The Greatest Old School Tag Team of All Time

[svsuperfly]

There are too many for me to count. Back in the 70's and 80's there were so many main event status teams that it sickens me that tag team wrestling is obsolete today. But The Road Warriors are the "Hulk Hogan" of tag team wrestling but here are a few more that sold out arenas. Not in any particular order and there is a lot more.

1. Dynamic Duo
2. Freebirds
3. Midnight Express
4. Rock in Roll Express
5. The Blond Bombers
6. East West Connection
7. Bad Company
8. Playboy Buddy Rose and Pretty Boy Doug Summers
9. Minnesota Wrecking Crew
10. Brain busters
11. Demolition
12. Harlem Heat
13. British Bulldogs
14. Steiner Brothers
15. Wild Samoans
16. Hart Foundation
17. Valiant Bros
18. The Skyscrapers
19. Doom
20. Manny Fernandez and Rick Rude
21. The Dream Team
22. Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff
23. SST
24. Varsity Club
25. Hollywood Blonds
26. The Enforcers
27. The Blackjacks
28. The Fantastics
29. Miracle Violence Connection
30. Professor Tanaka & Mr. Fuji

 

[Dude_Love87]

Greatest tag team of all time is Legion of Doom. Every promotion these guys went to they were a fan favorite and a household name. They defined tag team wrestling in the early 90's.

Another Good tag team was Demolition, not only were they bad ass tag team, they were brutal and violent for their era.

honorable mentions: Hart Foundation, Brisco Brothers, Harlem Heat

 

[rod]

I am a bit older than you guys..

But The Fabulous Freebirds are my all time favorite.

followed by The Midnight Express, Legion of Doom. The Original Dynamic Dou Tully Blanchard and Gino Hernandez, The Sawyer Brothers, Doc and Gordy, The Gangsterz,
The Eliminators, Anderson and Blanchard, The Bruise Brothers, PG13

 

[LOS ANGELES LAKERS]

The tag team scene used to be awesome with The Brain Busters, British Bulldogs, Demolition, Dream Team, Hart Foundation, Iron Sheik and Nicolai Volkoff, Killer Bees, Legion of Doom, Etc. My personal favorites were the Bulldogs I've never understood why WWE lost interest in tag team wrestling.

 

[JWGunslinger]

Best in ring team I would have to go with The Hart Foundation, you can't be Bret Hart and The Bulldog when it comes to performance. As a all around team nobody back in the day was as big or had the effect of The Road Warriors. The Road Warriors were the biggest thing in the Tag Team division during their time, and even people who didn't watch wrestling knew about them, that's when you know youre doing alright. I mean who didn't enjoy watching two giant dudes in face paint and football gear, and not only did they have a unique look but they were a force in the ring and that's why they'll always be remembered as the best of their time.

 

[justtxyank]

Put me down for Dr. Death and Bam Bam Gordy. Get in the ring and get your butt kicked.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

For my taste the greatest was most likely the Road Warriors although I would definitely make an argument that the Fabulous Freebirds were the greatest of all time.

The Road Warriors were MAJOR draws wherever they went and were just a fantastic team with a fantastic gimmick. They were easily the most over tag team in history and no team accomplished more and drew more money, that's not speculation that's a fact.

The Freebirds on the other hand were also great antagonists which in turn helped whoever they were facing draw more money than they could on their own. Take the Von Erich's for example, although they were technically the draws the audience came and went with the Freebird's as in if they weren't great heels then the Von Erich's wouldn't have drawn as much money and people, without the Freebird's the Von Erich's just weren't that interesting and lovable (except for Kerry and David).

The best non North American team I think should go to the Miracle Violence Connection which is the team of Bam Bam and Dr. Death. These to just made a fantastic tag team and were always fun to watch. Personally I've always been a fan of Terry Gordy and I always enjoyed watching him whenever he was on.

