New Age Outlaws were easy Top 10 for me , very few tag teams in my lifetime have managed to be more over. Their schtick pre-match was one of the most fun you could ever have watching wrestling and still pretty iconic and holds up as was proved by their return to the WWE in 2012 and instantly became over and the most popular tag team in the company.

Their joining of DX was game changing for me. Such a perfect fit too and it put the actual stable over the top IMO. The Outlaws version with HHH , Pac and Chyna is the best version and they were such a huge part of that.

Road Dogg is one of the best pure talkers ever too , I don't care what anyone tells me and Gunn was a solid worker but they were mostly their to be the NAO and not wrestle classics.

I always think of them as the bridge team to the TLC era too. Probably not exactly right on the timetable but I think they really helped bring tag teams back to the WWF with their feud with LOD and Foley/Funk.

I'm sorry.

What is 'The Cock' thing I keep seeing you guys mention?!

Aug 13, 2021 14:54:45 GMT KING KID said:

I'm sorry.

What is 'The Cock' thing I keep seeing you guys mention?!

OMG. 



LMAO!

Ya'll are hilarious!

I giggle thinking about KING KID googling “The Cock” trying to figure out what we are talking about.

27. The New Age Outlaws- 115 points

Kind of like the APA The NAO were more well known for their comedy and skits than matches. Still though they were a pretty big part of giving the attitude era it's flavor and even I was going along with them early on with the ring entrance schtick. Their matches with Foley and Funk were probably their biggest in ring accomplishment but they needed more stuff like this to give them an extra boost. A big deal during a ripe period that didn't quite check all the boxes.

GWF Lightning Kid ruled! Fuck that 123 bullshit.

I was watching some interview with Road Dogg on the ‘cock a few weeks ago and I think it was JBL who quoted Billy Gunn saying about his time with Dogg “Some people are here to look good, some people are here to feel good” or something like that. They said Dogg and Billy weren’t really friends at the time, just a marriage of convenience that really worked out.

They were terrific. I preferred them before the DX affiliation because they were more fun as heels, but they were a total surprise to be over like that and I loved them pretty quick in their run.

Wasn't it Shawn's idea to put them together originally? I think it was. Either way it worked and their chemistry was there really early on.

Was big fans of the Outlaws. Also enjoyed Gunn in general as I've posted many times. It's crazy to think Dogg was fired for drugs and then he shat on HHH and WWE for years and then he became a member of management. Full circle baby.

12. New Age Outlaws- Score well in importance, kayfabe success, and overness. They are, in fact, the most over tag team in WWF history. Hated as heels and the most popular tag team during the wildly popular Attitude Era. Sold a lot of shirts with DX. Millions of wrestling fans sang along with Road Dogg every week. Even managed to pad their longevity stats with a TNA run and a 2010s WWE comeback. Score poorly in match quality though. 

With that being said, I couldn't stand the NAO. They were the worst. Lots of fans will tell you how HTM had go away heat with them, or JBL becoming WWE Champion made them stop watching. I had a similar reaction to the early NAO run. I was never an LOD guy, but even I was appalled when these two bottom of the barrel jabronies kept going over the legendary Legion of Doom. I was convinced WWF had either given up completely on tag team wrestling, or were just trolling me. They didn't even have offense! Every NAO match for months saw them get beat up for 99% of the bout only to win at the end on a cheat. 

They went from go away heat to good heat when they gave Foley & Funk a dumpster ride. Great angle that made me hate the Outlaws in the good "pay money to see them lose" way. I had 10/10 interest in their 'Mania match. That's what made them imo.

Then they joined DX. It was a perfect fit in more ways than one, with one of those ways being I hated DX too. Incredibly, the Outlaws managed to get hugely over as babyfaces. Gotta give WWF/NAO credit. They put together two afterthoughts who had to be on the chopping block in a last ditch effort to get something out of them, and were rewarded by it getting over big time. See also: The Acolytes. Casuals in particular LOVED the New Age Outlaws. They were huge among my coworkers, for example. 

NAO did their thing for another year and a half. Turns out they were even more decorated in terms of championship success than I thought. But by 1999 I just wanted them to go away again. As an avid Shotgun watcher, I knew WWF had the ingredients for a great tag team division what with the Hardys, Brood, Dudleys, Acolytes, Too Much, and Kaientai. The NAO had become an albatross holding the division down. Then they did go away and the division became awesome.

I'll also give both guys credit for knowing their role. Road Dogg got the crowd hyped and took beatings, while Billy was a good hot tag.

