The Greatest Old School Tag Team of All Time

[realoldskoolfan]

I'm kinda ashamed that no one has mentioned this team... the Midnight Rockers... I really loved this team, they were a great team that was seemless in the ring. Working extremely well with each other. They really help revolutionize the tag team division. Love going back and watching any match that Shawn and Marty put on... They led the way for high flying teams like the Hardyz and E&C... I doubt without The Midnight Rockers we would have seen that style of wrestling...

tell that to The High Flyers, The Fantastics, The Fabulous Ones, and the team they were a rip off of, The Rock-n-Roll Express. sorry but there were plenty of teams doing there gimmick long before them.

that being said they were a great team.

 

[realoldskoolfan]

I also can't narrow down to one. I agree with all the posts regarding the Road Warriors, but also want to include these in my list:

Fabulous Freebirds: No matter what the incarnation, the Freebirds always made you stand up and shout. Michael PS Hayes made whoever he was in the ring with look like a million bucks! I even didn't mind the ill-fated attempt at "Backstreet" AKA Brad Armstrong in a spiderman style full bodysuit.

The Brainbusters: They were bad before it was cool to be bad.

more like everybody made Hayes look good in the ring. great showman and awesome on the mic, but his in ring work was so so. but i grew up watching the Birds and loved them to death. Von Erichs vs Freebirds in 83-84 = best fed i ever saw.

 

[realoldskoolfan]

this argument for the Dudleys i would say yes they are for modern times, but all time no way. i always think back to the promo the Steiners cut on them in TNA when Rick got the list out of teams the Steiners had beat in there career and it reached to the floor. they went to commerical break and when they came back he was still reading it!!! and to call the WCW title reign the Dudleys had a real WCW reign is a crock. they won those belts during the horrible WWE invasion angle. they never once set foot in a WCW ring, a fact Scott Steiner pointed out in that same promo.
i've been watching wrestling since 1979 when i was 5. i have seen all kinds of awesome teams. the 80s in particular was probaly the single greatest era for tag team wrestling, so i am going to name my top 5 teams growing up in the 80s
The Von Erich brothers.
The Road Warriors
The Midnight Express - they had an array of finishers with such great names for them like the double goozle and the veg-o-matic
The Freebirds
The Steiners

 

[PsychoBlack]

It has to be the Steiners. They went everywhere faced everyone and beat them all. I dont think there will ever be another team like them again that is so big and strong while at the same time so athletic that it's scary. My close second would have to be Edge and Christian. I loved these two growing up They put on constant great matches against anyone that they faced and were a legit excellent tag team. Besides they totally wreaked of awesomness

 

[rzm760]

well there are so many GREAT tag teams from the past,as far as the BEST tag team goes...well i would have to say the road warriors.they were dominat power houses they were no nonsense when they were in the ring they had great mic skills during their interviews.in the u.s they are the best and overseas they are the best.some may mention the nwo because their angle lasted for a couple of years but nwo wasnt a tag team there we a group of guys that were heels and went against all rules and at that time thats what all us fans wanted to see.guys who broke rules didnt care about anything flip people off say bad words.they were rebels and they drew lots of money

 

[Dagger Dias]

Well the thread title does ask for the best OLD SCHOOL tag team of all time. That should narrow the selection down to not include any teams from recent years. I'll go with Edge and Christian. They were one of my favorite teams back in the attitude era and easily my pick for the best old school tag team because they had it all both in the ring and on the mic for not only the tag team division, but in singles careers after they split up too. Most teams after they split up usually ends up with both getting future endeavoured soon, or with one getting pushed above the other before he too is future endeavoured. Edge and Christian saw both guys move on to fame. A true rarity in tag teams, and they were beyond awesome in their tag team run too!

 

[LooseCannon1]

I have two teams the first team is The British Bulldog and Owen Hart they had bulldog who is a monster with all of the power moves and they had Owen who could do it all high flyer,technical and great on the mic

The second team is The Rockers marty janetty and shawn michaels they actually were the first high flyn team in the wwe they paved the way for the Hardys,Edge and Christan

 

[Trill Co$by]

If you had asked me when I was like 15 I would've said Owen and British Bulldog, but in today's world I'm going with the Rock 'N' Roll Express - Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson. Honestly, I'll admit, I first heard of them from my grandfather but didn't really bother checking them out until they showed up in the old Legends of Wrestling game made by Akklaim (still wanting a new one )... As I was sitting there losing tag match after tag match to them with my team of Bulldog and Owen Hart, I began to see that even in a video game, they were pretty kick ass.

So then, I went to my grandfather and asked him if he had any of the old Rock N Roll Express matches on tape or to tell me about him and the more I heard and watched the more I knew that they had to be without a doubt one of the greatest people to ever work. And in 2008, I believe it was, I attended the NWA Legends Fest where they were having their reunion and as god as my witness, I can still honestly say that those two men can still work a crowd even with what little plucks of hair they have left.

And to be perfectly honest, I can also remember when I got to work a show with Robert Gibson in the main event and I was in the opening match... all I could think was about how proud my grandfather would've been, especially since at the end of the show I got to be one of the few running down to help him... but yeah long story short, Rock 'N' Roll Express without a doubt the greatest tag team for both sentimental value and the fact that they were pretty damn good in the ring, especially as faces.

