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The 411 Wrestling Top 5 8.22.12: Week 185 – Top Five Forgotten Tag Team Partners

August 22, 2012 | Posted by Larry Csonka

Hello everyone and welcome to 411 Wrestling’s Top 5 List. What we are going to is take a topic each week and all the writers here on 411 wrestling will have the ability to give us their Top 5 on said topic, plus up to three honorable mentions.

So, on to this week’s topic…

TOP 5 FORGOTTEN TAG TEAM PARTNERS

aka who was a Marty Jannetty?

Jake St-Pierre
HM: John Morrison – In terms of he and Miz, Miz was more successful.
HM: Roderick Strong – He still makes a decent living, but Austin Aries is on top of the world.
HM: Charlie Haas – These days Charlie is featured more than Shelton Benjamin in ROH, but in WWE Charlie Haas was forgotten rather quickly after World’s Greatest Tag Team split up.

5. Chris Sabin – It’s probably not the most popular decision, but every time I think of the Motor City Machine Guns I always think of Sabin as the forgotten member. Alex Shelley is better than Sabin in every way really, but it’s still odd that no one really thinks of Sabin first. I am kind of grasping at straws here, but hey.

4. Robert Gibson – He was pretty well-known, but when you compared him to Ricky Morton, you didn’t think too much of Gibson. After all, no one ever called a hot tag ‘playing Robert Gibson.’

3. Dennis Condrey – He was a better heel than Stan Lane, but he didn’t have the charisma and glamour that Lane did and ultimately the Midnight Express flourished without Condrey.

2. Joey Mercury – In my opinion, he was the superior part of MNM, but he had some demons to take care of before he and Nitro really blew up. He’s clean now and as far as I know, he is a trainer at FCW so it’s not like he’s struggling anymore.

1. Marty Jannetty – Though it’s mostly his own fault, Marty Jannetty came nowhere near what most people expected. Shawn Michaels went on to become the best of all time while Jannetty gave into his demons. There’s a reason the forgotten man of tag team is called a Marty Jannetty.

Francisco Ramirez
HM: Mustafa – New Jack cast quite a shadow
HM: Kronus – Talented, but New Jack and Saturn cast quite a shadow

5. Rick Steiner – Before the hate comes in droves, let me set this straight, I know Rick Steiner started out in singles, had a run with the TV title, and at a point might have been a better worker than Scott Steiner. All this does not hide the fact that as a singles star Scott Steiner surpassed what Rick Steiner accomplished. Perhaps not forgotten, but the Dog Faced Gremlin remains the Marty Jannetty of the Steiner Brothers.

4. Stevie Ray – Harlem Heat was a great tag-team, but even then, there was no denying who was the star of the show. Booker T won the WCW World Championship, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and even became a king. Stevie Ray reformed Harlem Heat with a lacking Ahmed Johnson, and when that didn’t work he became the leader of NWO White and Black, the then very crappy version of the NWO. Oh well, he did get to dub La Parka’s interviews!

3. Marty Jannetty – Lets face it, there is a reason that the name Marty Jannetty is now a wrestling meme of sorts. Shawn Michaels far surpassed anything Marty did after the Rockers split. The sad part of the story though, is that some of this might be Marty’s fault. After the Rockers breakup, Shawn floundered trying out his new role as the Heartbreak Kid, and Marty ended up with drug problems and some issues with the law. Shawn battled for titles, and Marty battled demons. Marty even defeated Shawn for the Intercontinental title, and lost it weeks later. He would be released and would return several times, each time due to issues with drugs or the law. Sad considering there are many that still consider Marty the overall better worker.

2. Jim Neidhart – Jim The Anvil Neidhart was one half of the Hart Foundation, unfortunately he wasn’t the memorable half. At one point Neidhart carried the Hart Foundation as far as mic work is concerned, Bret has admitted to this. Eventually the team split, Bret had a rocket strapped to his back that led him to Championship gold and Main Events. Neidhart became Who, literally Who. To say Bret Hart went on to more success than Jim Neidhart would be as true a statement as saying the sky is blue.

1. Wildcat Chris Harris – Be honest, when Americas Most Wanted were in their prime who ever thought Cowboy James Storm would be a way bigger deal and have more success as a singles star than Wildcat Chris Harris? Such are the surprises that life holds, the year is now 2012, James Storm is one of the top stars in TNA, went on to be one half of Beer Money, a team that surpassed AMW, and held the TNA World Title for a minute. On the other hand we have Chris Harris, that left TNA, arrived to WWE in the worst shape he had ever been seen in, and is no where to be found. It might even be safe to say his career is over. To think at one point everyone thought James Storm would be the Marty Jannetty of AMW!

