411's Top 50 tag Teams Of All Times: #40-#31

Posted by Scott Rutherford on 01.31.2006

We continue our countdown with teams 40-31

#40: The Sheepherders – 155 Votes
AWA Southern Tag Team Champions – 2 Times
NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Champions – 3 Times
WWC North American Tag Team Champions – 4 Times
NWA United States Tag Team Champions (Florida) – 1 Time
NWA Canadian Tag Team Champions – 1 Time
Florida Tag Team Champions – 1 Time
UWF Tag Team Champions – 2 Times
NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Champions – 1 Time
Stampede International Tag Team Champions – 2 Time
International All-Star Wrestling Tag Team Champions – 1 Time
Manager(s): Jack Victory, Lady Maxine, JR Foley
Finishing Move: Battering Ram

Understand this: the Sheepherders are not the Bushwhackers. It's still Butch Miller and Luke Williams, but you couldn't have two more vastly different styles. The Bushwhackers licked people, the Sheepherders bled them dry. They ransacked through territories, collecting 19 different championships through two decades. They gained notoriety in the Pacific Northwest and became legendary in Bill Watts' UWF. They took no prisoners, and were the tag team equivalent of The Sheik. They drew blood by any means possible and made a living by being the heels that messed up the faces of the pretty boy tag teams. They became more well-known as the Bushwhackers towards the end of their careers, but their wrestling legacy will be as the Sheepherders. (GN)

Melchor: Violence for the sake of violence. These two were the firat tag team that actually scared the hell out of me. That was because I happened to notice one Saturday late-morning what they did to the Fantastics. Even censored as it was, I had thought that, up to that point, hurting each other was part of the game and the territory, but what scared me was how the Sheepherders reveled in it and just how gory they got. What would happen to them later in WWE would be akin to castrating Leatherface, but I prefer to think of the two brutes that did everything but sodomize every other team they faced.

Napier: The Anti-Bushwhackers. Violent, bloody, and hated. It was a beautiful thing.

Randle: The Bushwhackers before Vince got his hands on them and turned them into a comedy act. The guys were once a force of powerful evil, then became guys who licked heads for a living. Well, at least it gave us the Bushwhacker strut.

O'Sullivan: See, I only know these wacky fellas as The Bushwhackers. They were from Australia or New Zealand I guess, and as a kid they were strangely fun to watch. Thinking back they were cretinous losers bobbing about like, dare I say it, nut jobs - but hey, it was fun while it lasted.

Byers: When I was a kid, I watched Bushwacker matches in the WWF all the time, and after seeing them once or twice, I thought the gimmick was ridiculously lame. (Keep in mind I was eight at the time.) However, when I got older and started watching more tapes of wrestling's past, I was blown away by what Luke Williams and Butch Miller were doing in the ring. They were two angry, sadistic sons of guns who could seemingly make an opponent bleed just by staring at him hard enough. They were a truly scary combination of wrestlers, and hopefully more younger fans will be exposed to their glory days.

Csonka: A team that is remembered as "The Bushwackers," two goofs that marched to the ring and licked people. What a travesty, as many will never know about the good things they accomplished before then. Winners of the UWF, World Wrestling Council Tag Team titles and North American Tag Team titles. They had great matches with the Fantastics and Steve Keirn & Stan Lane. They were a blood thirsty team, and while not great technicians, they were a damn good team and I am glad they are getting some recognition.

Rutherford: It's a pity that most wrestling fans know this team as goofy, WWF, jobber, babyfaces that were used for comedy and nothing else. In their regional heyday they were the proto-Dudley Boyz. If you can, try and get your hands on some of the late 70's early 80's work… It's a thing of (violent) beauty.


#39 The U.S. Express – 155 Votes
WWF Tag Team Champions – 2 Times
NWA United States Tag Team Champions (Florida) – 3 Times
Manager(s): None
Finishing Move: Bulldog, Aeroplane Spin

These two good looking young men were talented enough to win a pair of WWF tag team titles. They also had some catchy theme music that you may recognize, a little ditty called "Real American". The US Express were a charismatic young duo that were done in by a travel schedule that burned out Rotundo then saw Windham leave the promotion and replaced with Dan Spivey. Windham and Rotundo were both gifted technical wrestlers, and really served as an effective bridge between two eras of the World Wrestling Federation. They beat Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch for the titles, and lost them to Nikolai Volkoff and the Iron Sheik. They served as the short term Hulk Hogans of the tag division, connecting the no-nonsense brawlers to the political caricatures. Not as lasting as some other teams on this list, but very important. (GN)

Csonka: Two guys that I always found very enjoyable in the ring. At one time, I would place Barry Windham in the top workers in the US, and while not very flashy, Rotundo was damn good. They were the typical "white meat baby face team" in the early 80's and even made a WrestleMania appearance. The Fed even thought so highly of them that "Real American" was actually going to be their theme music. A good team that I wish would have lasted longer.
Napier: Two good looking young punks that were pretty enough to get a title push. It didn't help that they were tremendously talented as well

Rutherford: These guys were a total no-brainer team for Vince to steal and make stars. All-American boys, good looking and talented they oozed the sort of appeal Vince wanted to market during the first wrestling boom. If anything Vince didn't realise the talent he had at his fingertips (especially with Windham) and jobbed them out to the dreary original Dream Team which saw them both leave for greener pastures not long after.



#38: Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody – 156 Votes
PWF Tag Team Champions - 1 Time
NWA United States Tag Team Champions (Tri-State) – 1 Time
Manager(s): None
Finishing Move: Lariat, Running Knee Drop

The greatest American tag team to never really be successful in America. Hansen and Brody had a deal with Shohei Baba that said they wouldn't job to anyone outside of All Japan. That meant in America, too. Promoters didn't really go for that, but it paid off in spades in Japan. The team would go a stretch of five plus years without losing by pinfall. Two big, stiff, talented wild men that are among the best brawlers in history, these two legitimate friends formed a tag team that dominated Japanese wrestling for nearly 15 years. Their legacy was cemented with a 16-month reign as All Japan Tag Team Champions in 84-85, and they continued teaming until Brody's murder in 1990. (GN)

Rutherford: If I could dream up a fun scenario I would put HHH and Shawn Michaels in a match with these guys, sit back and watch the shit kicking commence. These are seriously two badass brawlers that commanded respect just walking into the ring least you want to offend them and possible be killed. All semi-joking aside, these guys were the toughest of the tough and put on some insanely violent matches in the name of entertainment. My kinda team.

Napier: The two biggest, baddest brawlers of all time. Put em together, shake well, and watch the carnage ensue. I'd love to see them duplicate this team these days, but it would be hard. You'd have to have JBL from his Acolyte days teaming with a prime Cactus Jack.

Melchor: More violence for the sake of violence. Take two of the most vicious brawlers to set foot in a ring by themselves, put them together, and you have a team that could start - and end - any given barfight. Give them some wrestling knowledge and time in a country that is marveled at them and you have two demigods that stormed both Japan and the US. I could name off a laundry list of guys that could - and should - learn how to fight like these two, but I don't have that much space. Besides, I doubt anyone could fight like Hansen and Brody even if they were sent back to the Old West to learn.

Csonka: Two big, shit kicking, take no crap from anyone brawlers that could intimidate anyone in their path. Brody was taken from us too soon, but his legacy lives on. Good tag team from the stuff I have seen, probably a good placement overall.



#.37: The Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkof – 165 Votes
WWF Tag Team Champions – 1 Time
Manger(s): "Classy" Freddie Blassie; The Doctor of Style, Slick
Finishing Move: The Camel Clutch

A tandem that has its reputation for the sum of its parts rather than actual achievements, they were thrown together just prior to the first WrestleMania and were given the titles for a few reasons a) to have a title change on the card b) a consolation prize to The Iron Sheik for putting over Hulk Hogan the year before. However this doesn't take away the sheer entertainment value this team gave. An Iranian and Russian being very nationalistic while being down on the USA was an easy and natural heat getter in the early 80's and it takes real balls the sing the Russian National Anthem during the days of the Cold War! While they ended up losing the titles a short time later they remained a handy team to have around and their entertainment value alone makes them a highly regarded team from any era.(SR)

O'Sullivan: Now this is the sort of tag team that RAW needs right now. They garnered effortless heat and played on their foreign mystique. They were good wrestlers also, but it was as genuinely effective heels that they shone the brightest.

Napier: When politics enter wrestling, you get Volkoff and the Sheik.

Csonka: Nothing says heat like playing off of evil stereotypical nations! I never thought of them as a "great" team, but they served their purpose and were definitely around at the right time.

Byers: They weren't the first foreign heels in professional wrestling, but they were the two guys doing the schtick when the WWF was at the height of its popularity in the 1980's. The fact that they're still remembered in the same breath as Roddy Piper or King Kong Bundy as big heels of the early Hogan era just goes to show how impressive their work was to a whole generation of wrestling fans.