 

[jacdnwarrior]

The Road Warriors are by far the most popular team in history. They were just brute strength not much in terms of wrestling ability. The Steiners could wrestle. My favourite team was the Hart Foundation. They were good as faces better as heels.

 

[UltimateHitman]

I'm going to have to give the number 1 spot nod to the Road Warriors. Their impact and legacy are still at the top of the heap, and you can't talk tag teams without their name coming up as anything less than definitive. That being said, here are some of my other top teams.
Hart Foundation-great mix of brute strength and technical wrestling
Owen and the Bulldog-see above
The Rockers-these guys just made everything seem so fluid and effortless.
Tully and Arn
The Freebirds
Rock and Roll Express
Midnight Express
Jumping Bomb Angels-I have to give Kidgloves props for including these gals. Too often the females get lost in the mix, but they could honestly do things other teams could only dream of, male or female.
Dudleys-while not one of my top favorites, they were still fun to watch and have succeeded anywhere they went. Not bad for some bigger, not even built, guys.
Steiners
British Bulldogs
Samoans
Demolition
And one of my favorites growing up, but didn't last all that long, was the Can-Am Connection (Rick Martel and Tom Zenk). These guys could work in the ring, and had some good charisma. Kind of seemed to me like a bulkier, bigger guy version of the Rockers.
Powers of Pain
Can't believe anybody hasn't given an honorable mention to the Original Blackjacks.
Harlem Heat
Also can't forget the Killer Bees if you're going to speak of in-ring ability
Rougeaus
I can't believe somebody mentioned the Bushwackers. I mean, seriously? They were fun and kids loved 'em, but that's about it. They were actually much better as a serious team back when they were the Sheepherders and terrorizing people before they became the comedy relief team of the Bushwackers.
I didn't list the Hardys because that's too "new" to me to be old school but they were a good team, not taking anything from them.
E&C- I would classify Edge and Christian as successful singles stars before mentioning the tag team. The team was cool, but not one I would put in the upper echelons of tag team history.
New Age Outlaws-Really? I don't know if this is sad or laughable. I mean, they were a gimmick team that was mostly catchphrases and goofy dancing moves. Definitely not one of the best of all time. There are plenty of teams that would be above them that nobody has mentioned yet, namely the Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff, the Dream Team (Valentine and Beefcake), and even the Hollywood Blondes (Austin and Pillman). You could even make a case for Rhythm and Blues (Valentine and Honky Tonk) and Power and Glory (Hercules and Roma) Hell, if you're going to mention the NAO, why not give props to the B.W.O and the Job Squad?

 

[Henhouse]

The second team is The Rockers marty janetty and shawn michaels they actually were the first high flyn team in the wwe they paved the way for the Hardys,Edge and Christan

I would have said them, but then I went further back than that. Who were the Rockers ripping off in the first place? The Rock and Roll Express. They paved the way for The Rockers, which paved the way for the Hardys and E & C.

 

[Dusty Roids]

Roadwarriors/LOD ! Dominating the Tag division AWA, NWA/WCW, WWF and also in Japan. They were the most dominating! and of course if we are talking about old school, they are def the perfect choice.

 

[PsYcho]

I dug and dug and dug through this thread and it took 8 pages and 75 replies for someone to bring up The Fabulous Freebirds........


One of the most innovative tag teams in the history of the sport! Their feud with The Von Erichs was legendary and some of their matches are still cited to this day (ie The Country Whoopin' Match). Some of their contributions to the sport include: introducing rock music as an entrance theme, the 'Freebird rule' (yeah, it was named after them) when their are three members of a tag team, and heck, their theme song even crossed over into the main stream and became a minor hit on the radio!

And I haven't even gone into their championships..........

 

[Papa Pillman]

I too am going to go with the Rock'n'Roll Express.

In the mid-80s these guys were the true innovators of tag-team wrestling. Their fueds with the Midnight Express layed crucial ground-work in the progression of the tag-team style.

If not for them, teams like The Rockers, The Hardys, The MCMG's etc. may never have existed.

 

[wrestling89]

I gotta go with the Steiner Brothers (1989 - 1991.) That team just had it all. They had the moves, the innovation, the pop, the charisma, the belts, they could even cut promos (at that time, beofre the whole Poppa Pump nonsense.) They were vicious, but not monsters, they could kick the shit out of you and wrestle. They had Scotty as the serious one and Rick with the comedy. They looked like regular guys, not like LOD or The Twin Towers.

Tully and Arn would have to come next. Man I would have killed to seen some Brain Busters vs Steiners in 1990...............DAMN U DRUG TESTS!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Lucha-Libre is wrestling]

The Road Warriors hands down, everywhere animal and hawk went they dominated and where tag champs. nwa, wcw , awa , wwf, japan, and puerto rico. They would dominate tag team wrestling today also, no tag team in the history of wrestling put fear and dominated like L.O.D. Lets not forget that demolition was a knock off the road warriors. Folks lets be real the warriors vs hardy's would be a slober knocker. I can hear old good JR scream oh what a rushhh.