Aug 13, 2021 11:56:21 GMT 🤯 said:

On the GWF note, I just had an idea... I'm going to start referencing an old obscure fed CONSISTENTLY in as many posts as possible, whether or not said fed ever actually existed. -_-

I'd have to sue you for gimmick infringement (in rounds!). 
Your post also reminds me of this bizarre desire I've had ever since the late 90s to meme a fictional wrestler into reality. Even gave it a half-hearted try once. Perhaps I will do so again...
=================
EDIT

Why is Baker writing a report on the Bulldogs? You aight bro?

Aug 14, 2021 2:10:07 GMT UT said:

Why is Baker writing a report on the Bulldogs? You aight bro?

Oh this is embarrassing.

I'm going to blame my idiocy on 🤯 . I'll occasionally sneak a peek at PW while at work. I must have seen PI's Bulldog gifs and conflated that with the tag team countdown. Yeah, that's the excuse I'm going with.

10. Brainbusters- They were a good team.

Aug 14, 2021 2:18:05 GMT Baker said:

Aug 14, 2021 2:10:07 GMT UT said:

Why is Baker writing a report on the Bulldogs? You aight bro?

:rofl: Oh this is embarrassing.

I'm going to blame my idiocy on 🤯. I'll occasionally sneak a peak at PW while at work. I must have seen PI's Bulldog gifs and conflated that with the tag team countdown. Yeah, that's the excuse I'm going with.

10. Brainbusters- They were a good team.

Shit you made me go back and look and make sure I didn’t post the Bulldogs by mistake! That was pretty awesome.

🤯 messes everything up.

Let's try this again...

10. Brain Busters- Score well in every metric save longevity. Their big claim to fame is being the first team to hold both the WWF & NWA Tag Team Championships. Another claim to fame is ending Demolition's record breaking tag title reign. Their Horsemen status made them bonafide main eventers in NWA. Had good/great feuds with the Midnight Express, Rockers, and basically every fan favorite in NWA. Had good/great matches with the Rockers, Hart Foundation, Windham & Luger, and more, like the 1st War Games. Were also stellar on promos. Managers JJ Dillon and Bobby Heenan were a perfect fit for them. 

For about two decades the Brain Busters were my 2nd favorite tag team of all time. Nowadays they're still a strong #4. I weirdly didn't care for them in real time NWA, but quickly became a fan when they came to WWF, and loved them when I went on my NWA tape binge in the 90s. Also loved their Spike Piledriver finisher in WWF. Commentators put it over huge and the fact that it was technically illegal gave it an aura of danger. Their feud with the Midnight Express was shaping up to be an all timer until Arn & Tully bolted for the greener pastures of McMahonland.

Lack of longevity is really the only knock on these pro's pros. Oh, while they didn't invent it, they're the team I always associate with quick tags and strategically cutting the ring in half. The Brain Busters (Brainbusters?) were tag team wrestling personified.

I have really only seen their WWF stuff and don’t know if I was the mood to properly appreciate them. They still rated highly for me based on what I did see and reputation and affiliation with the Horsemen.

Also cool that back to back we have two great teams whom were cogs in iconic factions.


Also Baker it’s Brain Busters. I thought it was one word as well but Wiki , Google and Cagematch told me I(we) was wrong.

Here comes the Ax , here comes the Smasher!  :rockin:

Can't wait for Baker to write up LOD after this.  


Demolition has never rated as highly with me as others and I don't know why. They are as vintage as you get when it comes to that era of WWF and it's tag teams but I was always an LOD guy from a kid so going back and watching them it just never quite lived up. They also benefitted greatly from the teams around them as I wouldn't say they were the best workers but being in a division with Harts , Bulldogs , Strike Force , and Arn & Tully - they had the best opponents possible aside from maybe Collossal Connection and Powers of Pain which I don't mind for the hoss match nature of. 

I'm not shocked by their ranking and wouldn't fight it too hard but their lack of success outside of that initial run and the later affiliation with Crush made me drop them to the early 20's. Baker can tell me why I'm wrong. 

Two teams that had surprising rankings on my list when I was through sorting the results.

19. The Brain Busters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard)- 122.15 points

I figured Tully and Arn would crack the top 15 but their lack of longevity did take a bite out of their point total. I gave them extra points though for kayfabe success as they were the first to win the NWA and WWF tag tittles like Bake mentioned. Plus barring the brief reign of Barry and Lex they held the NWA titles for a full year. They were as technically sound as any team with Tully being the crafty shit disturber and Arn being where the buck stopped and could crunch you with a Gourd Buster or Spine Buster (these "buster" phrases are getting confusing) at any time. They are now the model for modern teams wanting to bring tag team wrestling back to the forefront as we have seen teams from CW Anderson and Steve Corrino to The Revival be influenced by them. Their main event status featuring in so many War Games also helped their cause. They are quite simply a tag team's tag team.