Rutherford: I loved these guys. The first wrestling I ever saw was WM1 and this was the first match I tuned into see. I didn't know what was happening or what I was watching, all I know was that these guys were really hated and the crowd almost rioted when they won the tag titles. I was hooked and this team has had a soft spot in my heart ever since.


#36: Mitsuhara Misawa & Kenta Kobashi – 168 Votes
All-Japan tag Team Champions - 2 Times
All Asia Tag Team Champions - 1 Time
Manager(s): None
Finishing Move: Tiger Driver, Moonsault

The regular teaming of these two only lasted for three years. From 1993 to 1996, though, Misawa and Kobashi were as good as it got. They were the megastar teaming of Japanese stars that All Japan needed. Kobashi had a hard time breaking through the glass ceiling until he teamed with Misawa. The pairing allowed Kobashi to gain legitimate singles victories over former Triple Crown champions before the team won the All Japan Tag Titles. In 1996, the company decided to promote Jun Akiyama to Misawa's partner, apparently screwing Kobashi over. Kobashi would go on to win the Triple Crown shortly after, though, and ironically lose it to former partner Misawa. The teammates were friends outside the ring as well, splitting from All Japan to form NOAH together. (GN)

Csonka: A few years ago as i was expanding my knowledge of wrestling, I kept coming across a lot of names in Puro. Some of those names were Kawada, Taue, Misawa and Kobashi. I had heard about "legendary" tag wars between these 4 men, and was directed to one match. June 9th, 1995. Mitsuharu Misawa + Kenta Kobashi vs. Akira Taue + Toshiaki Kawada in a one hour draw for the AJPW Unified Tag Team Championship. In a mere 60-minutes i learned all I ever wanted to know about these men, and also learned about a whole new level of tag team wrestling, in a match that is refered to by many as "The Best Tag Match Ever." Any team that is part of a match proclaimed "the best ever" without a doubt they belongs in this listing of the Top 50 greatest Tag Teams.

Napier: The greatest Japanese tag team of all time. A shame they aren't ranked higher, but not being exposed to the voting audience on a regular basis will do that for you. Imagine if Benoit and Malenko were a regular, dominant tag team for a decade or more in America. That's Misawa and Kobashi in Japan.




#35: Public Enemy – 175 Votes
ECW Tag Team Titles – 4 Times
WCW Tag Team Titles – 1 Time
Manager(s): None
Finishing Move: The Drive By

There have been few teams that have been in ECW, WCW and WWF/WWE. Public Enemy was one of them. The two men were instrumental as ECW grew, because while they were a couple of white guys rapping badly and dancing worse, they were also a couple of talented brawlers and had tables. Oh, the tables. Anyway you could think of of putting someone through a table, they'd do. And if they couldn't…they'd just put you through it anyway. They were entertaining, and were over. They then went to WCW, where they were less entertaining, about the same amount of over and richer. Then came the infamous WWF month, which to this day is still a little confusing. But while the team declined slowly, their rise was interesting. The ECW philosophy, boiled down to two guys from Philly. Entertaining, not the nicest to look at, but violent as hell. And the crowd ate them up. (MS)

Byers: Public Enemy deserves recognition because they were the cloth from which so many other teams were cut. The Gangstas were remade in TPE's image to serve as their greatest rivals. Ring of Honor's Carnage Crew pays homage to Rock & Grunge every time that they have an intense hardcore brawl. Hell, once they made it to the WWF, the Dudley Boys may as well have been Public Enemy Lite. This duo had a huge impact on the wrestling world, but it will unfortunately go unnoticed due to their lengthy run as a mid-card comedy team in WCW.

Rutherford: Personally I think this team is overrated and underrated all at once. You can't underestimate how much they influenced wrestling as a whole with their particular brand of garbage wrestling but the reason they wrestled that way in the first place was because they sucked and they needed to hide that suckage. I don't know if the ends justified the means but they sure as hell could give you an entertaining hardcore match when the mood took them.

Napier: The flagbearers of hardcore tag team wrestling in America.

Melchor: The slogan that Paul Heyman found for them in an edition of Time magazine says it all - The first generation that's more afraid of living than dying. Public Enemy were carefree and fearless; they could modify and spit out some old Hip-Hop lines to make me laugh one moment, and then put their bodies on the line to make me cringe and fear them the next. Had WCW not cut them off at the knees, I felt that could have been this generation's Road Warriors.

