Do You Remember When…?
I’m in a random kind of mood again this week so I’ve decided to pick a random topic to feature this week. The topic is Tag Team Wrestling. I was watching a Legends of Wrestling Roundtable show and the topic was Tag Teams. Each one on the panel gave their insight on the best tag teams in the business. It was a great discussion with such great teams like Road Warriors, Hart Foundation, British Bulldogs, Bockwinkel and Stevens, The Blackjacks, Freebirds, Von Erichs, Rock and Roll Express, Midnight Express, Hardys, Edge and Christian, to name some. However the one promotion they neglected to mention was ECW. Being a fan of 90s Wrestling, I was exposed to some ECW and they had some great tag teams in their day. This will be a ECW Tag Teams edition of “Remember When”.
Do you remember when ECW had great tag team wrestling?
ECW was a promotion based out of South Philly ran by Paul Heyman. ECW had some great singles Wrestlers like Taz, Sabu, Shane Douglas, RVD, Tommy Dreamer, Raven, etc. However they did have some great Tag Teams as well. Lets take a look at some of them.
Kevin Sullivan & The Tazmaniac
You know the Tazmaniac better as “Mr. Rocket Busta” Taz. Sullivan and Taz were a team from ECW’s early days. They would go on to become tag champions in December 1993 defeating Tommy Dreamer and Johnny Gunn.
The Public Enemy
Comprised of Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock, these guys were one of the pioneers of Tag Team hardcore wrestling. Before the Dudleys used tables in their matches, Public Enemy would be one of the first teams to utilize the wood. They would go on to win the ECW tag titles on 4 separate occasions.
Raven and Stevie Richards
What I liked about this tag team was the fact that Raven was the obvious superior of the team while Richards was the goof ball weak link but they managed to make it work. In fact they were able to get a couple tag team titles on their record.
The Pitbulls
Pitbulls 1 (Gary Wolfe) and 2 (Anthony Durante) were another great team in ECW. They were also another team that would use tables in their matches from time to time.
The Sandman & 2 Cold Scorpio
What was great about this team was not only did they hold the tag titles but they also held the World title (Sandman) and the TV Title (Scorpio).
The Eliminators
Perry Saturn and John Kronus were definitely a great team. Total Elimination is one of my favorite finishers.
The Gangstas
New Jack and Mustafa were one of the most hardcore tag teams in Wrestling. With their shopping cart full of weapons, you had no idea what they had in store for us.
The Dudleys
One of the most recognizable tag teams in the modern era of Wrestling got their first big break in South Philly. Their promos were very controversial and would almost cause riots and since they had Joel Gertner in their corner, that made them just as controverisal. They would go on claim the ECW Tag titles a record 8 times. The most in ECW history.
FBI
My favorite version of this team was Little Guido, Tracy Smothers, and “The Don” Tommy Rich. I especially loved the Italy flag with Rich’s face on it.
Chris Candido & Lance Storm
Two very gifted athletes paired together to win the tag titles. Now that’s a great combo.
Rob Van Dam & Sabu
A great example of two rivals joining forces to make a great combo in ECW. One of my favorite moves from them was the Leg Drop/Splash from the top rope onto a table.
Tommy Dreamer & Raven
Two men who despised each other for the longest time go on to become lengthy tag team champions. I wonder Raven ever said “I’m the Tag Team champions!” and Dreamer reciprocated with a “I’m the Tag Team Champions!”
The Impact Players
A great team comprised of Lance Storm, Jason, Dawn Marie, and Justin Credible. That’s not just the coolest! That’s not just the best! That’s from Calgary….Alberta, Canada! That’s Justin Credible!
Danny Doring & The Amish Roadkill
Definitely in my opinion, an underrated tag team. For a man the size of Roadkill to do a successful top rope splash is amazing. Doring himself is a great talent. CHICKENS!!!
Steve Corino & Jack Victory
Victory and the King of Old School Wrestling were fun to watch in ECW.
BWO
I got three words for you… WE’RE TAKING OVER! One of the greatest Wrestling parodies of all time. The Blue Meanie, Big Stevie Cool, and Hollywood Nova were very fun to watch.
Well there are some of my favorites in ECW. If I left some out please fill free to let me know.
Here’s the LOW Tag Team that started this column
OMG!!! If he had the facial hair, Ryback would look like Pitbull #2! Forget the Goldberg chants!
Pitbull! Pitbull! Pitbull!
Have it be a slow chant. lol
No honorable mention for Cactus Jack and Mikey Whipwreck?
I knew I forgot something. Sorry It was late when I wrote this, and they were teams I left out by mistake
I was joking…I think they only had one match.
Awesome feature, Jeremy!
I never watched the original ECW. WWF was the only show available over here during the 90s. I found out the other day that WCW did air over here but I never had the channel it aired on. So sadly I missed out on some great ECW moments.
It’s amazing the amount of great tag teams ECW had. Great pool of talent they had. I think if their product was less violent they would of gotten a better TV deal thus become a bigger company. But I guess the extreme separated them from the rest.