The Best of the 411mania Era: The Tag Teams Part 2

Posted by James Thomlison on 06.17.2008

The staff continues it's countdown...

Welcome to Part 2 of the Best of the 411mania.com Era: Tag Teams. If you haven't already, be sure to check out Part 1!

Before we get started, let it be known that MATHEW SFORCINA also VOTED but did not participate. He was mistakenly left off the list yesterday, so thank you for your vote sir!


REVIEW: Let's take a look at the winners we've already announced to this point:

#15: The Eliminators (Perry Saturn & John Kronus) – 62 points

#14: Jushin Liger & Koji Kanemoto – 67 points

#13: The British Bulldog Davey Smith & Owen Hart – 68 points






For your consideration…

2-time NWA World Tag Team Champions

1-time JAPW Tag Team Champions

76 points (Average Vote: 2.82)

Larry Csonka: As a fan of the team and of the TNA tag team division for a lot of the company's run, I was both pleasantly surprised and happy to see that the Latin American Exchange, or LAX for short made the list. The team as it stands today is great and firing on all cylinders, but to say that the team had a rough start would be an understatement.

LAX formed from the ashes of the 4LK, formerly the 3 Live Kru. But when Kip James was brought into the fold, things became explosive and the group as we knew it was no more. Konnan was the aggressor of the split, attacking BG and Kip James at Turning Point 2005. The first incarnation of the group was Konnan, Homicide and Apolo. Unfortunately, Apolo has issues with showing up to work, and was quietly dismissed from the group. Independent worker Machete would be the replacement for Apolo, but that didn't work out either. Thankfully LAX found the winning formula, as Konnan would serve as the group's mouthpeice, while Homicide and Hernandez would do the in ring work.

Once away from the James Boys and Bullet Bob Armstrong feud, the team started to not only click, but to be noticed. They were the anti-establishment team, playing ff of the real life tensions surrounding Illegal Imigration. They would refuse to wrestle, claiming discrimination, Moody Jack, the Sanish announcer would even join them in their cause. The lethal combination of Homicide and Hernandez in the ring, along with Konnan's stellar work on the mic truly set LAX apart from any other tag team in the business at the time. With the team fully being noticed, there time to thrive in a big time feud was here. Their opponents were AJ Styles and Christoher Daniels. From July of 2006 through December of that same year the two teams put together a portfolio of excellent matches. Regular tags, Border Brawls, Ultimate X and Six Sides of Steel; what ever the bout, they always delivered, and in the end LAX stood tall and were recognized as the real deal.

The team would generall ybe booked as heels for the majority of their run, but the popularity of the team would mainly cause the fans to support them. Even when feuding with one of the most decorated tag teams ever in Team 3D, who were faces, they would generally out pop them on a nightly basis. There was no denying that LAX was over. LAX has been the team that has given TNA their Hispanic stars, a very coveted demographic in the world of wrestling. LAX is a much different team then they were when they began. While Homicide and Hernandez are still the prototypical big man/little man team; Konnan is long gone, due to a dispute and pending legal action against the company. Replacing him is Salnas and wrestlign Legend Hector Guerrero. After a year of them puttign ongood matches, with little direction, they have recaptured the tag team titles and are one of the top face acts in the entire company. And whiel they have had a short run in comparison to some of the other teams on the list, what they have accmplished in this short time does need to be noticed. And the scary thing, they appear to be far from finsihed.

Daniel Wilcox: Although their tale has yet to be fully told, Homicide and Hernandez have been exciting wrestling fans for several years now and have emerged as one of the best tag teams in recent wrestling memory. Of course, they benefited from working for a company that actually utilized the good tag teams that they had and let them go out there and tear shit up. I think LAX are one of few teams in recent wrestling history who can claim that they have actually been a major draw for the company that they work for. Without doubt, when Homicide and Hernandez feuded with the outstanding duo of AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels for much of 2006, fans were clamouring to witness the amazing things that they were producing in various match types including Ultimate X and Six Sides of Steel. Those matches will go down in history as some of TNA's best and obviously, a lot of that credit has to go to the Latin American eXchange.

