Road Warriors were the only tag team that ever felt like they could've been legitimately booked as a tag team version of Hulk Hogan in Hogan's heyday. At the peak of their powers they were like Hogan, Warrior, Austin, and Goldberg combined. I guess a push like that relies somewhat on the opposition that could be fed to them, but still.
I genuinely don't feel like the same sentiment could apply to any other tag team in history. Some might come close, but none would ever really work in that same role.
And to boot, I could see them working at that level in either a face or heel capacity. Seeing Hogan forming a tenuous alliance with Warrior or Savage (or say if perhaps the Blade Runners were more of a thing) to try to topple the unstoppable Road Warriors. All the money. Guess closest we ever came was Lex & Sting vs. Warriors?
Dream matches for me are Warriors vs. APA, BOD, and Masters of the Powerbomb. I assume they wrestled Hansen & Brody, Steiners, and Miracle Violence Connection? Are those matches as insane as I'd assume?
Watch the 3/11/96 Nitro match between the Road Warriors and The Steiners that
UT had listed, you won't be disappointed. I was thinking of reviewing that match as I hadn't seen it in a while but I'll leave it up to you. If you feel like it watch the 1989 Starrcade Iron Team tourney match with the Steiners as well, though I don't find that one nearly as hard hitting. They never did face Brody and Hansen or MVC though. They came close in 1985 as they faced Hansen and Harley Race ( a late replacement for Brody who had travel issues I think) at a Florida Battle Of The Belts card.
12. The Dudley Boys (Bubba Ray and D-Von)- 135 points
I should have clarified in my other post "besides the New Day" most overrated. The WWE narrative worked once again though as the push for most decorated team in history won over a lot of folks and that's fine, but a greatest list goes beyond titles won as will be shown in my criteria breakdown below. That being said overrated does not equate to being a terrible team, far from it. As UT mentioned they were great at being heels or faces, and getting over as true heels in ECW is no small feat. They transitioned seamlessly to WWE and became a hugely popular act as faces with the table gimmick being put on steroids and the catchphrases being a hit with the crowd. They did kind of get stale and Bubba Ray had to split from D-Von and reinvent himself as Bully Ray to get interesting again, a real underappreciated heel run I may add. Overall they maxed out in longevity and obviously kayfabe success, but they just don't have the legacy and impact of other teams, maybe another 20 years of looking back will be kinder to them.
1. The Road Warriors (Hawk and Animal)- 175 points
The only answer for number 1, as
🤯 said they were on a Hulk Hogan level of popularity when it came to tag teams. Their moniker even transcends to other sports like the 90's Philadelphia Flyers Legion Of Doom or the Seahawks Legion Of Boom. There was nothing like them when they came on the scene and inspired countless imitators from The Nasty Boys, to Demolition, to Sting and Ultimate Warrior, the Powers Of Pain and the list goes on. They were quite frightening when I first saw them during a special appearance on TBS when they were still AWA tag team champs with Iron Man blaring and the mohawks and spikes. They were legendary squashers and these matches really made them feel invincible. They could work though and more than held help their end as rare faces in peril like in the Starrcade '87 match with the Horsemen, maybe the "best" match of their career. LOD went to nearly every territory as a travelling main event attraction so they were like the Andre The Giant of tag teams as well which no other team did.
I could babble on and on but bottom line is they changed wrestling as a whole and started an entire genre of face painted babyfaces that also became big stars in their own right. Their name belongs right alongside the Hogans, Andres and Undertakers as one of the greatest attractions in the history of wrestling.
LOD is also, depending on the day my second or third favorite act in all of wrestling, no matter how much
Baker changes the rules
.