Shawn S. Lealos
5. Ole Anderson – When the Four Horsemen kicked off, the tag team in the group was the Minnesota Wrecking Crew. When Arn Anderson and Ole Anderson were in the ring, you knew their opponents were going to get hurt. However, soon Ole was out of the Horsemen and Arn began teaming with Tully Blanchard. Arn and Tully are one of the best tag teams in professional wrestling history and the Wrecking Crew became a footnote. Ole went on to become a booker but no one talks about him and Arn anymore.

4. Marty Jannetty – I am listing Marty Jannetty here just because of the long history since he was thrown through the Barbershop window. However, you still have to remember that he returned and beat Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental title, which makes him slightly memorable. However, when looking at WWE history, Shawn was one of the greatest of all time and Marty was forgotten.

3. Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart – When the Hart Foundation were together, they were dominant in the WWF. They relied on the strength of Neidhart and the technical skills of Bret Hart. However, when they broke up there was nothing left for Neidhart. Sure, he came back to help Owen Hart in his feud with Bret but Neidhart was just a sidekick for the rest of his career. Bret Hart was the star while Neidhart was just a supporting player.

2. Stevie Ray – Speaking of forgotten tag team wrestlers, look no further than Stevie Ray. Booker T went on to be the five time WCW World Champion but before that he was a ten time WCW Tag Team Champion with his brother Stevie Ray. They were, easily, one of the best tag teams of the 90s and were just dynamic in the ring together. However, when they split up and Booker T began his fantastic singles career, Stevie Ray disappeared. Now, Stevie trains wrestlers at Booker’s wrestling school but it is Booker T who is remembered as the star.

1. Loverboy Dennis Condrey – This is sad, but predictable. Dennis Condrey and Bobby Eaton were a great NWA tag team as the Midnight Express. However, when Jim Cornette replaced Condrey with Sweet Stan Lane, formerly of the Fabulous Ones, the team became great. The Lane and Eaton version of the team is one of the best of all time, up there with the Road Warriors, Dudley Boyz and Steiner brothers. Condrey was an old-school wrestler and that worked great for his role as a heal but Lane was a modern day wrestler and made the team more exciting. When people talk about the Midnight Express, they talk about Lane and Eaton. Condrey is the most forgotten man in tag team wrestling history.

Gavin Napier
5.Jim Neidhart – It’s almost unfair that this role is referred to as the “Jannetty” instead of the “Neidhart”. Jannetty actually returned to WWE long enough to have a brief run as the Intercontinental champion in a common sense program with Shawn Michaels. The only time in his career that Jim Neidhart was relevant was teaming with Bret. Upon the team splitting, Bret went on to become a 2 time King of The Ring, 2 time Intercontinental champion, 1 time WWE US Champion, WCW tag team champion, 4 time WCW US Champion, 2 time WCW World Champion, and a 5 time WWE Champion. Jim Neidhart went on to become Who.

4.Dennis Condrey – The Midnight Express is my favorite team ever, and Condrey is the odd man out. To me, and to most wrestling fans from the 80’s, Eaton and Lane were the Midnight Express. Cornette has even said in shoot interviews that Eaton and Lane had immediate chemistry that surpassed what Bobby and Dennis had. Condrey was a great worker when he was on, but once he flaked out and disappeared and Stan Lane took his spot, he was quickly overshadowed.

3.Chris Harris – Shame on me. During AMW’s run in TNA, it seemed to me that Chris Harris was doing most of the work and that James Storm was just sort of always hanging out on the apron or selling some spot on the floor. I figured when the team split that Storm would quickly fade away and Chris Harris would move on to bigger and better things. I don’t know if I’ve ever been more wrong. James Storm embraced his redneck side, flourished in Beer Money, and scored a TNA World Heavyweight Championship win over Kurt Angle. Chris Harris got fat and was released almost as soon as WWE signed him. The only thing of worth that Harris did after AMW split was a Texas Death Match…against James Storm.

2.John Morrison – When you split a team and the team then feuds over who was “The Janetty”, it’s not a good sign for the guy that comes out on the short end of the program. In the time since these two went their separate ways, Miz has gone on to main event Wrestlemania, defending his title against John Cena. John Morrison is just gone. That pretty well settles the argument.

1.Bart Gunn – What’s worse than not being remembered? Being remembered for damn near getting decapitated by a fat guy at the biggest wrestling event of the calendar year. Once the Smokin’ Gunns were a thing of the past, Billy Gunn went on to have success beyond what anyone probably expected. Billy captured an Intercontinental title, a King of the Ring, a couple of Hardcore titles, and 7 more WWE Tag Team titles. Bart was part of the “New Midnight Express” and was the recipient of one of the best/worst knockouts the world has ever seen. The other guys on this list at least could make a living on the indy scene here in America. Aside from a brief stint in the early goings of TNA, Bart Gunn’s spent the rest of his career in Japan.