In their early years, LAX were essentially the perfect trio. Homicide provided the explosiveness and dynamism of the team and did things in the ring that one might think to be impossible, while Hernandez, as a big man, brought something that American wrestling audiences aren't really used to, and that's a big guy with talent. Together, they made up a great tag team but it was Konnan as their mouthpiece that really solidified them and also made them great heels. Konnan was a big loss to LAX, but it's a tribute to the talents of Homicide and Hernandez that the team have once again risen to the top of TNA and are one of its most popular attributes. I would even go as far as to say that Homicide and Hernandez make up one of the greatest big man/little man combinations in tag team wrestling history.

Now tag team champions in TNA for the third time and with Hector Guerrero and Salinas by their side, LAX have a long way to go before they are considered one of the greatest tag teams of all time, but time is indeed on their side and they've already laid some foundations for what will no doubt be a pretty impressive legacy. Having competed in memorable bouts with Team 3D, AJ and Daniels and AMW, LAX have excited many a TNA fan and will continue to do so for many years to come. You know how goods these guys are based on the fact that Vince Russo doesn't have them arguing and constantly on the verge of breaking up. They're a valuable asset to the company and one that, when used correctly, will have people paying to see them do what they do best: excite.

Steve Cook: The Latin-American Xchange wasn't exactly a hit when it debuted on December 31, 2005. After turning against his old friends in the 4 Live Kru, Konnan decided that he was going to form his own group to combat them. He recruited Homicide, an independent wrestler that had achieved some fame and gained a cult following in promotions such as Ring of Honor & Full Impact Pro, and Apolo, a guy who had been in and out of TNA several times but was very popular in his homeland of Puerto Rico. They feuded with the James Gang until Apolo got released by TNA for no-showing several events. At that point, Konnan recruited a fellow by the name of Machete, but young Machete wasn't really ready for the spot and LAX was doomed to defeat at the hands of the James Gang. Which led to an especially embarrassing incident where Konnan lost an arm wrestling match to "Bullet" Bob Armstrong & LAX was forced to take a whipping from Bob & his boys. Machete was disposed of by Konnan after several disappointing performances, and finally the right man fit into the third spot and helped LAX become the most over act in TNA for most of 2006. The addition of Hernandez to the group gave LAX the perfect combination of strength and speed that has led so many teams to success in the past, and they have gone on to hold world tag team championships on three separate occasions. Combine that with Konnan's tremendous promo work as a manager throughout 2006 and LAX was able to gain as much attention as anything else going on at the time.

Even though LAX was booked as heels, they managed to gain the respect of most of the TNA fanbase. I remember going to a TNA house show in Louisville in April 2007. While LAX was still being pushed as heels on television in their feud with Team 3D, they still got one of the loudest reactions of the night from the Louisville crowd. TNA knew they had a lot of appeal, which was why they were the ones signing autographs during intermission. LAX has been very instrumental in getting some attention from the Hispanic audience on TNA, and if TNA is smart they will continue to exploit this because the Hispanic audience is just going to get larger and more influential. WWE has tried to do this with Rey Mysterio, Eddie & Chavo Guerrero, but if TNA can continue to showcase LAX as one of the top tag teams in pro wrestling, they will go a long way in getting a foothold in the Hispanic market, which makes up quite a bit of their homebase in Orlando.

The story of LAX has yet to be completed. While Konnan has left TNA due to physical ailments and disagreements with management, Homicide & Hernandez continue to make bigger names for themselves and are currently the TNA World Tag Team Champions as I write this. They have recruited Mexican wrestling legend Hector Guerrero to watch their backs in place of Konnan, and they are also accompanied by Shelly "Salinas" Martinez, one of the most physically attractive valets currently active in pro wrestling. Some of you may think that LAX may be too highly rated right now because they've only been around a short period of time compared to some other tag teams that have arguably drawn more fans, but if we do this again in ten years I bet they'll be even higher on the chart.


