a multi time world champ. Besides the fact that it help get Booker over, look at all the great matches they had with The Steiners, Outsiders, Harlem Heat, Nasty Boys, etc. Plus there promos were golden. You never hear much about them anymore and I think they should get the credit they deserve.

 

[Papi Chulo]

1. The Bushwhackers - Ha, never won but I absolutely loved em. Pure entertainment.
2. Kendrik & London - I think they really missed the boat w/ these 2. They were champs for like year and yet they never really did anything w/ them. I thought they were better than The Rockers and The Hardiez.
3. APA - So cool and tough
4. The Islanders - Haku and Tama were incredible and much better than all the other tag teams of the time.
5. The Jumping Bomb Angels - Noriyo Tateno and Itsuki Yamazaki are 2 of the most exiting womens wrestlers of all time. Much better than Moolah, Richter, Sherri, or The Glamor Girls. Way ahead of their time.
6. The Highlanders - Had the same appeal to me that The Bushwhackers had. Loved the kilts and celtic music. Wished they stuck around.
7. Cryme Tyme - If they made them slightly more serious and stopped giving them bits that were written by out of touch white people then we could've had something. I mean they're music started w/ a white guy jokingly going Yo Yo Yo.
8. Too Cool - Entertaining and not given enough credit in the era of those TLC tag teams.
9. Money Inc. - Dont think they are mentioned enough. These 2 are the first heels I ever loved.
10. The Eliminators - Saturn and Kronus were so intense and helped make ECW what it was. Total Elimination was one of the best finishers ever.

 

[CraigThe13th]

I'm going with America's Most Wanted. They never seem to get any credit at all and they deserve at least a little. America's Most Wanted put the oh so great TNA Tag Team division on the map. They defeated all the top tag teams in TNA just in their first run with the titles alone. They lost their first tag titles to Brian Lee and Slash but beat them months late for a second reign. They defeated Triple X on numerous occasions aswell as the Naturals. America's Most wanted took part in a lot of TNA's first gimmick matches like the 6 sides of steel, Fatal Four Way Elimination style tag team matches, or Bullrope matches. AMW not only put TNA's tag divison on the map, but with the help of the X-Divison, they put TNA itself on the map. On iMPACT, AMW lost a "Tag Team vs.. Titles" match which Chris Harris and James Storm had to split up if they lost. Storm hit Harris with a beer bottle and they haven't teamed since.

Over their career as a tag team, they feuded and defeated top NWA and TNA tag teams such as "The Desciples of the New Church", "Triple X", "The Naturals", "LAX", "Team 3-D", and "3 Live Crue". James Storm went on to form the best tag team in history of Beer Money Inc while Harris went on to WWE and ummm....nevermind. But this team doesn't get the recognition they truly deserve.

Dude.....you do know this is the old school section?!?! I hardly think a team of indy workers in a semi indy promotion a few years ago qualifies. Sort it out Hamler lol I respect the hell out of you as a poster usually

I'm gonna go for the Can Am Connection

They were gonna be huge before Zenk split. Shame they did before getting the titles and replaced with the inferior Strike Force. They were awesome in the ring together and could have reigned as the top tag team in WWF for a long time had things gone differently.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Owen Hart and Jeff Jarrett (managed by Debra) were an awesome tag team. I always thought those two had great chemistry and just kind of suited each other as tag team partners.

If Owen had not tragically died while reverting to the Blue Blazer character (who can forget Jarrett in tears on the Raw following Over The Edge??) then I think this tag team would have gone on to hold the belt many more times.

Owen Hart was the better wrestler, I have never rated Jarrett in singles but as a tag team I think they worked, and were far better than some of the other teams who are remembered as greats

 

[Hodgos]

I cant believe nobodies mentioned the New Age Outlaws. It's amazing how people forget just how big these guys were. They were the absolute top tag team in the WWF during the peak of its most profitable era (Attitude).

They were amazingly over: when they did their introduction skit ("your ass better call somebody!"), they had the crowd eating out of the palm of their hands. They were not the greatest "wrestlers" in terms of in-ring skills (although Gunn was decent), but they were good enough to put on some awesome matches when motivated, normally with Billy Gunn carrying the bulk of the actual ring-work and the Road Dogg doing all the fun spots.

