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Ronnie Cox

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THE LOST ART OF TAG TEAM WRESTLING

The Crusher and Dick the Bruiser, The Road Warriors, Gene and Ole Anderson, Jack and Jerry Brisco, Professor Tanaka and Mr. Fuji, and The Samoans. What do all of these names have in common ? Not much except they are some of the greatest tag teams of the past. Back in the day, being a tag team champion actually meant something. It wasn't a way to boost ratings by having your top angles thrown together. And they weren't there to pacify a wrestler who whined about losing a singles title. It was a prestigious title that was a major part of every federation. As wrestling slowly crept back into the spotlight, it became easier to promote a single wrestler as compared to a team. If you look at the tag team scene today in the BIG 2 and ECW, you'll see a bunch of singles wrestlers teamed together because they are not involved in any storyline. Each federation does have a few legit teams. I will comment on these as I break down the tag team status of the WWF, WCW, and ECW.

I wanted to start with the innovator (no pun intended) of the group. In my opinion this is the only federation of the three that devotes some time and effort into it's tag team scene. Although they don't have the history or a deep talent roster like the other two, ECW hosts some of the best teams in the business today. This federation has brought us some great teams. Public Enemy, Malenko and Benoit, Balls and Axl, The Gangstas, RVD and Sabu, and my personal favorites The Dudleys. ECW has continued to maintain a solid tag team base. Some of these teams no longer exist, and some have gone other places, but still to this day, ECW has the best tag teams. Whether they are brawlers or high flying technicians, these guys keep it lively. I have never been bored watching Sabu and RVD and I have never been disappointed by the Dudleys. It doesn't matter if it's high flying or cheese grating, ECW keeps it moving forward.

It's time for our next lucky winner. WCW the land of buried talent. If you move the old guys out of the way, you can see what exactly is hidden there in Ted Turner Land. It's either underdeveloped or is hidden behind the wall of overdone suntans. Here are a few of WCWs' better teams that have been broken up either by injuries or stupid angles. The Steiner Brothers, Harlem Heat ( I think they are back together now, someone finally used their brains, now only if Stevie Ray can move his fat ass a little quicker), Raven and Saturn, and anyone who doesn't tag with Flair or Hogan. WCW is the home to some of the worst teams in the business. They are either weak wrestlers or just have no business in the world of tag team wrestling. The Triad, K-Dogg and Rey Mysterio jr., The West Texas Crapnecks, Any variation of the Black and White NWO, all these guys are either tired or just can't tag wrestle. The greatest thing about the WCW tag scene is the team of Benoit and Malenko. This is probably the best team in wrestling today. They are what tag team wrestling is about. High impact, brawling, submissions, mat technicians, these guys do it all. And are very good at it. I am terribly sorry that they are being held back. This team needs to be promoted and heavily. In my opinion this is one of the best teams of all time. Show the world what tag team wrestling is supposed to look like.

To the guys up north, where do I start. At one point in time, the WWF was the the home of a lot of tag teams. The Hart Foundation, Dynamite Kid and British Bulldog (maybe it's all Stu Harts' handywork), The Samoans. These were solid teams. Not four of the top wrestlers waiting on the backburner for the next angle to play out. The WWF has not been kind to their tag team scene either. Besides the New Age Outlaws, everyone else who has held the belts recently are members of the "I'm not doing anything this month club". It's kind of getting old. Who are the teams in the WWF now. There's not that many.

The Acolytes, The Brood (no Gangrel), The Hardy Boys (eccchhh), and X-Pac and Kane. That is a pretty small list. In fact that might be all the tag teams. Almost forgot The Godfather and Val Venis and Droz and Prince Albert. Still, not very impressive. For some strange reason I think the freak team of Kane and X-Pac are the best in the WWF. Snappy quick moves combined with the beating from Hell are tough to beat. And it's such a touching story. They might get an ACE award for it. But seriously, this is a good team. They work very well together and Kane appears to be picking up the pace a little. The real reason I think I like them is, it's fun to watch X-Pac get the crap beat out of him and the watch Kane beat the crap out of everyone else.

So in my opinion the current tag team scene for all federations is kinda weak. There are some great teams competing today, it's just some pretty slim pickings for competition. My advice to to these federation, keep looking in the independants. Rebuild the tag team scene to what it used to be. Tag team wrestling is still strong in Japan and Mexico, why can't it happen here again. I know I probably forgot a lot of evryones favorite tag teams and I apologize for that. It would take me days to list them all. Thanks for taking the time to read this and feel free to send me some feedback. A quick shout out to my favorite person in the world who will no longer get to watch wrestling with me. Tamyra, keep it real and don't ever forget that Mick Foley is GOD.

Ronnie Cox
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