For your consideration…

3-time WCW World Tag Team Champions

79 points (Average Vote: 2.93)

Jarrod Westerfeld: The Steiner Brothers is one of the tougher teams to defend on this list considering the cut-off years to place them within the 411mania years. Most of their bigger accomplishments came prior to 1996, and the tandem hadn't reached the same heights of success since Scott's injuries that would transform him into the single's megastar of "Freakzilla". But never the less, the influence these two had still impacted the wrestling world around them as they demonstrated that size didn't have to be a detriment to agility and speed as they managed to utilize, effectively, power and speed to dominate the tag team scene around them. Rolling hot off of the popularity they generated in the early 90's, the Steiner's were still a big commodity to bank upon for a tag team division for any company and they were still effective in their game plans despite getting up there in age. Fans were still enamored with these two men, Rick for his character that was of a sillier but still menacing light hearted character, and Scott who was the clean cut All-American pro that many of us idolized to have become. They were the lovable tag team unit that could do no wrong and were the true Boy Scout's before John Cena dawned his Marine fatigues, and they did it in a way that never turned the fans off to them. The shock of turn when Scott returned with a different look and attitude was something that signified the end of this relationship that would only come back to life recently within the ranks of TNA as Rick joined the side of his brother once more to clash with the only rivals they had never competed and bested in the Dudley Boyz/Team 3D. But long before the stardom of Scott could split up the tandem, from 1996 and on, they managed to capture WCW Tag Team gold 3 times, the first of which in 1996 came on July 26, 1996. Couple this up with previous wins of the NWA/WCW World Tag Team titles and they were sitting on 7 reigns. The brothers would also trade off the gold with their rivals, The Outsider's Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, a feud that helped to keep interest within WCW along with the on-going build of Sting and Hulk Hogan's ultimate clash. Upon their reunion, they would go on to claim the NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship on December 9, 2006. The initial return saw the two defeat the likes of Matt Bentley and Frankie Kazarian and Team 3D. Within TNA, though they never won gold there, they did help further cement the acclaim that they were amongst the greatest tag team within the industry, if not the best, by defeating the highly acclaimed Team 3D at Hard Justice 2007 and again in a best 2 out of 3 falls table match at Bound for Glory 2007. Though their run in TNA started off as heels, the team would undergo a dramatic change after Scott's injury in Puerto Rico left him with a life threatening scare. The two would come full circle and end their current tenure together on the page that started their string of hot success and catapulted them into the stratosphere of greatness, as the tandem that stood by strong virtues and all that is good and wholesome. The team will mostly be remembered for all they accomplished and all they did for the image of big men wrestlers.

Gavin Napier: Depending on who you ask, The Steiner Brothers are either the greatest tag team ever or the greatest tag team of the 1990s. Either way, they've built a legacy that won't soon be matched given the current landscape of tag team wrestling. Their resume is full of tag team championships and high profile wins that would be the envy of any professional wrestler from their era.

Rick was already established in the NWA in the late 1980s. He had some success in territories like Florida and in the Bill Watts version of the UWF. In the NWA, he had been a part of Kevin Sullivan's Varsity Club before making a face turn that can be likened to a less exaggerated Eugene. He was a man without a partner, but that changed in 1989. His brother, little Scotty Steiner, came to the rescue. Fresh from a tour de force in the CWA, the brothers immediately clicked - both in the ring and with fans.

Several factors accounted for the Steiners' popularity during their early run as a tag team. The fact that they were almost immediately pushed to the moon didn't hurt. When a young face team is given wins over high profile heel teams, they're going to either be loved or suffer Rocky Maivia syndrome. The Steiners were loved. They were catapulted into the upper tier of the face roster in 1989 NWA, aligning themselves with Sting, Junkyard Dog, and (shudder) El Gigante. Running with those guys was kind of like running with Dusty in 1986. Then there was their style of wrestling. Scott Steiner introduced a version of the huracanrana to a vast majority of the American wrestling public, calling it the "Frankensteiner". For those of you too young to remember, trust me - in 1989/1990, that was a breathtaking move. Throw in a tilt-a-whirl suplex, the rarely used Blockbuster, and Rick's devastating clotheslines and you had a crowd pleasing style. The Steiner Brothers' feud with Doom along with the Flair vs. Sting programs helped to carry the NWA to a brief resurgence in 1990 and 1991 before Jim Herd would nearly kill the thing.

