From the Bowery: WWE Countdown: Greatest Tag Teams

From the Bowery: WWE Countdown: Greatest Tag Teams

-Back once again after a 2 week hiatus due to Warrior Week and Hall of Fame Week. This topic should prove interesting as previously it was just fluff topics, but now we have something meaty with greatest tag teams. This should provide a lot of discussion depending on who makes or misses the cut.

-The talking heads discuss what a tag team is, and they show the joining of the Mega Powers and Rated RKO. Jericho says it is all about chemistry and how the best tag teams ride together, eat together, and know each other better than anyone else. They discuss tag partners that hated each other and Cena discusses the reign he had a tag champions with Shawn Michaels as they headed towards WrestleMania XXIII.

10: The Fabulous Freebirds

-I am shocked they actually made this list just because I am stunned the WWE’s target audience would actually vote for them. In this case they discuss the original 3 man team of Hayes, Gordy, and Roberts. They put over the toughness of Gordy, the talking and charisma of Hayes, and how Roberts would bump around like crazy. Shawn and Austin, being native Texans, put over the feud with The Von Erich Family and Austin mentions that rivalry made him realize he wanted to be a wrestler. Sadly they don’t cover the theme music. Hayes says it is an honor to be in the top 10 even if he thinks they should be number 1.

9: Demolition

-Hacksaw thinks they should be top 5, and Kofi mentions he was a fan as well. Bryan says they were scary and he had a friend that had nightmares about Demolition chasing him. Jericho says they were cool because they were a Road Warriors rip-off. He does mention they had one of the greatest theme songs ever and man has a hell of point there. That song will be stuck in my head for days now. They discuss Fuji being the manger and how he made them seem even more sinister. We get footage from Mania IV when they upset Strike Force for the tag titles. They held the titles for 16 months and that record stands to this day which is even more impressive considering the tag teams in the WWF at that time. Daniel Bryan says it simply: they beat people up and that was cool!

8: The Rockers

-Natalya calls them fun to watch and you can tell by how excited he is talking about them that The Miz was a huge fan. Shawn shows up and says that the first thing that made them different was they weren’t very big. Bret calls Shawn one of the best athletes to ever put on wrestling tights. He then discusses the matches the Rockers had with the Hart Foundation and how they would tear the hose down. Miz mentions he and a friend would pretend to be them and Miz was always Jannetty. Yet, I guess he ends up being the Shawn of his team with Morrison. Shawn says he will always have that bond with Marty and Jericho says they were one of his favorite teams of all time.

7: The British Bulldogs

-More from Jericho as he is all over this list and he mentions how awesome they were and how he loved their accents. Bret puts over how their style helped change the business and Foley shows up to discuss his 2nd match ever being against the Bulldogs and how they beat the hell out of him. They discuss and show the Bulldogs winning the Tag Titles at Mania 2 and how they were the best team in the World at that point. Talk shifts to their mascot Matilda and Jericho talks shit on the poor dog. Screw you Jericho, Matilda was awesome! Jericho wanted to be the 3rd British Bulldog as a kid and waited outside arenas hoping they would take him. Bret thinks they may be the greatest tag team of all time.

6: The Dudley Boyz

-Just based on in ring achievements and titles held, these two should probably be a lot higher. They are the only team to ever win the WCW (WWE Version), ECW, WWF, NWA, and TNA Tag Team Titles. Dreamer is here to discuss how they nearly caused a riot before their match by insulting the crowd and Heyman says they were perfect assholes. They talk about 3D and Miz calls it the greatest tag finisher ever and then we hear about the tables. Rikishi wonders why D-Von always had to get the table, and Striker still wishes he could put someone through a table. Dreamer calls the greatest tag team and again, just based on title reigns and accomplishments it is hard to argue.

-The countdown is recapped before we get to the Top 5.

5: The Rock and Sock Connection

-Ok, now we have some issues with this one. Sure they were entertaining as hell, but I would bet neither man would think they deserve to be on this list. Obviously the key thing with this team is how completely different they were in just about every regard, yet they played off each other so perfectly. They were the ultimate odd couple and it especially worked with their backstage segments and in interviews. Now in ring wise, they didn’t have anything memorable (best match was probably Mania XX vs Evolution). They won the Tag Titles from another thrown together super team in Show and Undertaker. That was an issue back in the Attitude Era as they would toss together 2 top level guys to give them something to do while not feuding for the WWF Title and they would be so unbeatable they would need to form another team of top level guys to get the titles off them. Thankfully the Hardyz, Dudleyz, and Edge and Christian came along to save things. Naturally they have to discuss “This is Your Life”, which is still the highest rated segment in RAW history. Again, tremendously entertaining, but in no way a Top 5 Tag Team of All Time.

