Why Tag team wrestling is dead

[PsychoBlack]

Hell No is great as don't get me wrong, but the rest of the tag team world in America is in shambles. TNA has put together two main eventers and made them tag champs, I don't like this formula because for one it takes away from thy were just in a blood feud over the world title, and second it usually ends in some ridiculous split and a feud (especially in TNA).

The tag team division in America is comprised of mostly make shift teams of mid carders, jobber teams, and randomly thrown together main eventers. Their is nothing wrong with making teams this way as long as we're given a reason for them to be together or told what type of connection they have with each other.

I'd say the best two tag teams of 2012 had to be Hell No and that is it, Angle and styles had some good matches but they were never a long term thing, The Primetime Players had potential as well as Primo and Epico, along with Rhodes Scholars. All of these teams had their good moments only to eventually be jobbed out. Daniels and Kazarian were good however, they often turned into a joke with all of the stupid comedy stuff they did. Joe and Magnus were good as well, but they were split up to feud with each other only for Aces and Eights to take out Magnus.

Their was once a time in America when people wanted to see the big tag team match just as much as the marquee singles titles. Teams of the 80's 90's and early 00's managed to do this. I'll go on record by saying the last truly great tag team was Beer Money.

Tag Team wrestling can indeed be saved, first of all stop jobbing out your tag teams to these make shift guys. It does nothing but make them lose credibility as a team. Second Make your tag teams act like teams, very rarely do two random superstars thrown together work as a tag team, especially when their is no rhyme or reason for them being together. Last but certainly not least give them actual feuds instead of the cliche winning a non title match to become the number one contender.

I hope to see the day that tag team wrestling is a big deal again.

 

[The Butcher]

I blame Teddy Long.

Tag team wrestling isn't dead, it just isn't a priority. I certainly do miss the WWF tag team divisions the late 80s/early 90s and late 90s and early 00s. That said, it's not as if the last decade hasn't had its fair share of great teams or matches on the tag team front. Anything involving the "Smackdown Six" springs to mind. For a period there the Motor City Machineguns and Beer Money Inc. were hands down my favorite part of watching Impact. DX, The Legacy, and JeriShow all had fun runs and good matches. The brief renaissance of WWE's tag division late last year was very welcome. Tag team wrestling shows flashes like these every so often, and the potential for a full blown resurrection is there. If either TNA or WWE were to really get behind their tag division it wouldn't take long at all to get fans invested and have the tag teams move up the card.

And WWE needs to ditch those ugly ass belts.

 

[DirtyD79]

It's like I've said countless times, too often when a tag team has gotten over they get split up because the promoters are hoping to get the next Shawn Michaels. If the same mentality was in place during the 80s and 90s The Road Warriors/LOD, The Steiner Brothers, Demolition, The Nasty Boys, and The Rockers would have been broken up within under a year. before the brand split the tag team divison in WWE was red hot with The APA, The Dudley Boys, The Hardy Boys, and Edge & Christian all gunning for the belt and putting on exciting matches. Then they split up all those teams and the tag division has been a shambles ever since.

Yes I know The Rockers split up but the thing is they'd been a tag team for so long before it happened. That's why it was such a big moment when it did. To a lesser extent Scott Steiner turning on Rick and joining the nWo was a big thing too for the same reason. It also became a new direction for their characters. It meant they were taking on a new persona. Shawn Michaels became the Heart Break Kid and Scott Steiner became Big Poppa Pump.

Another thing about those classic teams is they were an actual team, not just two guys thrown together because they got nothing else to do. They looked like a team and they acted like a team. The team was a gimmick in itself. You had the Road Warriors with the big spiky shoulder pads and Demolition with the spikes and masks. The closest thing you got now is the Prime Time Players with The Millions of Dollars thing.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

Yeah. Today's Tag Teams are pretty random. They're just thrown together at the last minute just for the sake of winning the Tag Team titles, only to split up after losing them. It's asinine. This pattern has repeated for quite some time now. There just aren't any real Tag Teams today except for Epico & Primo, PTP and Rhodes Scholars. It's such a shame too, because when you look at history, there were countless Tag Teams that were together for years and won the Tag Team Championship multiple times. I loved the Road Warriors, Hart Foundation, The Rockers, Demolition, Heavenly Bodies, The Steiner Brothers, Harlem Heat...hell, even PG-13 and The Public Enemy. The real Tag Teams today aren't the focus and that's what pisses me off. Why are the PTP not consistently being put into Tag Team angles and posing a threat to the titles by defeating more Tag Teams? Now the match at WrestleMania is gonna be Team Hell No vs Dolph Ziggler & Big E. Langston? What the hell? What did Dolph Ziggler and Big E do as a Tag Team to get a shot at the titles? This is exactly why I think the Tag Team division has not only cheapened, but the Tag Team Championships themselves. They are the easiest to win. Even Heath Slater is a former Tag Team Champion. Instead of booking Tag Team matches with legitimate storyline feuds, teams just fight each other randomly, which purges any kind of interest or excitement to invest in such insignificance. Why should I care what teams are fighting against what teams when there's nothing established to make me want to care?