Once established, the Steiner Brothers quickly became among the most decorated tag teams in professional wrestling history. They are 6 time NWA/WCW World tag team champions, with three of those reigns coming in the pre-n.W.o. days when tag team wrestling meant something in WCW. They are three time WWF/E tag team champions, with one of those reigns accounted for by a "phantom" title change at a house show with Money Inc. They held the NWA United States Tag Team titles, which given their lineage (and the fact that they held both the US and World titles at the same time) is a nice accomplishment. They are also two time IWGP tag team champions, making them the only team in history to hold the NWA/WCW, WWF/E, and IWGP world tag team titles.

The Freebirds. Doom. The Skyscrapers. Hiroshi Hase and Kensuke Sasake. Sting and Lex Luger. Chono and Hase. Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton. Big Van Vader and Bam Bam Bigelow. Terry Gordy and Steve Williams. The Samoan Swat Team. Money, Inc. The Quebecers. The Heavenly Bodies. The Nasty Boys. The Road Warriors. Harlem Heat. The Outsiders. Masa Chono and The Great Muta. Public Enemy. The Midnight Express. The Dudleys.

That's a partial list of the teams the Steiner Brothers have defeated. It's a who's who not just of tag team wrestling of the 1990's, but of tag team wrestling in general. The Steiner Brothers' legacy will live long past Rick barking like a dog and Scott wearing chain mail while butchering the English language. They bridged a gap in tag team wrestling from the era of the Road Warriors to the era of TLC. They innovated, excelled, and dominated for the better part of a decade and have earned their place alongside the greatest teams of all time.

Shawn S. Lealos: Rick Steiner was already a tag team superstar before he ever teamed with his brother. He started off with a similar styled wrestler in the late Buzz Sawyer before becoming a charter member of Hot Stuff International. While in Hot Stuff International, he would form a championship tag team with Sting before the UWF finally folded. When he entered the NWA, he joined Kevin Sullivan's Varsity Club with Mike Rotunda and Steve Williams and continued to wrestle in the tag team division. In 1988, the Steiner brothers finally teamed up, becoming one of the most dominant teams in the world. They would win the NWA World Tag Team Championship from The Freebirds and the U.S. Tag Team Championship from The Midnight Express before travelling to the WWF and winning their World Tag Team titles after that. They also established themselves as stars in Japan, winning the NJPW Tag Team titles on two separate occasions.

However, this feature is about what they have done during the 411mania era. As one of the greatest tag teams in the history of the sport, their best days were not behind them when WCW began its triumphant run over the WWF. When the nWo began to dominate the WCW, the Steiner brothers were the first team to step up to the plate and fight back. Before those battles with the nWo, The Steiners had continued to build their reputation with a great feud with a new powerful tag team called Harlem Heat. These two teams would have some great battles, trading the titles between them.

When the nWo began its domination, the Steiner brothers stood by Sting to face the new challenge. When Sting eventually went into the rafters, the Steiners were all that seemed to remain of the top tier WCW fan favorites remaining standing against the new force. They would win their fifth tag team titles against The Outsiders before quickly losing them back. They would win the titles a few more times, but have them stripped by Eric Bischoff and returned to The Outsiders. It was a never enduing uphill battle, but the Steiners remained strong and always proved to be up to the task at hand. Next to the Horsemen, they were the best hope for WCW in the war against the nWo.

That was until Scott Steiner turned his back on his brother and joined the nWo, effectively ending WCW's greatest tag team. Recently, they reformed for a short stint in TNA and defeated Team 3D in a nice feud, effectively proving they were indeed the most dominant tag team in the sport. Unlike many teams on this list, The Steiners achieved most of their success prior to the 411mania era, but continued to not only be strong into the formative years of this site, but also proved in the last year to be the best of the best.

One can't overlook the importance of the tag team before this era when determining their place in history. They have beaten a who's who of great tag teams including The Freebirds, The Midnight Express, The Skyscrapers, Doom, The Road Warriors, The Nasty Boys, Sting and Lex Luger, The Four Horsemen, The Headshrinkers, Money Inc, Harlem Heat, The Outsiders, Public Enemy and the Dudley Boys. They have held titles in the NWA, WCW, WWF and Japan. They have been successful everywhere they have wrestled and while they were reaching the end of their run in this specific era, they are arguably still the greatest tag team to ever wrestle in any era.