My Favorite tag team would be Demolition. There is just so many reason's to love these guys, their intimidating look and offensive onslaught, their gimmick and my personal favorite their theme song, that is probably my favorite all time theme song (Derringer always knocks it out of the park when it comes to theme songs). They were dominant and no team was tag champs in WWF as long as Ax and Smash were.

Anyways those are my thoughts on the greatest tag teams of all time.

 

[shockersfan34]

They were not even close to my favorites, as that title would go to LOD or Hart Foundation, but consider The Steiners. They are the only team to CLEAN pin The Road Warriors in their hayday, not to mention all the titles won in U.S. and Japan. Anyone else like to see Road Warriors vs Brothers of Destruction with both in their prime? No pussy countouts or DQ's, just nut up and let the carnage begin.

 

[SeriousProfessional]

Jesus, it only took 75 posts for someone to mention the FABULOUS FREEBIRDS? Best ever? Maybe. Top 3? Absolutely. The epitome of heel heat. . . not only that but you know that Michael "PS" Hayes is cited by many as the innovator of the entrance theme in the States? Talk about revolutionary. . .

Road Warriors? All-time great. Nobody with a double digit IQ or better would argue against this. Top 3.

The best? If you read the OP, stables are included which is why it is the FOUR HORSEMEN, hands down.

For tag teams only there are many greats like the Road Warriors, Steiners, Rock n Roll Express, Edge & Xian, Harlem Heat, Muta & Chono, New Age Outlaws, Dudley Boyz and too many others to name here, but with stables included the bottom line is the HORSEMEN ride! Honorable mentions to DX, the nWo, etc.


PS - This topic drew me out of a four year lurk. Nice job, OP!

 

[BigThunder]

The Legion of Doom is the greatest tag team of all time, and we're not likely to see its like again. They had amazing charisma, and pretty much defined what a badass heel was like in this industry.

As for others: the Fabulous Kangaroos from the 60s and 70s had great teamwork and heel skills, Bockwinkle and Stevens pretty much owned the AWA in their day and had fantastic chemistry, as did various combinations of wrestlers with the surname "Anderson".

Moving forward, the Brainbusters and the Bulldogs were my absolute favorites in the 80s and 90s, though I loved a lot of teams during that era (the Midnight Express were my favorite WCW team, though I certainly can't fault the Freebirds). Edge and Christian are probably the last tag team to rank among the greats, though a few (like Beer Money and Angle/Benoit) have come close. I hear a lot of good things about some of the RoH teams; I really do need to follow that more closely.

 

[Freebirdfan]

The Freebirds were my favorite old school tag team. They wrestled all over the country in many different territories. They were great as heel or face. I saw them a few times and even at very small shows; these guys gave everything they had for the fans whether they were loved or hated.

 

[8thwotwATG]

This topic has come up before in various ways and means, and I can respect the various choices that have been made, I.E., the Road warriors, The Minnesota Wrecking Crew ; etc. . All of this being said, however, my choice is STILL the Wild Samoans. Afa and Sika were two of the greatest tag team wrestlers of all time. As a youngster growimg up in the Northeast, there wasn't a more dominant tag team than the Wild Samoans. Their unorthodox moveset, great power, surprising agility, ability to sell, and excellent ring psychology made them an awesome tag team combination. Their resume' of titles, their ability to work an audience, and the inumerable amount of pushes that they recieived from more than one promoter gives evidence to their greatness as a dominant tag team in pro wrestling history

 

[ShinobiMusashi]

Legion of Doom by a mile. I always loved when Kazushi Sakuraba would come out to Pride fights wearing the LOD shoulder pads. I don't mind the Road Warriors title(I know it was their original title), but they will always be the Legion of Doom to me. That name fit them really well.

Then behind them I have to give props to the Eliminators. The ECW was at it's peak when they had Saturn, and John Kronus(RIP) working the tag division with the Dudleys, and the Gangstas.

The Wild Samoans are indeed an underrated tag team. I did get to see them live actually when I was very young, and it was great.

 

[aussietool]

sticking with an old school theme, For me personally, it has to be the team of King Kong Bundy & Big john Studd. They were great heels caused alot of heat, and Bundy was surprisingly agile for his size.

