Hitting Below The Beltway 12.02.07: Tag Team Edition
Posted by Alex Barcham on 12.02.2007
In this week’s edition I’m ranking the top tag teams in WWE, TNA and ROH from best to worst.
In this week's edition I'm going to be ranking the top tag teams in WWE, TNA and ROH. These rankings are not in kayfabe, but rather an analysis of the talent and booking of the teams. I'm not including any teams from the smaller indies or Japan, because I simply haven't seen enough of them, though teams like the Black and the Brave, the North Star Express and Tomko and Giant Bernard would likely rank pretty high. This list only includes current, regular teams. Since MVP and Matt Hardy broke up they will not be included, but they probably would have been in the top 8.
No Stars
21. VKM – The Road Dogg Jesse James and Billy Gunn were fairly entertaining back in the 90's as the New Age Outlaws, but in 2007 these guys are just awful. They were never especially good in the ring, but whatever skills they had have totally degenerated. I've yet to see them have a single good match during their entire TNA tenure. BG James is good on the mic, but he's been saying the exact same thing for the past 10 years and no one cares anymore. After undeservedly squashing a bunch of much more talented teams like LAX and the Motor City Machine Guns, VKM have recently moved on to primarily spending their time managing Roxy Levaeu, a middle of the pack women's wrestler. This is a decent spot for them as it keeps them from putting on terrible matches and burying up-and-comers, except that it makes no sense for them to be managing a female wrestler after they had an entire feud with Christy Hemme based on the fact that they don't respect women's wrestling or women in general.
20. Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Supercrazy – It was a tough choice whether to put these guys or the VKM as the worst team in the Big 3 promotions. I decided to give Hacksaw and Supercrazy the rub, since Supercrazy can still perform in the ring and Duggan still gets a crowd reaction for some reason. The pairing of these two guys makes absolutely no sense. Their "Hooo" vs "Siii" chants just waste air time. Duggan doesn't belong in a WWE ring at this point in his career.
One Star
19. The Major Brothers – The Majors are athletic young guys with some potential, but they aren't very good right now. They lack any sort of personality and come off as very generic. They've got the talent necessary to improve into big time guys, but the reports of their attitudes backstage are very discouraging. These guys are not in any sort of position to be blowing off Robert Gibson, one of the greatest tag team wrestlers of all time. Gibson is a guy who could really help them improve and disrespecting highly-regarded veterans is just going to get them in trouble with management.
18. Deuce and Domino - Deuce and Domino have a terrible gimmick, but at least they seem to be really into it. I really can't bring myself to care about these guys. I still have not become interested enough in them to learn which one is Deuce and which one is Domino, even though they've been on Smackdown for a year. It pissed me off when they took the titles off of London and Kendrick and I loved it when MVP and Matt Hardy took the belts off of them; that may be a sign of them being good heels, but it seems like they have more X-Pac heat than good heat. I'm putting them ahead of the Majors, because at least they're trying to improve.
One and ½ Stars
17. The Highlanders – The Highlanders really seem to just be filling space on the roster, but they're not as actively offensive as Deuce and Domino. They looked to be getting a small push as heels recently, but that seems to be fading away. I like them better as heels than I did as faces. As heels, they've shown some toughness and intensity. As faces, they were mostly just annoying. The Highlanders come off as bad-asses when they're allowed to be competitive, but they've been squashed too many times for me to really buy into them. The Scot Drop is a pretty cool tag team finisher at least.
16. Jimmy Rave and Lance Hoyt – Another make shift tag team with no real logic behind their pairing. Rave had a good run in ROH as a part of the Embassy, but his blandness became very obvious once Prince Nana left the promotion. Two years ago, Lance Hoyt seemed to have a lot of potential. He's got a ton of athleticism for a man of his size, but he shown much improvement since he debuted. Being a huge guy who can do a moonsault has lost its novelty. Neither one is bad and they work fairly well together, but TNA hasn't given me any reason to care about them yet. They didn't deserve to beat LAX on Impact two weeks ago, but it was still a good match.
Two Stars
15. Jesse and Festus – I can't put these guys much higher, simply based on how short of a time they've been around. They've got a silly gimmick, but at least it's kind of fun. Jesse is a pretty good wrestler and does a good job playing the role of Festus' keeper. They had a good match on ECW last week against the Miz and John Morrison. I'm kind of amazed that WWE has a wrestler whose gimmick is roughly based on the literature of John Steinbeck, but Festus might as well be asking Jesse if he can tend the rabbits. Let's just hope Festus doesn't pet any of the Divas too hard. I'd hate to see Jesse have to put him down.