For your consideration…

3-time CMLL World Tag Team Champions

92 points (Average Vote: 3.41)

Jarrod Westerfeld: Many teams are formulated on success through their training and Los Guerreros de Infierno [former] stable mates, Último Guerrero and Rey Bucanero were certainly no exception. Both started their careers down separate paths in 1990 and 1991, respectively, which would reach the same fate, ultimately, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre [CMLL] and a win in the Gran Alternativa tournament, a tournament that signaled great things for them – think of it in terms of WWE's Money in the Bank or the way you perceived the King of the Ring pay-per-views in terms of an inevitable push for young talents. With Rey Bucanero taking the honor in 1996 and a spot in WWE's briefly lived Telemundo project, Los Super Astros, and Último Guerrero being the man responsible for unmasking Mr. Águila, who had worked in WWE unmasked as Essa Ríos, after jumping out of the sinking ship Promo Azteca promotion. The two had seen failures in singles roles with Último Guerrero would win cybernético to become the number one contender to Great Sasuke's NWA World Middleweight Championship in a losing contest, while Rey Bucanero would be involved in Ruleta de la Muerte tournament where the finalists who lost the tournament would contest in a mask vs. mask contest as their punishment. Bucanero and his partner Shocker would end up losing in the last round of the tournament and contest in a mask vs. mask match in which Shocker would win, leaving Bucanero to damask. The two would first team up under Satánica to form the stable known as Los Nuevos and would start to see the light of a push for bigger things in 2000. Winning a tournament to crown new champions to the vacated CMLL Campeonato Mundial de Parejas, or World Tag Team Championship, as they would defeat in the final round Mr. Niebla and the substitute for Emilio Charles Jr. Villano IV on August 4, 2000 they would go on to defend the titles successfully 17 different times against opponents such as Dr. Wagner and LA Park, Tony Rivera and his partners of Mr. Niebla and Tarzan Boy, and 6 straight title defenses against El Averno and Satánica before losing the titles on November 2, 2001 to El Hijo Del Santo and Negro Casas. Leading into those bouts with their former leader of Los Nuevos was when Bucanero and Guerrero had turned on Satánica to help Tarzan Boy score a victory over him in singles action and would thus form the trio under the stable name of Los Infernales. They would then feud with Satánica, Fuerza Guerrera, Black Warrior, [El] Averno and Mephisto over the Infernales name sake. With Guerrero and Bucanero's unit losing the battle they would adopt the name of Los Guerreros de Infierno and continue their success once again regaining the Campeonato Mundial de Parejas from those whom they lost the titles to in the first place on May 31, 2002. They would hold the titles nearly as long as they previous had, though with fewer title defenses (8) dropping the titles to Shocker and LA Park on September 19, 2003. They would capture the titles once more, but with little success as Bucanero would suffer a knee injury in 2004, capturing the titles from Shocker and LA Park in their first title defense on March 19, 2004, losing the titles immediately on their second title defense to Atlantis and Blue Panther June 25, 2004. Combined they are unparallel as their three title reigns, alone, equate to 1,155 days. This in a field, and in a promotion where tag team champions never share the same partner barring a very select and elite few and even those men can't come close to the strength that was Los Guerreros de Infierno. Now they find success apart from one another, Bucanero a face and Guerrero continuing to find tag team success and sharing tag gold with new partner Atlantis. It is only fitting they get a mention considering their success in the rough world of lucha libre.

Stuart James: To mainstream American fans, this team may not be very well known if you are not a fan of Lucha Libre. However the team of Ultimo Guerrero and Rey Bucanero are widely acclaimed as having some of the best, most exciting tag team matches of this millennium, revolutionising tag team wrestling in Lucha Libre circles, paving way for teams such as Mistico and Necro Casas, and being a huge draw for CMLL.

