(Editor's Note: I was going to take today off, but I was inspired by something I saw today. So, you can thank Eric Bischoff and Conrad Thompson's 83 Weeks for this.)
I'm listening to 83 Weeks while watching Clash of the Champions 23 (Flair/Anderson vs. The Hollywood Blondes). And I just thought about how underrated still today the Hollywood Blondes were as a tag team. And in thinking about how Tag Team wrestling has changed and evolved over the quarter century since this show, I started to think... Who would be my Top 10 Tag Teams of All Time? Or even more specific, who were the best tag teams of the 1990s? So this series is going to look at the best tag teams of all time through the last three decades (90s, 00s, and 10s, if that's what we call THIS decade), who my personal choices for the top tag teams of that decade were, and finally combining the three lists to make a list for the top 10 tag teams of the last 28 years. (If there's interest, I'm willing to go back to the 1980s and include that as well.) To help me out, here are the tag teams I remembered off the top of my head. If you can remember another tag team, you can include that in your own response to this. Remember, we're talking about 1990-1999 and disqualifying anything that happened after December 31, 1999.
List of Teams I Remember
The Dudley Boyz
The New Age Outlaws
Harlem Heat
The Hardy Boyz
Edge and Christian
Jeff Jarrett and Owen Hart
Owen Hart and The British Bulldog
Legion of Doom
The Hart Foundation
The Steiner Brothers
Hollywood Blondes
The Acolytes (APA)
The Smoking Gunns
Money Inc.
The Quebecers
The Natural Disasters
Power and Glory
The Beverly Brothers
The Rockers
The Orient Express
The Colossal Connection
Demolition
The Bushwhackers
The Headshrinkers
Too Cool
The Outsiders
Faces of Fear
The Nasty Boys
Rob Van Dam/Sabu
Public Enemy
The Impact Players (Storm and Credible)
For me, my list takes a lot of things into consideration: match quality, popularity, longevity, impact on the business, and other things. So, my list may be completely different than yours. That's why I'm doing this: to have a fun conversation. So without further ado....
#10: Money Inc.- Basic tag team where you take two money-related gimmicks and throw them together. I've always had a soft spot for this tag team as I liked DiBiase and I.R.S with Jimmy Hart. Plus, they did co-main event a WrestleMania with Hulk and Brutus.
#9- The Quebecers- They're Not The Mounties! Another heel tag team I always liked too. They held the tag titles for a long time in 1993-1994, which earns them a place on this list.
#8- The Nasty Boys- Another often forgotten tag team with major success in WWF and WCW during the 1990s.
#7- The Hollywood Blondes- One of the reasons an 8 year old me used to watch WCW. Austin and Pillman were great in the ring and outside the ring and got too over for their own good. This ultimately led to their split which actually helped the business in the long run.
#6- The Dudley Boyz- Perhaps one of the greatest tag teams of all time... is only at #6 on this list. Here's why: As great as the Dudley Boyz were and would become, they still spent most of their 1990s run in ECW, a regional wrestling promotion. Granted, they were one of the reasons ECW was put on the map, enough to where Vince snatched them up in 1999. But their best years were in the 2000s (which I'll get to later).
#5- Legion of Doom- If this was the 1980s, this team may be near the top. 1990s, I can only put them this high. Great run in WWF (cut short in 1992), an ok run in WCW in the mid 1990s, and a good comeback run in the WWF in 1997-1998. Still, they are the Road Warriors and were over still in the late 1990s.
#4- Harlem Heat- I wanted to put this team a lot higher. They were the best original tag team WCW created in the 1990s, and when they were paired with "Sister Sherri," it was magic. This team may show back up again on my final list.
#3- The Outsiders- Based on "changing the industry," this team is propelled near the top. Though they weren't always teaming together, they owned not only the tag division but WCW during the mid-late 1990s and were the talk of the wrestling world.
#2- The Steiner Brothers- The best pure wrestling tag team of the 1990s, Rick and Scott had great runs in WCW, WWF, and WCW again. The Steiners were always must see TV, and looking back at their matches in early 1990s WCW, their work did help keep a company afloat. Holla if you hear me!
#1- The New Age Outlaws- Oh You Didn't Know? You better call somebody. When you can get an entire 18,000 seat arena to cheer your catchphrases, get people to buy your merchandise, and help contribute to a mass acceptance of wrestling in the late 1990s, you are a great tag team. In addition, their chemistry was great. Road Dogg was the talker of the group with a couple crowd pleasing "moves," while Billy Gunn was the greatest "hot tag" wrestler perhaps of all time. These members of D-Generation X were a cornerstone of the Attitude Era, and that's why I'm putting them at #1.
My Top Ten Tag Teams of the 1990s
1. The New Age Outlaws
2. Steiner Brothers
3. The Outsiders
4. Harlem Heat
5. Legion of Doom
6. The Dudley Boys
7. Hollywood Blondes
8. The Nasty Boys
9. The Quebecers
10. Money Inc.
Again, I'm not claiming this as a definitive list. It's just what I currently believe are my top ten teams of the 1990s. You can comment on the list if you want, but I also welcome you to create your own list and share in the comments below. Sometime later (maybe this week), I'll post the 2000s version of this list.