Two and ½ Stars
14. Team 3D – Team 3D doesn't do much for me anymore. The storyline of them trying to destroy the X-Division would be fine, except that they're being way too successful. They've destroyed just about everyone in the X-Division including their champion Jay Lethal. They gave the Motor City Machine Guns a nice rub and put on a solid match at Genesis, but immediately got their heat back by beating down Lethal and Dutt. D-Von still looks pretty jacked, but Brother Ray is severely out of shape at this point and isn't a good worker. These guys aren't a big draw anymore and shouldn't be burying younger talents.
13. The Steiner Brothers – The Steiners are another TNA team that have fallen a long way from their former greatness. These guys were once the best in the world, but age, injuries and too many steroids have taken their toll on them. Rick Steiner may have the worst ring gear in all of wrestling right now; he really needs to ditch that light blue singlet. Scott at least still looks badass and can cut a great promo. The Steiners turned face during their feud with Team 3D, but they really should be heels. Scott just comes off as such a jerk regardless what side of the moral spectrum he's on. The promo he cut on the backstage interview girl on Impact a couple of weeks ago (I believe it was Leticia), calling her a slut, would have been pretty good if he was a heel, but just it came off as random and mean from a face. The Steiners can still work a decent match, but they're a shell of their former selves.
12. Hardcore Holly/Cody Rhodes – I really like the grizzled veteran/eager newcomer dynamic between these two. Both guys are pretty good in the ring, though neither is great on the mic. Holly gets more hate than he deserves from the IWC. He never has/never will be a star, but he's a solid veteran worker and can put on a pretty good match. Rhodes has the potential reach the stardom that Holly never did. He's pretty green, but he's shown a lot of potential and athleticism. He hasn't gotten much of a chance on the mic yet, but he's shown some natural charisma as a plucky young babyface trying to earn Holly's respect. This could become a very interesting mid-card storyline as long as they stop teaming with Duggan and Super Crazy.
Three Stars
11. Brent Albright and BJ Whitmer – Teaming together under the leadership of Adam Pearce is a good role for Whitmer and Albright. They're good workers who lack significant charisma or mic skills. Pearce is a great mouthpiece who provides these guys with some much needed personality. At Glory By Honor VI: Night 1, in their match with Kevin Steen and El Generico, they showed that they can put on a really good match with a flashier babyface opponent. They did an excellent job playing the tough, hard hitting heels. I wouldn't be surprised to see these guys, along with Pearce, win the upcoming ROH Trios Tournament and move into a bigger role.
10. The Miz/John Morrison – I wouldn't include these two as a real team, except that they happen to be the WWE Tag Team champions, taking over for Matt Hardy and MVP as the WWE's resident mismatched tag team. They're both incredibly cocky heels so they fit together well. As a member of MNM, Morrison showed that he is an excellent tag team wrestler. It looks like these guys could be teaming together for a while since Shelton Benjamin is moving into the role of CM Punk's top challenger. They've shown some good chemistry in their time together and should be a nice mid-card act on ECW and Smackdown.
9. Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch aka The Redneck Wrecking Crew – While not the most spectacular team, Cade and Murdoch are a nice addition to the Raw roster. I'd rather see London and Kendrick as the World Tag Team champions, but these guys have been very solid. It's unfortunate that they've gotten squashed by HHH and others a few times, because they could be believably build up as a dominant tag team. One of the things that I really like about Cade and Murdoch is that while they are supposed to be cowboys, they play the gimmick much more realistically than the Smoking Gunns did back in the 90's. They're not cartoon cowboys carrying around six shooters or lassos, but they're believable as good old boy Texas rednecks.
Three and ½ Stars
8. The No Remorse Corps – This could be any combination of Roderick Strong, Davey Richards and Rocky Romero. They're all good singles wrestlers and work about equally well as team. They all fit in well with the NRC's hard hitting, tough-guy jock image. The NRC have been booked strong, but their momentum has stalled a bit lately without the Resilience around for them to beat up. I'm not expecting them to beat the Briscoes for the ROH Tag Team titles this weekend, but it should be a good match.
7. Jimmy Jacobs/Tyler Black – I've seen Jacobs and Black live a couple of times and they were very impressive both times. People seem to either love or hate the Age of the Fall gimmick, but it's hard to deny how good these guys are in the ring. Jacobs has come a long way from his beginnings in ROH as the plucky underdog. He now comes off as a legitimate threat to bigger wrestlers. Tyler Black is someone I haven't seen all that much of, but every match of his I see makes me like him more. He's got some incredible moves and natural charisma. It doesn't hurt that Jacobs and Black have the Necro Butcher as their back-up. Jacobs and Black have some nasty double team moves and one of the best gimmicks in wrestling right now.