My second choice is the team of Greg the Hammer Valentine & Brutus Beefcake (prior to that ******ed barber gimmick) - they were better "performers" than the above team, way more technically sound, and more athletic. Yes I love heels- always have- always will.

 

[D. Nocturnal]

It's a shame the WWE doesn't value the tag-team division. Back in the good ol' days of wrestling we had Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard perhaps the greatest tag-team of all time, The Midnight Express (Lane and Eaton) my favorite of all time and the Road Warriors. (Not the Legion of Doom version when they were in the WWE) but the version when they were in Georgia Wrestling when they actually dominated against teams like King Kong Bundy and Jimmy Valiant. Today who do we have Jabroni 1 and Jabroni 2? Today its whoever McMahon feels like putting together when he wakes up in the morning.

 

[sollecks]

Tag team wrestling is the greatest format cause you got a heel dividing the ring distracting a reff baiting the face resulting in 2 on 1 simple effective heat..
then add good characters plot lines contrasting styles - tag team should be much more respected as an art form.. Best tag teams Anderson Blanchard , steiners, L>O>D..

 

[Mustang Sally]

It occurs to me that the greatest tag teams in wrestling history are the ones none of us have seen because we're too young. In the 50's and 60's, tag teams meant something in pro wrestling and had a true part in the structure of a wrestling organization, unlike today where they often just throw two guys together and tell them to function as a team.

I love some of the names of famous teams from the past: The Fabulous Kangaroos, Brute Bernard and Skull Murphy, Murder Inc., The Minnesota Wrecking Crew (you thought the NFL Vikings invented that, huh?)

And what do I think of these teams from the past?....I don't know! That's the point..... and it's why today's young wrestling fans can't give an adequate answer to the question being posed.

As to tag teams I've seen, my favorites were the Road Warriors. They looked like genuine roughnecks and acted as if they were joined at the hip.

 

[J.J.]

Don Kernodle & SGT Slaughter. Watched these guys back in the early to mid 80s as a team together and saw them live virtually every week. Both had great promo work to compliment themselves as great grapplers. They were one of many great teams that came out of JCP.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

It saddens me when I see how fall tag-team wrestling in major US promotions has fallen over the years. VKM really does seem to have little or no interest in regenerating the division, and over the last 10 years whenever a team has started to look pretty good, or get over with the crowd, they are split up, as the WWE looks for the next Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart or Edge (tag wrestlers who ended up huge singles stars).

There is nothing wrong at all with someone remaining a tag-team specialist, and the duo becoming multi-time tag team champions. Not everyone is destined to be a huge singles star. Look at The Road Warriors, The Dudleys, The Rock n Roll Express etc, it didnt hurt those guys careers to remain as a partnership for most of their careers did it?

The longer a team spends working together, the better they get. They learn more about the way their partner thinks, moves in the ring and they can combine better and have better chemistry, creating new double team moves, combos and just working as 1.

Just look at where the WWE tag-team division was 10-12 years ago. There were The Hardys, Edge and Christian, The Dudleyz, APA, New Age Outlaws and many more. I would love for more focus on the tag-team division in WWE, and even TNA as theirs has become awful in the last year or so.

Can't see it happening though.

 

[chammer99]

the list begins and ends with one team the road warriors (legion of doom) way back when they first started wrestling i can remember i was 10 to 15 years old and when there music hit ironman (ozzy osboune) you would get goose bumps it meant one thing and one thing only there was gonna be an ass whooping no flashy crap,no drama,no bickering,no love tryst etc. just good old fashioned ass whooping their promos were small and to the point they would tell you exactly what they were gonna do and then do it no other team can compare to their decades of dominance rip hawk your one word catch phrase still gives me goosebumps when i hear it "WELL"

 

[TheExceLLenceOfExecution]

I'm not going to go by accomplishments, but the most unstoppable team of all time which also had the most potential before its break up had to be...

THE MEGA POWERS!!

HULK HOGAN AND RANDY "MACHO MAN" SAVAGE

Two of the BEST wrestlers of ALL TIME on one team!

Maybe not the best, but definately my favorite tag team of all time! haha

 

[HitmanFan4ever]

my top 5 are

5. steiner brothers- man were they a great combo of strength and speed and there team work was top notch

4. edge and christian- these guys were just phenonminal they had it all on the mic in the ring and the amount of amazing matches they had. they were also ground breakers with their TLC matches.

3. demolition- i dont really remember them when they were in their prime but from everything ive heard they are top notch

2. the hart foundation- the best combonation of size and speed of all time. they had it all. with the best technical wrestler in the company teamed up with one of the strongest and charamatic in the company

1. the legion of doom- i still get goose bumps everytime i hear the opening to their song. man were they excellent. great personalities great ring work and great team work. the best of all time

 

[Peoples_Champ]

It's hard to argue against the Legion of Doom. The were unstoppable wrecking machines everywhere they went. When they made their appearance and interfered in the Demolition / Hart Foundation tag title match at Summerslam, the place became unglued. It was like a Hogan & Warrior pop put into one. I had never heard or witnessed anything like that in my life to that point.

Animal & Hawk are the greatest of all time, hands down.

 

[mrppv420]

Wow, this is a tough one to call. Although I'm a little partial to the Steiners, having grown up with some of the younger members of their family. And I know the better choice would be to go with the Road Warriors because of their overall tough as nails styles, but it just wouldn't do this justice. I would definatly have to go with the Freebirds.

I still have yet to see a team incite riots in every city they went to due to the hatred the fans had as a whole for the group. Until about '89 or '90, if you really wanted to fill an arena and didn't have a Flair, Horsemen, Rhodes, Hogan, Piper, or Savage within the company, you could pretty bank on the Freebirds being hated enough everywhere that arenas would sell out just to see them bleed.

Ok, so Hayes may not have been all that great inside the ring, which is all fine and dandy, but then again, you didn't really have to be if every match was the standard Bam Bam Gordy stiff shot clinic. 98% of his matches were knock down, drag out fights. And ol' Buddy Jack Roberts could hold his own in there too, for usually being the forgotten Freebird.

 

[BushwackerButch]

Good question. I guess the most important criteria would be

a) the impact they had on the history of pro wrestling as a whole
b) their ability to draw an audience
c) their longetivity of their careers and how long they were at their peak
d) how many great matches/rivalries they were invloved in

How could there be any question... the obvious answer is:

The Bushwackers!!

No, but seriously, I would have to say The Road Warriors are the obvious answer, if you follow the above criteria.

They collected the world tag team titles within months of entering the business in the mid/early 80's and dominated every federation tag division (winning pretty much every major tag title available) they entered, right up till the early 90's (when they joined the WWF... coincidence?) They, the Four Horsemen and Dusty Rhodes kept the NWA afloat in the late eighties.

I guess there were other tag teams that came before them that also had a similar high-impact style, but none of them captured the imagination of the fans to anywhere near the same degree. When you saw them walking down to the ring you, just knew they were genuinely tough (and scary!) guys.

In terms of rivalries and memorable matches.. how about their feud with the various incarnations of Four Horsemen, or the Freebirds, or Sting/Luger/Dusty Rhodes, or The Rock n Roll Express, or the Powers of Pain, or even Demolition in 6 man tags with Ultimate Warrior in the WWF. Each of these were classic rivalries with some classic matches, remember War Games, anyone?

They are also the most imitated tag team in history in my opinion. Look at other top tag teams like the Powers of Pain and Demolition and many others since. Also, no one else in american pro wrestling was really using face paint before they came along. Suddenly, you had guys like Sting, and The Ultimate Warrior wearing facepaint, concentrating on high impact power moves in the ring, no-selling opponents moves, etc. etc...

Ultimately, it's the fans who will always have the final say, and I think they will place the Road Warrior at the top of any fan based poll for a long time to come.