 

[Papa Pillman]

I'd say the best two tag teams of 2012 had to be Hell No and that is it, Angle and styles had some good matches but they were never a long term thing, The Primetime Players had potential as well as Primo and Epico, along with Rhodes Scholars. All of these teams had their good moments only to eventually be jobbed out. Daniels and Kazarian were good however, they often turned into a joke with all of the stupid comedy stuff they did. Joe and Magnus were good as well, but they were split up to feud with each other only for Aces and Eights to take out Magnus.

Wait. Hell No were great in your eyes, but Bad Influence gets knocked because they were doing too much "comedy stuff"??

Hell No was completely built on comedy stuff. And moreover the dynamic spilled into the ring and hurt a lot of their matches, as the "dissention" between them made many of their in ring encounters as much of a comedy gimmick as their promos were. Yes, Daniels and Kaz do their comedy stuff on the mic, but in the ring they are a very cohesive and impressive unit that looks and works like a proper tag team.

Bad Influence was just as funny as Hell No, and they consistently had better matches. Hell No didn't have one normal tag match even close to the ones that Bad Influence had at Slammiversary, No surrender, or BFG. The only memorable moment from a match perspective for Hell No was a six-man gimmick match.

In what way is the situation different and how was Hell No so superior??

My other issue with the thread is you insinuate that tag team wrestling is dead in "America". That is simply not true. Tag Team wrestling may be on life support in the two national companies, and had you specified that you would have a point. However, on the indy scene in this country Tag Team wrestling is alive and well. ROH still has great teams regularly putting on quality matches like the Briscoes, The American Wolves, and Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander. They also have created more teams that have come together nicely. The new champs, Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly are a great union, and even more recently the fresh pairing of ACH and Tadarious Thomas shows signs of a very bright future. Just look at the stellar Tag Team action from the 11th Anniversary show to prove my point.

Chikara continues to have quality tag team wrestling, DGUSA has great tag team wrestling, with some of the most talented guys on the indies like Johnny Gargano and Chuck Taylor even teaming up. Not to mention the tag team combinations that show up in PWG. Just look at DDT4 this year, not only did they have the longtime teams of the Briscoes, Super Smash Brothers, and Young Bucks, they had a reunited Steen and Generico as Generico's going away celebration, they still have Future Shock together as an outstanding team(O'Reilly and Adam Cole), and they featured amazing pairings like the Dojo Bros(Eddie Edwards and Roderick Strong), the Inner City Machine Guns(Ricochet and Rick Swann), and the Unbreakable Fucking Machines(Micheal Elgin and Brian Cage). Tag Team wrestling is still very much alive on the American Indy scene.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Hell No is great

Odd way to start a thread about a "dead" division.

as don't get me wrong, but the rest of the tag team world in America is in shambles.

It's WM season, you have big matches coming up. It is common for others to take waaayyy back seat.

TNA has put together two main eventers and made them tag champs, I don't like this formula because for one it takes away from thy were just in a blood feud over the world title, and second it usually ends in some ridiculous split and a feud (especially in TNA).

My inability to defend anything TNA prevents me from responding to this.

The tag team division in America is comprised of mostly make shift teams of mid carders, jobber teams, and randomly thrown together main eventers. Their is nothing wrong with making teams this way as long as we're given a reason for them to be together or told what type of connection they have with each other.

What teams have connections that you can not follow? Hell No had a huge storyline, Rhodes Scholars think they are above everyone else, Usos are brothers, Epico and Primo are both trying to get in to Rosa's very small pants, Ziggler and Langston have a connection via AJ, Rey and Sin cara share a style, language and mentor/mentee relationship.

I'd say the best two tag teams of 2012 had to be Hell No and that is it, Angle and styles had some good matches but they were never a long term thing, The Primetime Players had potential as well as Primo and Epico, along with Rhodes Scholars. All of these teams had their good moments only to eventually be jobbed out.