14. Demolition (Ax, Smash and Crush)- 132.50 points

Like UT I figured that Demolition would struggle to crack my top 20. Their big kayfabe success as the longest reigning WWF champs and really appreciating how well they did work together gave them a boost. However being a key team in the division during the golden era and even main eventing Survivor Series with Hulk Hogan put them over the top. I was hard on the Demos at first being LOD imitators but once they turned face and they gained they own identity they grew on me. Having to use Crush as a crutch though took the appeal away and once LOD came in they became yesterday's news. They still score big on legacy as whenever this era is brought up the Demos are always fondly remembered. 

I really need to re-visit Demolition. I've forgotten everything about them and they got shoved down my list as I went along. Pretty sure I had them in the 10-15 range and they just slid as I added more teams.

1.
2.
3. The Young Bucks
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11. The Wild Samoans
12. The Von Erichs
13. The Briscoes
14.
15. The New Age Outlaws
16. The Brainbusters
17.
18. Harlem Heat
19.
20. The Minnesota Wrecking Crew
21.
22. The Revival
23. Demolition
24. The Usos
25.
26. The Hollywood Blonds
27. The Outsiders
28. The World's Greatest Tag Team
29.
30. The Bushwhackers
31.
32. The Holy Demon Army
33. The Acolyte Protection Agency
34. The Rockers
35.
36. The Eliminators
37. Miracle Violence Connection
38.
39.
40.
41. The Crusher & Dick The Bruiser
42. Brothers of Destruction
43. The Funks
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49. Beer Money
50.

? Road Warriors- Just kidding

4. Demolition- Maybe a wee bit high. This is the best case scenario for them. Worst case scenario would be....#7. Which still isn't bad.

Demolition earns the highest of scores in kayfabe success. They were the longest reigning tag team champions in WWF history for like 30 years and also held the record for most cumulative days as WWF tag team champions. And they did all when WWF had a stacked tag division. For that reason I consider them the definitive team of WWF's Golden Age. They got over as both heels and faces. Had a great theme, cool finisher, memorable look, and just gave off a badass aura. Also perfected the art of clubbering. Good squashers as well. Could also be considered an early example of "cool heels." 

Earned major bonus points for scaring kiddie me (see also: Kamala). I did not like Demolition at first. They were terrifying! They came across as the baddest dudes on the entire planet. Especially that time they beat up Brady Boone, Billy Jack Haynes, and Ken Patera all in the same segment. These guys were just too much. I wanted some heroes to come along and beat them just to prove it could be done, because at that point they looked like unstoppable, uncontrollable, unbeatable monsters.

But then they avenged the Hart Foundation by beating stupid Strike Force a few months later at WM 4 and I jumped on the Demolition bandwagon. I went back and forth on them after that.

Embarrassing confession time: The peak of my Demolition fandom actually came during the Crush era when they were feuding with those PHONIES the Legion of Doom. I wasn't even trolling, but genuinely believed that in real time. My friend Vogel and I were always arguing about LOD vs. Demolition. It was a big thing. Good times.

Truth is I haven't seen Demolition's major matches in a dog's age, and the only high profile match of theirs I remember fairly well is the Strike Force title change, but I hear good things about their matches with Hart Foundation and Rockers. May have to revisit them one day.

If you ever need countdown ideas... wrestlers that scared us as kids. It's amazing how many of these FREAKS were more effective than real life movie monsters.

Aug 15, 2021 0:48:33 GMT @ness said:

If you ever need countdown ideas... wrestlers that scared us as kids. It's amazing how many of these FREAKS were more effective than real life movie monsters.

Love this idea, but it could be a short list from me, I'll have to think about it.

^I could get to 10.

I could get to like 1. I was born a badass.

I'm way behind. I just haven't been feeling very internet-y lately.  I'm off work and trying NOT to work, so not being on a computer is the best way to go about it, otherwise I end up working.  It's a whole workaholism thing.  

28. The APA - I like JBL and I love Ron Simmons. These were 2 bad Mofo's with stiff in ring antics and great segments.

18. Minnesota Wrecking Crew - don't care if it's Ole & Gene or Ole & Arn, both were great in their own right.

21. Wild Samoans - What's not to love about these Samoan brother's who are part of a great wrestling dynasty.

25. The Young Bucks - Sometimes a bit 'spotty' for me=, but they've managed to get over in a huge way without the power of the E behind them. That's massive.