The team debuted in 2000, and were pushed hard, winning a tag team tournament to claim the vacated CMLL tag team championships previously held by El Hijo Del Santo and Necro Casas. Their popularity escalated after a string of great matches in the tournament, and began to get noticed as something truly special, with unlimited potential. As a result, they got to hold the CMLL tag team titles for fifteen months, before losing to the same team that previously held the titles, in another stellar match.

Their reign as champions the first time may have been impressive, as they recorded many successful defences against a variety of different teams, with fresh and innovative matches every time they came out to wrestle. Their Lucha style led them to win the CMLL tag team titles three times together, which may not sound too impressive, however they have held them for 38 months in four years and, as one of the most frequently defended titles in the world that is a great feat. Their drawing power couldn't be matched until they disbanded.

Their heel style of wrestling was been able to generate great heat from the fans that watched them, and Guerrero and Bucanero simply oozed charisma. Their talents made most teams that faced them look just as talented as the Los Guerreros team themselves. Their unique style of tag team wrestling, which consisted of hard hitting power moves and traditional Lucha Libre, which meant that they could adapt their style to complement both their opponents and themselves.

Subsequently, their drawing power made them one of the most successful tag teams in wrestling, and definitely in Mexico. Some argue that, until Mistico came along, they were the highest drawing people in Mexico for nearly a decade, and that fans would eagerly tune in to CMLL just to see Los Guerreros. Furthermore, this made Los Guerreros one of the most popular and renowned tag teams in Lucha history, out shadowing even legends such as El Hijo and Necro Casas.

Los Guerreros will probably always be remembered, perhaps not by mainstream American fans, but by fans of Lucha Libre as the best tag team ever to compete in Lucha Libre matches, and one of the greatest tag teams ever in all of wrestling.

Larry Csonka: The good thing about limiting this feature to the "411 Era" is that I feel it not only fits the site's demographic, writer wise and reader wise, but that it was easier to narrow down what teams I selected as my top 15. While I don't get to watch it as often as I would like, I am a huge LUCHA fan. So when it came to nominating teams and finalizing my top 15, one tag team from CMLL was a must have for me, and that Los Guerreros del Inferno. Ultimo Guerrero and Rey Bucanero make up this team, and when I first found these guys in 2000; I was instantly a fan of these guys. CMLL wasted no time in making Los Guerreros del Inferno a force to be dealt with as they almost immediately won a tag team tournament, which earned them the vacated CMLL tag team championships. These titles were previously held by El Hijo Del Santo and Necro Casas, and with Los Guerreros del Inferno winning the belts, that may as well been a stamp of approval for them as they became insanely over.

With the tag title win, they embarked on a big run as champions, with roughly 17 defenses of those titles. That was until they lost the titles back to the former champions El Hijo Del Santo and Necro Casas in 2001. But you can never keep a good team down, because Los Guerreros del Inferno continued to thrive in CMLL, and in 2002 they would take the titles back from El Hijo Del Santo and Necro Casas. This would again lead to a long run as champions, and while there were less defenses, the team was cutting their own path in CMLL and in the history books as the champions. They would rack up 1,155 days as champions, in three title runs, which drew HUGE for CMLL. The only thing that stopped them from more was the knee injury to Bucanero, because if that hadn't happened, I feel that they would have racked up even more days as champions.

Ultimo Guerrero and Rey Bucanero started in the early 1990's and had string careers as singles wrestlers, but nearly 10-years into their careers they chose the path of a tag team. Furthermore, they just didn't succeed at it, they were able to hang and eventually be seen as equals with the likes of El Hijo Del Santo and Necro Casas. All to often the wrestling business is talked about as a selfish business, and as time has gone on one thing that has suffered from this selfishness, and bad booking, are the ranks of tag team wrestling. Fans of the 1980's, myself included are constantly wondering where our tag team wrestling went. But in a time where the tag team ranks were not seen as important, Ultimo Guerrero and Rey Bucanero; Los Guerreros del Inferno proved many wrong by not only succeeding as a team, but proving that even in the year 2000 and beyond that a tag team can be your top act, and more importantly your top money draw. And THAT is why they should be and are being recognized as one of the best tag teams of the 411 era.


Where we stand:





CONTINUE TO PART 3!