They all ran in to Hell No and lost to a team that you called "great". It makes complete sense to me.

Daniels and Kazarian were good however, they often turned into a joke with all of the stupid comedy stuff they did. Joe and Magnus were good as well, but they were split up to feud with each other only for Aces and Eights to take out Magnus.

TNA reflex, can't argue.

Their was once a time In America when people wanted to see the big tag team match just as much as the marquee singles titles.

This may have rarely happened. Maybe the Mega Powers, Hogan/Mr. T or Rock n Sock but those were probably not the type of tag teams you are desiring.

Teams of the 80's 90's and early 00's managed to do this.

Tell me more about the 80's and 90's 19 year old because I can assure you that you are wrong.

I'll go on record by saying the last truly great tag team was Beer Money.

Except you called Hell No "great" in your first sentence.

Tag Team wrestling can indeed be saved, first of all stop jobbing out your tag teams to these make shift guys. It does nothing but make them lose credibility as a team.

If WWE starts doing this you will be complaining about seeing the same matches over and over again. The tag division has to be flexible with it's talent with hours of television to fill every week and top events, talents, and stories to get over.

Second Make your tag teams act like teams, very rarely do two random superstars thrown together work as a tag team, especially when their is no rhyme or reason for them being together.

Are you telling me the Colons and Usos have less reason to be together than the Dudley Boys. You seem to love Beer Money, talk about two guys that don't belong together. One guy was a beer drinking redneck and the other was a cerebral business type. Careful what you are wishing for.

Last but certainly not least give them actual feuds instead of the cliche winning a non title match to become the number one contender.

I agree with this but again we are in WM season and more often than not the tag belt is going to take a back seat to a movie star, MMA Heavyweight champion, the longest reigning champion in years, your cash cow, a guy with 20 straight WM victories and the owner's son in law.

Look, tag wrestling isn't the same as it was from when we were 10 years old but that has more to do with not being 10 years old anymore.

I hope to see the day that tag team wrestling is a big deal again.

When Cena and Lesnar decide it's time to join forces against the world you may get your wish.

 

[wrestlingfan]

You must not watch much wrestling outside of WWE to think that tag wrestling is dead. There's lots of tag teams still out there or in possibility of reuniting: WGTT, Team 3D, Briscoe Brothers, Kings of Wrestling, Generation ME, BLKOUT, Fightin Taylor Boys, 3MB, RockNES Monsters, Cutler Brothers, Dark City Fight Club, 3.0, MCMG, LAX, All Night XPress, Guardians of Truth, The Colony, BDK, Arrogance, Osirian Portal, Bravados, Apollo 55, Havana Pitbulls, Epico/Primo, The Usos, Primetime Players, American Wolves, Super Smash Bros, etc.

Is no way tag team wrestling in North America dead, it's just not enough tag teams distributed per company.

 

[ADLegend21]

If anything Tag Team wrestling is back on the rise, jsu started watching TNA so I can't really speak on them but in WWE you've got the primetime players, Rhodes Scholars, Team Hell No, Epico and Primo, 3MB, The Shield, and now Tons of Funk. If two more of them start getting pull with the fans Team Hell No better hold those belts tighter cuz they could be in trouble.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

This only company the topic of this thread holds even a shred of relevancy towards is WWE.

TNA doesn't have a ton of tag teams but they've had competition over their tag team titles. Chavo and Hernandez might not be everyone's cup of tea (including my own) but they have been booked as a formidable team. Bad Influence are one of the top tag teams in wrestling right now both as a team and entertainment wise. Does TNA need more tag teams? Yes. But what they lack in numbers another promotion makes up for.

ROH's tag team division is brilliant. Even at its worst its been better than those of the other two and almost every other independent promotion. ROH Tag Team Championships have actual credibility on the shows and are fought for like they were actual world titles. reDRagon have made hundreds of doubters eat their own words, The American Wolves are arguably the best in-ring tag team going right now, definitely in North America at a stretch the world however I wouldn't go that far not having a vast knowledge of Mexico. The Briscoes are still a team and are highly entertaining, not to mention the true landmark team of the division, then you got younger teams like Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander and ACH and TaDarius Thomas. SCUM has a duo routinely teaming in Compton and Rave; I won't even talk about how well they do bringing teams in at live events.

Tag team wrestling is "alive" in the right places. WWE's isn't even that bad because all they need to do is push two teams a couple weeks in a row and the division is flowing again. I agree they dropped the ball with The Primetime Players but screw it, eventually Titus will probably break out on his own.