17. The Rockers - When they first burst on to the scene I was taken. High flyers and high risk and had some great feuds.

22. The Von Erichs - I couldn't not put them on the list. My dad loved them but what a tragic story.

9. Harlem Heat - One of my all time faves. One of the only things I liked about WCW.

4. New Age Outlaws - You didn't get technically savvy matches out of them, but they were entertaining as hell and gave the crowd what they wanted every time.

19. The Brain Busters - Tully and Arn are two of the most gifted wrestlers I think to ever lace up a pair of boots. Put them together and it's in ring magic. Pair them with Bobby Henan (because they needed a mouthpiece) and greatness.

7. Demolition - Ax and Smash were one of my faves during one of the greatest times in Tag Team wrestling.

Generally not the biggest New Day fan and balked at them being #1 in the WWE's countdown , but I'm actually quite okay with them being here at #11 and could even see arguments for them being in the Top 10.

I'll give them credit for taking what was a dead in the water gimmick in the beginning and turning it into one of the biggest acts on the roster for the last decade and a team who are always over. For them to accomplish that , provide nuance to the gimmick and most importantly STAY TOGETHER for this entire run in this fucking company is one of the biggest miracles in the history of wrestling. Props to them for all of that even if they aren't my personal cup of tea.

Their matches generally don't do a ton for me despite being a fan of all three as workers. There always seems to be a little lacking. Not bad matches by any means but for a team to go this long without that one marquee match seems weird. In their defense again - it's really fucking hard for any match to stand out because they all need to be epic - in most generations they would have far more standout matches IMO.

Overall I think I had them at #10 out of respect , longevity , accomplishment and ability to remain relevant on a roster of irrelevancy. Credit to all three dudes.

I get it, but also secretly happy they missed the top 10...

18. New Day- Score well in just about every metric. I had them as the highest ranking WWE tag team of their generation and #2 overall for the 2010s. Broke Demolition's record for longest WWE Tag Title reign. Won both sets of WWE Tag Titles a bunch of times for a bunch of cumulative days. Have been together for a long time now. Got over as faces. Sold a lot of merchandise. My brother also liked to tell the story about that time the New Day got major heel heat for insulting the Baltimore Orioles/Adam Jones when he went to a mid 2010s PPV in Baltimore with the middle of the Three Brothers. I assume they probably had some good matches as well?

With that being said, I've only seen one or two (forgettable) New Day matches + a handful of segments. I liked the one where they met King Booker.

Aug 15, 2021 4:01:08 GMT iron maiden said:

I'm way behind.

Ditto.

I had New Day at #5 thanks to Big Pete's troll sell job of Young Bucks being extrapolated and applied to New Day.

No promises I catch up on the teams in between New Day and where I last left off with my commenting.

Aug 15, 2021 16:28:12 GMT 🤯 said:

Aug 15, 2021 4:01:08 GMT iron maiden said:

I'm way behind.

Ditto.

I had New Day at #5 thanks to Big Pete's troll sell job of Young Bucks being extrapolated and applied to New Day.

No promises I catch up on the teams in between New Day and where I last left off with my commenting.

Petey boy was simply spouting truth and hiding his true feelings behind the veil of a troll job. He knows that thw Bucks and New Day deserve to be held in high regard. Deep down he knows the truth.

I ranked New Day at #4. Longevity as a team in this day and age in the WWE is nothing short of a miracle. They were so good as a trio they actually had the WWE recognizing the Freebird rule, something I never thought I would see again.

Add that to multiple great feuds, tons of championships and one of the finest Wrestlemania moments of my lifetime, and you got a top 5 team in my books.

Had the Outsiders at #16 with nothing novel to offer beyond what's already been put out there. Had the Rockers just behind them at #17. So I nailed the Rockers, but overestimated the Outsiders' influence and success I guess. To jump off convo in the gif thread, I'm pretty sure Marty innovated the inside out clothesline flip bump.

I had the Von Erichs at #21 perhaps from wrongly understanding that the only things they ever really did was feud Ruth the Freebirds and suffer family tragedy.

Harlem Heat was my #18, possibly because of "meh... it was only WCW" discounting, or more possibly because of the Smoking Gunns syndrome. Meanwhile, speaking of Gunns... despite preferring his ambiguously gay duo team with Chuck, I had Billy's proper #1 tandem in the New Age Outlaws at #11.

Calling them the Brain Busters makes me want to drop Arn & Tully a bit further down the list, as it tends to make me forget their Horsemen stuff. As it was, I had them just a spot behind PW. So all's well that ends well.

Demolition I had embarrassingly low at #19. I'm sorry, Baker-man!