 

[poppycock]

Not my personal favourites but I agree with The Road Warriors.

They had the look and as the old saying goes..worked well together like a well oiled machine.

Some of my personal favourites (most realistically could not be classed as greatest of all time)

New Age Outlaws - Not amazing in the ring but had everything else in abundance. The top Tag Team of the Attitide era in my opinion.

Kane and X-Pac - Just liked the combination of different styles.

The Acolytes - Pure power and worked well together just like The Road Warriors.

Honourable mention goes to Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie just because I like Hardcore rasslin.

 

[ajs]

This is Old Skool ....The Road Warriors, Arn Anderson & Ole Anderson - Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard/ 4 Horsman, The Blade Runners /Sting & Warrior, The Rock N Roll Express, The Midnite Express, Scott Hall & Kurt Henning -A.W.A. , The FreeBirds, The Von Erichs, The Russians, Dan Spivey & Mean Mark Calloway/ Undertaker -The Twin Towers.Hulk Hogan & MachoMan Randy Savage, British Bulldog & Dynamite Kid -The Bulldogs, The Hart Foundation, The Midnite Rockers- Shawn Michaels & Marty Jenetty...To many to name! This is Old Skool (not) The Hardys!!!

 

[The Prodigal Anti-Lemming]

As far as defining the greatest tag team of all-time, it's easy for one to mention [insert random WWE team that wrestled in the past ten years]. As WWE hasn't really had much of a tag division in the past decade. A few good teams came and went, but honestly people, let's not delude ourselves, there were few great ones.

When I think of great teams, I immediately think The Road Warriors. Animal and Hawk were an utterly dominant force. They held virtually every major championship there was to hold, they had international success, and they pretty much started the era of the unstoppable monster heel.

A close second would be the Steiners. In fact, of the two teams, I enjoyed watching the Steiners' matches more, as they were arguably more physical than even the Warriors. As Bobby Heenan once stated, "Rick and Scott just like to heave you into the air." Their bouts with Gordy and Williams were maybe the greatest tag team battles I ever saw.

Honorable mention in this category: Team 3D; Harlem Heat; Anderson and Blanchard; the Freebirds; Bruiser and Crusher; the Minnesota Wrecking Crew; Brody and Hansen; the Holy Demon Army; the Hart Foundation; the British Bulldogs; Latin American Xchange; I guess I could go on and on.

 

[se7enstacks]

The Stiener Brothers is the best tag team ever in my book...followed by The Road Warriors,I love Doom (Ron Simmons And Butch Reed) they were a force to be reckon with

 

[Jannetty4Life]

The greatest tag team in the history of life is Money Incorporated. That's right people. Best Theme Song as well.

 

[Whatsinaname696]

Demolition, yeah people say LOD rip-off, I say upgrade, I thought they were more intimidating and downright f'n scary back in the day, from their entrance costumes (loved those masks) to their size to a double double axe handle beat down that was almost guaranteed if ya stepped in the ring with them, plus there was the finisher, Demolition Decapitation, which I think is still the best tag move EVER.. and most painful looking, also loved Mr. Fuji with them, best tag team manager of all time to me, even loved them with Crush and The Freebird Rule even though they quickly were on the way out about that time... They also held the belts longer than anyone... to this day so.... got that goin for 'em too =)

 

[emcsq29]

Too many good ones listed to argue . . . but when I think "old school," I'm not thinking 1990s or after, just in WWF/E.

Road Warriors, hands down, were the best tag-team ever. I don't care about title runs, no one had crowd reactions like these guys. Besides, they scared the crap out of me.

But others come to mind, just because in the 70s and 80s, tag-teams were HUGE in Memphis, where I grew up. Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee were awesome, and if you ever get a few minutes, look up the youtube video with them against the Blonde Bombers in Tupelo, MS when they took the brawl into the concession stand. (The AWA even gave them the tag straps twice!) But The Fabulous Ones (Stan Lane and Steve Keirn) and the Rock 'n Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gipson) were the stand-outs of the era, and took tag-teams to a new level.

 

[vthokie8]

The Road Warriors changed the face of tag team wrestling. They had an original look, were complete maulers in the ring and won every major tag team title you can think of. Personally, I am partial to the Midnight Express but as far as everything is concerned Road Warriors by far the greatest of all time. My top 10 are:

1) Road Warriors
2) The Dudley Boyz
3) Fabulous Freebirds
4) Midnight Express
5) Arn & Tully Blanchard
6) The Steiner Brothers
7) Rock N' Roll Express
8) The Hart Foundation
9) The British Bulldogs
10) The Outsiders

Honorable Mention: Demolition, New Age Outlaws, Rick Rude & Manny Fernandez, The Sheephearders (not Bushwackers), Sting & Luger, The Eliminators, Harlem Heat, Nasty Boys, The Thrillseekers (Chris Jericho & Lance Storm)

 

[Santiman21]

I have to say the Steiner Brothers. They were so technically gifted. They brought it as it was and didn't need the mouthpieces to do it.