Csonka: Vastly underrated by a lot of people. Do yourselves a favor and pick up RF's "Great Promo's – 1994." There are a ton of PE promos and vignettes on there that will rock your face. They ruled in ECW and could probably be ranked a lot higher for the influence that they had on other teams that came after them.


#34: Rock and Sock Connection – 184 Votes
WWF Tag Team Titles – 2 Times
Manger(s): None
Finishing Move: People's Elbow, Mandible Claw

8.4. It's tempting to simply put that number. "This Is Your Life, Rock!", the highlight of this team's short career drew an 8.4 Nielsen Rating, the single highest rating ever for a wrestling program, outside of PPV. But it meant a great deal more than that. Why it may not have led to the big Rock vs. Cactus feud that Mick Foley wanted, it did give us some of the all time greatest moments in the Attitude Era, in terms of comedy. Rock and Foley, two of the most charismatic guys in the business' history, playing off each other brilliantly. The matches were good, but the promos were perfect. It's rare for two main eventers to get thrown together as a team and have it work. Two ME's thrown together, that happens a lot, and while they produce a lot of questionable tag reigns, it also gave us the moments we all love, from Mr. Rocko to Evolution winning at WMXX. They were damn entertaining. And that's what counts. (MS)

Randle: It's The Rock and Mick Foley. You can't have those guys in the same room and not have it be at least moderately entertaining. Originally formed so Foley could put Rock over huge before retiring, it instead became something more. Comprised of two superstars at the height of their popularity, taking place at the height of wrestling's popularity, it couldn't help but be fondly remembered by fans.

Csonka: For entertainment alone I can deal with them being on the list. I generally hate the tossed together teams, but if you didn't enjoy these guys you eat baby kittens. A good placement for them on the list.

Napier: To me, this team epitomizes the "Crash TV" era of WWE programming. I hated the era, I hate this team.

Rutherford: This team is an enduring after effect of the Attitude era and one of the few things about that period that could be transported to any time in modern wrestling history and still be as valid and entertaining. Sure they were all about the entertainment but that was the point, you enjoyed when they were onscreen because they were funny and fun. Considering how stale the tag team scene is today they would be a welcome addition if you ask me.

Byers: Usually wrestling fans don't look fondly on "super-teams" comprised of two singles wrestlers who win the Tag Titles for no good reason. Things were different with the Rock & Sock, though, as Rocky and Foley looked like they were having so much fun with their characters that fans couldn't help but go along for the ride. They may not have been the longest lasting team or the most technically solid team, but people will be talking about them for many years to come based on the chemistry between the two men.

O'Sullivan: You've gotta love it. Is it still the highest rated segment of RAW ever, that whole "this is your life" gag? I don't know, either way they were a hoot. Rocky playing the straight man and Foley trying to be The Rock Mk.II was great, and wrestling aside it was great entertainment. I'm sure Foley's "dozens.............and dozens" of fans would agree.


#33: Strike Force – 197 Votes
WWF Tag Team Champions – 1 Time
Manager(s): None
Finishing Move: Flying Forearm, Boston Crab

Going through these teams it's astounding how many could have been described as "transitional" have managed to stick in ones imagination. Strike Force was born when Tom Zenk left the WWF over a contract dispute and Rick Martel needed a partner, snowballing into a popular team that was used to transfer the WWF Tag Team Titles from The Hart Foundation to Demolition. Their time as a team was barely 18 months but they engaged in two classic feuds with both afore mentioned teams and had a huge hand in getting Demolition set for the big time. While they split at WrestleMania 5 never to re-team we will always have a series of classic matches to remember them by.(SR)

Randle: I swear to God that when I started watching wrestling, I had no idea that these guys were essentially a jobber team, I thought they were cool and should have been champions. Mostly because they had skills that even I at my young age could recognize. Both men went on to fairly decent singles careers (I guess), but I still remember when they were cool.

Napier: Pretty decent in spite of Tito Santana.

Rutherford: They were as thrown together as any team today but Strike Force was a great team for there time. I was heavy into my markdom when these guys defeated the HATED Hart Foundation and I cheered loudly when they did. Today they would be pretty-boy heels and infact they would be a great team to have about now. Either way they ruled when they were around.

Csonka: Out of the ashes of the Can-Am Connection was born Strike Force. I was always a fan of Strike Force and when they were a team they had a great run. When Martell turned on Santana, it was devastating to many of their fans as he walked out at WrestleMania. Glad to see them get some love.



