Fixing Tag Teams in 2012

by Addie,

I have always been a huge fan of tag team wrestling dating back to the mid 1980’s and, when we received multiple email questions from loyal listeners over the past few weeks asking about the best and our favorite tag teams, I knew I wasn’t alone.

I’d love to be writing this about my favorite tag team in the WWE today.  The problem is, there are fewer teams in 2012 then probably ever in history. In the mid to late 1980’s you had a dozen or more established teams, so much so that they were able on two occasions to have a 10 TEAM Survivor Series elimination match.  The teams present in these matches ranged in calibre from The Hart Foundation, British Bulldogs, and Demolition all the way down to The Bolsheviks, Young Stallions, and Conquistadors.  As the WWF entered the 1990’s there was still a glut of tag teams on the roster such as the Nasty Boys, Money Inc., the Legion of Doom, Steiner Brothers, and Natural Disasters.  At any given time it was not uncommon to have 3 different tag team feuds going on concurrently.

The in the mid 1990’s, for whatever reason, the tag team division just ground to a halt. The Tag Team titles were not defended on either Summerslam 1994 or 1995 and, when they were defended on Summerslam 1996, it was a Fatal Four Way consisting of the entire Tag Team division. That is correct, in the summer of 1996 the WWF Tag Team division was made up entirely of the Body Donnas, The Godwinns, The Smoking Gunns, and the NEW (always death) Rockers.

Things were looking bleak for the next few years until the late 1990’s and early 2000’s brought us another bounty of teams such as Edge and Christian, the New Age Outlaws, the Hardys, the Dudleys, the APA, and Too Cool. While there weren’t as many teams on the roster as the peak of the late 1980’s, there were more than enough to consider the division back and multiple tag team feuds would be going on at the same time! Which brings me to today:

IT’S ALWAYS DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN

I can count two regular teams on the roster, The Usos and Primo and Epico, and I will also count Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger as they have the Vickie connection and have teamed with some regularity as well as Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks, even though because it’s on NXT and Superstars no one has really seen them team.  At least in 1996 they had four packaged teams!! Luckily for WWE (and I use the term luckily loosely…so loosely in fact that I will say I use that term Mo’s mom) they have a variety of mid card and lower mid card wrestlers who have no direction or story-lines.  Here’s where I attempt to rebuild the WWE Tag Team Division in 2012 with some suggested teams:

1. Hunico and Cammacho:  This one seems like the most obvious so I figured I would start with them.  I haven’t seen these two team up personally as I’ve only seen Cammacho in the “bodyguard” role. Cammacho is the son of Haku, whom had success with both the Islanders and Faces of Fear tag teams in his career. In addition to the natural fit, this will also give Cammacho a chance to develop without having to carry an entire match himself.

2. Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara: I remember hearing in 2001 that Rey Mysterio was told by a doctor that he shouldn’t even be jumping off a curb because he knees were so bad.  Fast forward to 2012 and he is still wrestling, although the injury rate has sure picked up for Rey. This team would have the luchador connection, as both have heavily profitable masks, and this could be seen as the beginning of a “passing of the torch” should Rey stay healthy and Sin Cara stay “clean”. The benefit of teaming these two is basically the opposite of Hunico and Cammacho–Rey needs to be working less. Tagging with the younger Cara can help to “give him the rub” and still make for an entertaining team.

3. Heath Slater and JTG: This team is more of a stretch I’ll admit, but I would use the Rock and Rap gimmicks with this pairing.  Heath Slater has had some Television time since the demise of The Nexus/Corre but nothing of note and I forgot JTG was employed until I went on the roster page of wwe.com. Having a team name, new music, and a similar look would at least give these two a purpose for being in the company.

4. Mason Ryan and Ezekiel Jackson: Here is your classic workrate team in the mold of the Hart Foundation or the British Bulldogs……just kidding. This is your powerhouse combination.  These two can squash jobbers and be the “who can stop these monsters” team.  As with all of the teams I am proposing, I would give Ryan and Zek a team name and matching tights.  While this team may not be the most technically sound in the company, a brute force team would be different from the others and provide a good story to tell when they go up against a high flying team.

5. Tyson Kidd and Trent Barretta: Speaking of a high flying team, that’s exactly what Trent and Kidd would be. Rockabilly and the Real Double J were put together as a team because they were facing each other all the time and were going nowhere. Sound familiar?  I don’t know how many matches Trent and Tyson have had with each other but they are great workers and have great chemistry against each other, why not try them as a team? While Kidd is the more seasoned of the two, both are young talents who could have great matches with other flying teams and be the great contrast to the Zek/Ryan team I proposed.

6. Ted Dibiase and Joe Henning: First of all, yes Joe Henning. I, like many…if not all of you, think that Michael McGillicutty sucks ass as a name. Therefore, it was the easiest decision for me to suggest he return to his birth name, not only because it was stupid, but because I have him teaming with another son-of-a-legend in Ted Dibiase. While I would play into this as an obvious talking point, my gimmick for this team would be not second generation related. I would mention that these two are long time friends as they met an hung out when their fathers were wrestling (probably not true but it works for the story). Their name would be in the vien of Strike Force where no real “gimmick” is bestowed upon them, only that they are a regular team with matching tights, music, and a tandem finisher.

With those suggestions, it would bring the grand total to ten teams and still leave some mid card singles acts just as Alex Riley, Yoshi Tatsu, Jinder Mahal, and Justin Gabriel to fill that niche. Tag team wrestling has always been a staple of wrestling in North America and when business is up, the coincidentally seems to be a lot of Tag Teams on the roster. If everyone has a purpose, more people should care about them. And that can only be a good thing!!  Agree, disagree, or have a tag team suggestion yourself? Shoot me an email at addie@wetalkwresting.com! I’d love to hear from you!! Oh and just for the record, here is my favorite tag team belt of all time: