Tag Team Gimmicks: The Freebird Rule

[LegendKiller716]

A popular thing to do on these here great forums is to make a vague topic about tag teams so that everyone will look at the guys you think should be a team. The worst part about it, is that everyone says the same thing. KOW, Fortunate Sons, etc.

The point of this topic is to focus it. I think the Freebird rule is a great way to put focus on the tag team title belts. It's a great way to get heat, it's easy to book, and at this point it's a good way to take the belts off of Kane and DB without making them look weak.

So my questions are.

How do you feel about this gimmick?

Can it still work in modern WWE?

Will it work better with faces or heels?

Who would be you're team to win the belts?

I obviously love the gimmick that's why I made the topic, and I absolutely think it can still get over today.

I think heel teams work better with the gimmick because it's a dirty tactic. It gives you an obvious advantage.

I'm gonna go ahead ans throw a few teams out there.

1. Internet darlings. Let guys like Ryder, Hawkins, Slater, Riley, and Beretta get together for the common cause of getting T.V. time. Let them take over the division for a while until eventually they start to but heads and split.

2. Prime Time players. I was hoping for this idea when AW was still there. All Worlds promotions would have been great saying his whole stable is contracted to him under the AW trademark therefore the belts belong to all of them. I think JTG is an easy add here. PTP are very similar to Cryme Tyme and JTG can slide right in. Another guy could be a heel Brodus Clay.

3. My only face team. Bring Evan Bourne in to team with Kofi and Truth. The back story is there with Air Boom, so it makes sense. Also through in International Airstrike. These two teams together can put on good matches until IAS turns on the others, and now you have a new feud to work with.

 

[robbo316]

I see no reason for it not to work. If handled correctly it can work very well, I seem to remember that they did it with Demolition, when Crush came in. It is really a heel creation, because it's a good way to pull a con job on the face opponent. As for who should use it, I'm not really sure, I was going to say about the freebirds only being 3 men and the same with demolition, but I though I'd do a little digging, and came up with this:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fabulous_Freebirds, I know, its wiki, but looking at the examples, it's amazing how many teams that we forget over the years, and how much this rule has been used, and in how many different wrestling organizations.

 

[AmerikanWolves619]

Back in 2006, the Freebird rule was applied with the Spirit Squad, and it generated a good amount of heat for the group. I'm be into seeing this gimick return as it can really build up the tag-team titles. However, it is really only affective with only one group using this gimick. To have the entire division use this gimick or even more than one would just make the entire "rule set" for tag-team wrestling obsolete. But, yes, I'd like to see a heel group use the Freebird rule.

 

[IT Factor]

I always enjoyed Austin & Pillman in WCW because they reminded me in alot of ways of The Freebirds. They were completely opposite performers who were a great tag team in every sense of the word. WWE doesn't do enough of this with their current tag teams and how could they? Teams like LOD/Road Warriors, The Hart Foundation, Austin/Pillman, and even newer teams that came later like The Hardyz and Dudleyz all had the experience time going for them. They were together years at a time and that allowed each respective team to recognize what worked and what didn't. Where Pillman failed in technique, Austin carried the slack. Where Austin lacked the personality back then, Pillman more than made up for his heelish tactics and excellent mic work.

Current tag team wrestling has no basis for existence. They are no more actual real teams that have the experience or full opportunity like the old school teams did. With RAW going to a three hour show, I was hoping they'd see the opportunity to take advantage of the extra alloted time to start focusing on tag team wrestling again. I just hope that WWE can still make star tag teams, to be quite honest. I think they've long since lost the art of creating and maintaining tag wrestling and they can't successfully create a true team if they tried. Still, one can hope that WWE will improve this and start making real tag teams[not randomly thrown together duos, either] and focus on making it a priority again. With most of the women's roster being short, they should phase it out and bring back tag team wrestling. They can virtually raid any roster to acheive that end: TNAs[those been released, like MCMGs], ROHs, and all of the indies[not even including the Japanese companies that could either trade or have talents being straight up bought out]. WWE has the only real shot at making tag team wrestling relevent again if they choose to. TNA did good for awhile but gave up like they eventually always do. WWE has the resources and the available talent to beef up their teams and revive that division making it worthy of being noticed. Although whether they'll chose to do it remains to be seen. As a longtime fan of tag wrestling, I hope they do start creating and making teams to restart it. Doing little things like giving teams gimmicks and actual connections will go a long way in making these makeshift teams seem more legit.

 

[akathelaw]

You can all call me crazy but I have felt that the WWE tag team division has been pretty good since the new belts were introduced. Prior to that we saw Degeneration X and JeriShow have a nice main event feud for the Unified Tag Titles. The only tag team I had an issue with winning the titles recently was McGillicutty and Otunga, because "New Nexus" was a flop and both of those wrestlers are not champion material yet.

The Freebird Rule should be used by at least one tag team right now, especially with the division gaining some steam at the moment. Honestly I think it should be used on a heel team because it's a great way to get heat from the crowd. I would not use the Primetime Players because those two are big guys with speed and power, they should be able to beat any team without extra assistance.