Now the breakdown:
Kayfabe Success- 10 pointsWorking Ability/Versatility- 15 pointsLongevity- 25 pointsDrawing Power- 30 pointsLegacy and Impact- 100 pointsThe Final Tally:
1. The Road Warriors (Hawk and Animal)-
175.00
2. The Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy, Buddy Roberts, Michael Hayes, Jimmy Garvin)-
157.50
3. The Midnight Express (Randy Rose, Dennis Condrey, Norvell Austin, Bobby Eaton, Stan Lane)-
154.70
4. The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott)-
153.20
5. The Rock N' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson)-
147.50
6. The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff)-
146.65
7. The Funk Brothers (Terry and Dory jr.)-
146.25
8. The Wild Samoans (Afa and Sika)-
144.00
9. The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and and Jim Neidhart)-
143.75
10. The Minnesota Wrecking Crew (Gene and Ole Anderson)-
142.25
11. The British Bulldogs (Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith)-
139.75
12. The Dudley Boys (Bubba Ray and D-Von)-
135.00
13. Jumbo Tsuruta and Genichiro Tenryu- 135.00
14. Demolition (Ax, Smash and Crush)-
132.50
15. The Fabulous Kangaroos (Al Costello and Roy Heffernan)-
131.25
16. The Brisco Brothers (Jack and Jerry)-
129.00
17. Crusher and Dick The Bruiser-
127.25
18. Animal Combination (Stan Hansen and Bruiser Brody)-
126.75
19. The Brainbusters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard)-
122.15
20. The Rockers (Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels)-
122.00
21. The Fabulous Ones (Stan Lane and Steve Keirn)-
121.75
22. The Outsiders (Scott Hall and Kevin Nash)-
121.50
23. Edge and Christian-
120.50
24. Mr. Fuji and Professor Tanaka- 118.50
25. The Valiant Brothers (Jimmy, Johnny and Jerry)- 116.85
26. The High Flyers (Greg Gagne and Jim Brunzell)- 116.75
27. The New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn and Road Dogg)-
115.00
28. Nick Bockwinkel and Ray Stevens- 113.50
29. The Von Erichs (Kerry, Kevin and David)-
112.50
30. The Holy Demon Army (Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue)-
111.25
31. The Golden Grahams (Eddie and Jerry)- 108.50
32. The Briscoe Brothers (Jay and Mark)-
107.75
33. The Blonde Bombers (Pat Patterson and Ray Stevens)-
107.50
34. Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray)-
102.25
35. The Tolos Brothers (Chris and John)- 101.50
36. The Kiwis/Sheepherders/Bushwackers (Luke Williams and Butch Miller)-
100.50
37. Mr. Fuji and Mr. Saito- 99.25
38. The Fantastics (Tommy Rogers and Bobby Fulton)-
98.10
39. The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags)-
97.90
40. The Blackjacks (Blackjack Mulligan and Blackjack Lanza)-
97.25
41. The Young Bucks (Nick and Matt Jackson)-
97.00
42. Team Wolf (Masa Chono and Hiroshi Tenzan)- 96.75
43. Burning (Kenta Kobashi and Jun Akiyama)- 96.15
44. The Fabulous Fargo Brothers (Jackie and Don)- 95.50
45. The Hollywood Blonds (Steve Austin and Brian Pillman)-
94.50
46. The Miracle-Violence Connection (Terry Gordy and Steve Williams)-
94.25
47. The Samoan Swat Team/Headshrinkers (Samu and Fatu)- 94.15
48. Toshiaki Kawada and Mitsuharu Misawa- 89.00
49. Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood- 88.75
50. The Gangstas (New Jack and Mustafa Saed)- 87.00
Missed The CutPublic Enemy (Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge)
The Christy Brothers (Bobby and Jerry)
The US Express (Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham)
The Dynamic Duo (Gino Hernandez and Chris Adams)
The Bullet Club (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson)
World's Greatest Tag Team (Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin)
Buddy Rose and Doug Somers
Bill Dundee and Jerry Lawler
The Bastiens (Red and Lou)
The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose)
The Vachons (Butcher and Mad Dog)
The East-West Connection (Jesse Ventura and Adrian Adonis)
The Eliminators (John Kronus and Perry Saturn)
Money Inc. (IRS and Ted DiBiase)
The Moondogs (Rex, Spot and King)
Strike Force (Tito Santana and Rick Martel)
The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E, Xavier Woods)
Owen Hart and Davey Boy Smith
The Usos (Jimmy and Jey)
Ted DiBiase and Steve Williams
Doom (Ron Simmons and Butch Reed)
Kings Of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli)
The Powers Of Pain (Barbarian and Warlord)
The Hart Family (Bret and Keith)
Fun list once again UT, thanks for taking the plunge to do a true greatest countdown.