Until next time, take care of yourselves. And spread some awesomeness.
I'm listening to 83 Weeks while watching Clash of the Champions 23 (Flair/Anderson vs. The Hollywood Blondes). And I just thought about how underrated still today the Hollywood Blondes were as a tag team. And in thinking about how Tag Team wrestling has changed and evolved over the quarter century since this show, I started to think... Who would be my Top 10 Tag Teams of All Time? Or even more specific, who were the best tag teams of the 1990s? So this series is going to look at the best tag teams of all time through the last three decades (90s, 00s, and 10s, if that's what we call THIS decade), who my personal choices for the top tag teams of that decade were, and finally combining the three lists to make a list for the top 10 tag teams of the last 28 years. (If there's interest, I'm willing to go back to the 1980s and include that as well.) To help me out, here are the tag teams I remembered off the top of my head. If you can remember another tag team, you can include that in your own response to this. Remember, we're talking about 1990-1999 and disqualifying anything that happened after December 31, 1999.
List of Teams I Remember
The Dudley Boyz
The New Age Outlaws
Harlem Heat
The Hardy Boyz
Edge and Christian
Jeff Jarrett and Owen Hart
Owen Hart and The British Bulldog
Legion of Doom
The Hart Foundation
The Steiner Brothers
Hollywood Blondes
The Acolytes (APA)
The Smoking Gunns
Money Inc.
The Quebecers
The Natural Disasters
Power and Glory
The Beverly Brothers
The Rockers
The Orient Express
The Colossal Connection
Demolition
The Bushwhackers
The Headshrinkers
Too Cool
The Outsiders
Faces of Fear
The Nasty Boys
Rob Van Dam/Sabu
Public Enemy
The Impact Players (Storm and Credible)
For me, my list takes a lot of things into consideration: match quality, popularity, longevity, impact on the business, and other things. So, my list may be completely different than yours. That's why I'm doing this: to have a fun conversation. So without further ado....
#10: Money Inc.- Basic tag team where you take two money-related gimmicks and throw them together. I've always had a soft spot for this tag team as I liked DiBiase and I.R.S with Jimmy Hart. Plus, they did co-main event a WrestleMania with Hulk and Brutus.
#9- The Quebecers- They're Not The Mounties! Another heel tag team I always liked too. They held the tag titles for a long time in 1993-1994, which earns them a place on this list.
#8- The Nasty Boys- Another often forgotten tag team with major success in WWF and WCW during the 1990s.
#7- The Hollywood Blondes- One of the reasons an 8 year old me used to watch WCW. Austin and Pillman were great in the ring and outside the ring and got too over for their own good. This ultimately led to their split which actually helped the business in the long run.
#6- The Dudley Boyz- Perhaps one of the greatest tag teams of all time... is only at #6 on this list. Here's why: As great as the Dudley Boyz were and would become, they still spent most of their 1990s run in ECW, a regional wrestling promotion. Granted, they were one of the reasons ECW was put on the map, enough to where Vince snatched them up in 1999. But their best years were in the 2000s (which I'll get to later).
#5- Legion of Doom- If this was the 1980s, this team may be near the top. 1990s, I can only put them this high. Great run in WWF (cut short in 1992), an ok run in WCW in the mid 1990s, and a good comeback run in the WWF in 1997-1998. Still, they are the Road Warriors and were over still in the late 1990s.
#4- Harlem Heat- I wanted to put this team a lot higher. They were the best original tag team WCW created in the 1990s, and when they were paired with "Sister Sherri," it was magic. This team may show back up again on my final list.
#3- The Outsiders- Based on "changing the industry," this team is propelled near the top. Though they weren't always teaming together, they owned not only the tag division but WCW during the mid-late 1990s and were the talk of the wrestling world.
#2- The Steiner Brothers- The best pure wrestling tag team of the 1990s, Rick and Scott had great runs in WCW, WWF, and WCW again. The Steiners were always must see TV, and looking back at their matches in early 1990s WCW, their work did help keep a company afloat. Holla if you hear me!
#1- The New Age Outlaws- Oh You Didn't Know? You better call somebody. When you can get an entire 18,000 seat arena to cheer your catchphrases, get people to buy your merchandise, and help contribute to a mass acceptance of wrestling in the late 1990s, you are a great tag team. In addition, their chemistry was great. Road Dogg was the talker of the group with a couple crowd pleasing "moves," while Billy Gunn was the greatest "hot tag" wrestler perhaps of all time. These members of D-Generation X were a cornerstone of the Attitude Era, and that's why I'm putting them at #1.
My Top Ten Tag Teams of the 1990s
1. The New Age Outlaws
2. Steiner Brothers
3. The Outsiders
4. Harlem Heat
5. Legion of Doom
6. The Dudley Boys
7. Hollywood Blondes
8. The Nasty Boys
9. The Quebecers
10. Money Inc.
Again, I'm not claiming this as a definitive list. It's just what I currently believe are my top ten teams of the 1990s. You can comment on the list if you want, but I also welcome you to create your own list and share in the comments below. Sometime later (maybe this week), I'll post the 2000s version of this list.
Until next time, take care of yourselves. And spread some awesomeness.
Comments
Post a Comment