I really liked the pairing of Rhodes and Sandow recently, and it would be great to see those two holding the championship. Considering they're almost universally unliked, pairing them with sleazy lawyer David Otunga would create an opportunity for the Freebird Rule to be used on a team of super heels.

 

[WJDwjdWJDwjd]

The "Freebird Rule" applies for heel factions mostly. For instance, if they would have used it in a group like the Nexus when Gabriel and Slater won the titles, or when Otunga and Cena won the titles that 10 minutes they were champions, or even Otunga/McGuillicutty it would have been a great way to reintroduce this classic rule. Spirit Squad was really the last, and best calculated way they could have used this loophole rule. It's a heel tactic, and it was definitely a great way to add importance to the tag team titles. The challenging tag team never knew who they were preparing for, and the heel team ALWAYS had the advantage. It added suspense and intrigue especially when the rule was the focal point of the build to the match. This rule would have been perfect for Nexus to use. They had so many combinations of guys they could have used in the original or new Nexus. Gabriel/Slater, Tarver/Sheffield, Barrett/Otunga, McGuillicutty/Harris, or any other incarnation or combination. Today, there are no real heel faction or way they could bring this rule back unless they build a new heel faction, or bring back some form of the Nexus. When A.W. was building a faction/promotion, I thought this would have been a great way to bring this rule back to television. He ALREADY had his eyes set on the tag team championships, and was looking to bring in new talent.

If this talk of bringing back Nexus comes to fruition, I really hope they use this instant heat magnet tactic to bring relevancy to the titles and the group.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The Freebird Rule does nothing for me. Right now, the WWE is just starting to really have an actual, legit tag team division again. There are several solid teams on the roster and Kane & Daniel Bryan are already bringing more attention to the tag team championships than they've gotten in years. They practically carried the entire show of SmackDown! last night. When's the last time the tag champs did that with any show in WWE.

The tag team division doesn't need gimmicks right now. What it needs is more of what it's been getting the past few months: solid build, some legit attention and actual relevancy. I think the WWE needs to work primarily on building up some of the current teams in the division. The Usos and Kidd & Gabriel, for instance, need some face time and need to be built up.

 

[MTL722]

I see no reason for it not to work. If handled correctly it can work very well, I seem to remember that they did it with Demolition, when Crush came in. It is really a heel creation, because it's a good way to pull a con job on the face opponent. As for who should use it, I'm not really sure, I was going to say about the freebirds only being 3 men and the same with demolition, but I though I'd do a little digging, and came up with this:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fabulous_Freebirds, I know, its wiki, but looking at the examples, it's amazing how many teams that we forget over the years, and how much this rule has been used, and in how many different wrestling organizations.

Really surprised to see how often it has been used, as I'm sure everyone would be. Reason being that only 1 of those has happened in the WWE since Demolition.

I'll use that one time as my example. The Spirit Squad had 5 members, more than any other "Freebird Rule Tag Team". They were high flying male cheerleaders who were heels. Nobody had seen anything like these guys before. They were different to say the least

My main problem with the Spirit Squad is that I have no reservations in saying that if not for Shawn Michaels and Triple H, this team would NOT have gotten over. They were more over for siding with Vince than they were as legitimate heels. If you disagree, I ask you to look at how long they were on TV. As soon as the DX-McMahon feud was over, they were figuratively and literally sent back to OVW

That being said, unless the WWE has a big angle ready or they can find a group of heels that can get over by themselves, the idea of a Freebird team should stay just stay an idea and not an actuality.

 

[wrestlingfan]

The Freebird Rule is great because it allows 3 people who fit together you would like to be tag teams in work. For example, Wrestler A would be a good tag team with both Wrestler B & Wrestler C. B & C would be a good tag team also. Hmm which two should end up being a tag team then? Freebird Rule solves this.

 

[King Patrick Star]

How do you feel about this gimmick?
I always thought this gimmick was cool. The first time I saw it was with Demolition and the addition of Crush.

Can it still work in modern WWE?
Of course it could work in modern WWE. It worked out really well for the Spirit Squad.

Will it work better with faces or heels?
I think of course it would work better with Heels and I can’t recall a Face team using this gimmick, but maybe they should try it one day. It can’t hurt.

Who would be you're team to win the belts?
I think Paul Heyman should somehow get Brock Lesnar and CM Punk a shot at the Tag Titles and actually win them from Kane and Daniel Bryan, with Bryan turning on Kane. Then, due to Lesnar’s limited dates, have Bryan join Heyman’s Dangerous Alliance and establish the Freebird Rule with Lesnar and Punk, taking Lesnar’s place to defend the Titles with Punk.

Another storyline would be for a Team (Miz and Cesaro) to win the Belts, bring in 2 more Stars (Punk and Sheamus), establish the Freebird Rule, and then split the Titles into the WWE (Smackdown) Tag Team Titles and the World (Raw) Tag Team Titles again, giving all 4 members a Strap to defend. Okay, maybe not those 4 Stars, but you get the idea.

 

[theBec2101]

How about first with get the tag team division setup and back on track. They are trying and doing good things right now. Let’s not cluster F*ck everything at this point in time. Also we need new titles or the old belts back.