4: The New Age Outlaws

-Holy piss is this countdown taking a jump off a cliff, as again, Outlaws were great for their era, but damn to say only 3 teams in history were better than them is insane. They discuss how they were thrown together and Billy mentions they were so opposite from each other outside the ring. Dogg mentions the Dumpster match at Mania XIV is one the things that helped make them in the WWF, and some of the talking heads mention that was the defining moment for them. They then get added to DX and the rest is history as they were a perfect fit for the group. Daniel Bryan does his version of their entrance and that truly became the highlight of their matches in the later years and then in their run in the last 6 months or so.

-We take a break to discuss a Divas tag team and in this case: LayCool. Their act was kind of fun at times and I know there was an issue with some thinking they were stealing from the Beautiful People in TNA. They include Mae calling them sluts and it’s still funny! All respect to the ladies but on a countdown of top 10 teams we are really giving a small shout-out to LayCool when some heavy hitting teams haven’t even been touched on and won’t crack this list.

3: Edge and Christian

-The Brood is mentioned and it gives us a chance to see the entrance and hear the kick ass theme music. Miz calls them the fun, goof-ball team and how they would make fun of every city. Much like Rock and Sock they were also extremely entertaining in their backstage segments (especially with Angle), but they had more than enough great matches that are still remembered to this day. Sandow calls them long haired hippies that were jumping off ladders and flying through tables. Awesome! Mania X-7 is discussed and damn right we get the mother of all spears with Edge breaking Jeff Hardy in half. Trish calls them innovators and easily a top 10 team.

2: The Hardy Boyz

-Again, I love all 3 teams that rebuilt the tag division in the early 2000s, but wow are we missing a lot of teams. They discuss their early days in the WWF including a spectacular botch by Jeff where he slips off the top rope on an episode of Shotgun Saturday night. Then No Mercy 99 happened and the Hardyz (along with Edge and Christian) were made into stars with the T.I.T. Ladder Match. That match was insanely awesome and led to the Triangle Ladder Match at Mania 2000. JBL mentions that the boys in the back were literally watching to see if Jeff was going to kill himself. Wow! The addition of Lita is discussed and she was the Diva version of the Hardy Boyz. TLC I is discussed next and again, they just kept raising the bar until stuff got so crazy there was no point in trying without killing yourself. They helped usher in a new golden age of tag wrestling in the WWE.

-Recap of the previous entries to this point.

1: The Road Warriors

-So, so many teams passed over on this list and off all the ones I have reviewed, this one was butchered by the fans. Anyway, The Road Warriors were an easy choice to be included on this list and I won’t knock them being #1 even if I wouldn’t have put them there. Heyman calls them the most famous tag team on the planet and it’s kind of hard to argue that one. Daniel Bryan calls them the toughest dudes he has ever seen in his life just based on their look and you knew the other team was screwed. Heyman calls Hawk psycho and Animal looked like someone who would rip your head off. Animal mentions they held all the titles they could and it won’t be done again (even though the Dudley Boys did the same as they held every tag title they could), but I know he means they were first and only team to win the NWA, AWA, and WWF Tag Titles. Bret gives them his vote for the greatest of all time.

The 411: Well, this list just kind of sucked. Again, Road Warriors at #1 isn't really an issue as I can buy that even if I wouldn't have voted them there. With that said, where the hell were any of these teams: The Steiner Brothers, The Rock N Roll Express, The Hart Foundation, Harlem Heat, The Outsiders, The Horsemen, among others? The biggest beef for me was Rock and Foley and maybe I was just a bit too young (born in 1981), but The Freebirds ahead of some of the other teams left off the list. Again, I was raised on WWF and some NWA, so maybe not seeing WCCW left me short changing The Birds. Anyway, again with fans voting you can't complain too much (even if I did) and just have to take this for what it is. Now while the results were pretty horrible, the show itself continues to be a breeze to watch.

Final Score:  6.0   [ Average ]  legend