Four Stars
6. Paul London and Brian Kendrick – It's shame these guys have gotten jobbed out so badly lately, because they're an excellent team. I'd put them higher based solely on their talent, but the infrequency with which they're allowed to have a decent length match drops them down a bit. They had a great run as WWE Tag Team Champions and were a weekly highlight on Smackdown. Their victories over MNM and the Hardyz established them as top team, but that's gone by the wayside since they left Smackdown. They've been lost in the shuffle on Raw, but still provide some excitement when given an opportunity. They bring a ton of energy to every match they're in. London and Kendrick are both outstanding technical and highflying wrestlers as they've shown in ROH, the indies and Japan.
5. AJ Styles and Tyson Tomko – I have mixed feelings towards the team of AJ Styles and Tomko. AJ Styles deserves to be a top singles star in TNA. He's the most exciting wrestler in the company and could be a huge draw if pushed right. At the same time, the team of Styles and Tomko is incredibly entertaining. AJ had me laughing all throughout Thursday's episode of Impact. Tomko does a good job playing the quiet tough guy who has to put up with AJ's shenanigans. They also work together very well in the ring, playing off each other's respective strengths. Tomko has improved a great deal since his time in WWE. I wish Styles wasn't being made to look like a chump in the ring, because he's incredibly gifted. I'm really enjoying these guys, but I'm concerned that AJ Styles is going to wind up becoming the new Eric Young.
Four and ½ Stars
4. LAX – Homicide and Hernandez are similar to London and Kendrick in that they've both been great when given the opportunity, but have been pushed to the back burner lately. TNA seems to have lost interest in LAX since Konnan left. There's no doubt that Konnan was a key part of LAX, drawing the team a ton of heat with his mic skills, but LAX are still a great team without him. They work well as either faces or heels depending on the situation. They've got a nice balance in the ring. Homicide can fly, brawl or have a technical masterpiece and Hernandez is a good worker and incredible athlete for his size. They had some tremendous matches against Styles and Daniels and AMW when they burst onto the TNA scene. Given another push these guys could give a big boost to the TNA tag scene.
3. The Motor City Machine Guns – After discussing one team that's been wasted by TNA management, I immediately find myself talking about another. The Motor City Machine Guns seem to finally be getting a push in TNA after being buried by the likes of VKM and the Steiners for months. It was great to see them get a clean win over Team 3D in a lengthy match at Genesis. Hopefully, they won't get buried again in their tables match this weekend at Turning Point. Shelley and Sabin work so well together, which isn't surprising given that they came up in the business together and have worked each other so many times both as teammates and opponents. Shelley has a ton of charisma and mic skills. Teaming with Shelley helps the sometimes personality-less, but highly talented Sabin. Their match with the Briscoes at Good Times, Great Memories was one of the best of the year.
2. Kevin Steen and El Generico – Steen and Generico were far and away the best addition to Ring of Honor in 2007. Their feud with the Briscoes was ROH's feud of the year. They had an absolutely brutal street fight and Death Before Dishonor V: Night 1 and I can't wait to seem them surpass it at Man Up. They have a similar dynamic to Styles and Tomko, with Generico playing the goofy smaller guy to Steen's bad ass big man. Steen's awesomeness gives these guys the edge over Styles and Tomko. Steen has been tremendous in ROH this year. He's done a great job in his role as the schoolyard bully. Steen and Generico do a great job mixing bits of comedy in with their insane brawls. It looks like Steen may be taking a reduced schedule after the birth of his first child. I wish him the best of luck with that, but hope he comes back to ROH full-time as he is one of my favorite things about the company right now.
Five Stars
1. The Briscoes – It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone to see the Briscoes at the top of the list, especially coming from an ROH mark like myself. The Briscoes are the best thing going in ROH right now and probably in all of pro-wrestling. They haven't had one truly bad match during their entire second run in ROH. They just came off an awesome and brutal feud with Kevin Steen and El Generico. During their most recent title run they've had outstanding defenses against the Kings of Wrestling, the No Remorse Corps, the Age of the Fall, the Motor City Machine Guns and many others. No other team works together as fluidly together as these two or has as strong and varied an arsenal of double team moves. Their consistency is remarkable; nearly every ROH show in the past year and a half has a Briscoes match that I really want to see. They've improved a lot since their ROH debut; they're no longer so reliant on head-drops and they've developed more distinct personalities. MAN UP!