As singles competitors, the Road Dogg is so limited a wrestler that he quickly gets boring to watch, while Billy Gunn has absolutely no "it" factor. But when they came together, it was absolute gold. In a way, they're the perfect example of what great tag teams are all about; while both members had massive limitations, each member had strengths that totally covered and made up for the other ones weaknesses.

Hell, the fact that both of them were able to even go on and have singles careers speaks volumes about how popular the Outlaws were. Despite being crap as singles wrestlers, both of them remained over for several years purely on the strength of having once been members of that tag team.

 

[realoldskoolfan]

The Can Am Connection, I loved them in 1987, were on their way to make it very big, then wwf dropped the group. They had sweet moves.

actually, the WWF has nothing to do with dropping this team. Vince was hard down with giving them a push and defeating the Hart Foundation for the belts, and there crowd pop only affirmed that. but once Tom Zenk found out he was making significantly less than Rick Martel was, he demanded a raise. when Vince basically laughed in his face, he left high and dry, forcing Vince to push Tito into a team with Rick. this was the birth of Strikeforce, who basically got the push the Can Ams where going to get.

 

[realoldskoolfan]

my nomination is Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rodgers aka The Fantastics. they where a mix between the Fabulous Ones, The Rockers, and the Rock n Roll Express. they traveled around the southern territories and made stops in the NWA. there fueds with the Midnight Express and The Sheepherders were epic. and to this day, i have never seen anybody throw a better dropkick then Tommy Rodgers.
another one is The Original Midnight Express managed by Paul Heyman aka Paul E Dangerously in the late 80s. basically, Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose where the Midnight Express in the early 80s with Jim Cornette as there manager. Rose was replaced by Bobby Eaton and the team went on to the mainstream success in the NWA. in early 1987, Condrey left suddenly and was replaced by Stan Lane. Paul E and Rose joined Condrey and started going around to varius territories as the Original Midnight Express, even using the same entrance music that the Cornette version was using. they had a great run in the AWA in late 87- early 88 and toured other southern territories before there surprise appearance in the NWA before Starrcade 88. the Midnights vs Midnights fued started red hot before again, Condrey left suddenly and the angle was dropped.

 

[Dyno Kid]

I've got a few teams:

Dick Murdoch & Adrian Adonis- Former WWF tag champs were a great team and 2 of the most underrated workers of the past 30 years !

Gino Hernandez & Chris Adams- The "Dynamic Dou" were as good of a heel tag team and one of the best heat getters I've ever seen ! Had some great tag matches with the Von Erichs including the famous "Hair vs Hair" match in the Cotton Bowl back in 1985.

The Fantastics- Great team that worked so well together ! Had some tremendous matches with both versions of the Midnight Express, Tommy Rodgers & Bobby Fulton often times are called a poor mans version of the Rock n Roll Express.

 

[Somewhat Large Gonzalez]

Here's one I forgot earlier...

THE ORIENT EXPRESS - They had a lot of innovative moves, but they were obscured by the oversaturation of tag teams in the late 80's/early 90's. Mr. Fuji will always be one of my favorite managers.

 

[legendkiller1979]

I was watch the WWF long before I ever saw WCW or knew what the NWA was so I have always had a little resentment for the legion of doom for two reasons. One is that when they arrived Demolition was reduced to jobbers. (It pissed me off to this day.) The second reason is that the Powers of Pain were forced to disband. I love the Powers. They had such a great look and were entertaining to watch. When they were split up they both had to change their look and they both sucked. The warlord wore a half mask and carried and W on a stick. The barbarian wore fur and antlers. It's just too bad that Vince catered so much to LOD. Two or the best teams at the time were reduced to nothing.

 

[Maestro48239]

I'm gonna go waaaaaay back to before a lot of you were even born or knew what Pro Wrestling was.

Dick the Bruiser and Crusher Lisowski. here was a couple of cigar chomping, beer drinking hardasses that loved to get in the ring and kick the shit out of whoever was unlucky enough to have to face them. both were legends in the ring before becoming a tag team, and then they went on to be on again off again partners for the next 20 or so years.

if you havent seen these two meatheads in action, go look for them on Youtube!