#32: The Fabulous Ones – 203 Votes
NWA Southern Tag Team Champions - 15 Times
United States Florida Tag Team Champions – 2 Times
WCCW Tag Team Champions – 1 Time
Manager(s): None
Finishing Move: The Switcheroo

Until Jerry Lawler came around, nobody in Memphis wrestling was bigger than Jackie Fargo. Though he was primarily a singles star, Fargo was also part of a formidable tag team, bringing in "brothers" Don Fargo and Sonny Fargo to even the odds when the heels had a numbers advantage on him. The Fabulous Ones, comprised of Stan Lane and Steve Keirn, were put together in Memphis for the sole purpose of giving the Fargos a new feud. Though they were definitely less experienced than their opponents, the two men definitely had the credentials to step up and become major players. Stan Lane was the only wrestler in history to have been trained by Ric Flair, and he had already gained experience as a tag team wrestler in Florida as one half of the Blonde Bombers. Keirn had an equally impressive pedigree, learning his craft from the Funks, the Briscos, and Hiro Matsuda. All of the potential was realized when the Fabs feud with the Fargos was a huge success. Yet, despite the fact that they were put together for that one singular purpose, the Fabulous Ones went on to accomplish so much more. In addition to becoming one of the most popular tag teams in Memphis, they also had an impressive run in Florida, including a bloody feud with the Sheepherders and multiple reigns as the Florida Tag Team Champions. Perhaps the most important part of the Fabulous Ones, though, is their legacy. It is in that team that Stan Lane refined his tag team wrestling skills, which he would later apply in helping to found the Heavenly Bodies and in turning the Midnight Express in to a name that is synonymous with excellent tag team wrestling. Furthermore, when the Fabs become incredibly popular in Memphis, it was decided a second team needed to be patterned after their successful formula. Who was that team? Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson, the Rock 'n Roll Express. For what they accomplished in the past and contributed to the future, the Fabulous Ones truly earned their spot on this countdown.(RB)

Napier: Back when Skinner was a pimp, these cats tore Florida up. They were one of the first tag teams to be so cool you couldn't help but like them, regardless of whether they were playing heels or faces. If they had been held back for another year or two, they could have been something big when wrestling went national.

Rutherford: Words cannot begin to describe just how talented these two men were and even more, just how good a team they became. These guys should have been scooped up by Vince just before the expansion and made into one of his top teams. They could play both sides of the crowd and carry any warm body to a fantastic match. For a team so successful during its day they still had so much potential to reach.

Csonka: Keirn and Lane. Stan Lane makes quite a few appearances here on the list, doesn't he? The Fabs weren't the greatest of all time for sure, but they were a damn good team and put on good matches with about everyone. A good placement for them.



#31: Eddy Guerrero & Art Barr (Los Gringos Locos) – 294 Votes
AAA Tag Team Champions - 1 Time
Manager(s):
Finishing Move: Frogsplash

Mistakenly labeled the "Los Gringos Locos" by fans these days, Eddy and Art were actually a part of the Los Gringos Locos stable along with Louie Spicolli and Konnan. Eddy and Art were actually "La Pareja del Terror". They revolutionized the potential for heel tag teams south of the border and north of it, inciting riots and proving that two charismatic heels could main event for a very long time as tag champs. It's a personal belief of mine that Guerrero and Barr paved the way for Degeneration X, and almost had to be the inspiration for much of what ECW did in terms of pushing the envelope with crowd interaction and angles. It's a shame that both of these guys passed away at early ages, because they would have had a tremendous opportunity to thrive in the Attitude Era of the WWF, or in ECW. (GN)

Csonka: Eddie Guerrero and Art Barr were a team that ruled AAA. They had incredible heat and their match with Octagon and El Hijo del Santo at When Worlds Collide. I had heard the rumors of the match, but when I got it finally, I understood the hype. Great team and another "what could have been" question could be asked, as after that PPV they were the hottest tag team in the world that everyone wanted to sign.

Napier: They're both gone too soon, but they were arguably the greatest heel tag team of all time, even if they didn't get recognition in the States.

Rutherford: Death robbed us of the heyday this team deserved but fate always plays a strange hand because if Art Barr didn't pass when he did Eddy may never have become the singles star he was destined to be. I could play "what if" all day but I'm just glad we had this team, even for a short time, because they were a FANTASTIC team and there really was no better at what they did than them.

Melchor: You know, I have yet to see these two in action. Ever. I know something special had to have been there, though by the stories and legend that has come of their exploits since. When I can consider them one of the best and most controversial teams ever to grace Mexico by reputation alone, there had to be something special there. If anyone out there can enlighten me about how great they were by way of some old tapes, please hook a brother up.