Two failing wrestling overcame acrimonious splits with their former tag team partners to form the WWF's most imposing tandem. How did they do it? They made everyone think twice..and then think again.
As the New Age Outlaws, "Road Dog" Jesse James and "Bad-Ass" Billy Gunn are amazing the wrestling world with their success! Who ever would have believed it?
By: Bryan Ethier
Maybe there is hope, after all, for ever dorky nerd chosen last in the kickball game, forced to eat lunch at a cafeteria's pariah table, and ultimately caught in a three-year delayed pubescence in which pimples provide topographical road map to his tortured soul.
After all, who in the name fo Vince McMahon ever gave Billy Gunn and Jesse James a shot at winning the WWF World Tag Team Title?
"The New Age Outlaws are the success story of the year," says WWF broadcaster Jim Ross. "That they survived their past incarnations is testament to man's will over his own limitations."
To recap: Billy and Bart Gunn formed the moderately successful Smokin' Gunns tag team; they reigned as champs three times, didn't impress many people, then crumples. For the better part of two years, Billy disappeared off wrestling's map.
Jesse James, a.k.a. The Roadie, was popular as Jeff Jarrett's sidekick, but after the lipsynching debacle between him and Jarrett, The Roadie ran off to various independent promotions to reclaim his self-esteem. That Gunn and James would come together as a single unit was a mark of their desperation. That these two-time champs have risen to the top of wrestling's tag team world is nothing short of a mini-miracle.
"There's a spark to them, no doubt," says Mic Foley, who, as Dude Love and Mankind, has seen more than his share of The New Age Outlaws. "Me and Terry Funk thought we had them beat at Wrestlemania XIV in that dumpster match, but you can never tell what's in store for you when you face "Road Dogg" and "Bad-Ass". The championship match between Foley and Funk and the Outlaws punctuated the savvy and ingenuity of the Outlaws. Foley and Funk appeared to have won the match and captured the title when they deposited the Outlaws in a dumpster, a prerequisite to winning the match. But WWF officials later overruled the apparent victory when it was discovered the Outlaws had tricked their opponents into using the wrong garbage bin. The title was held up, and the Outlaws quickly reclaimed their belts a night later.
Such chicanery has become the trademark of Gunna and James, and a major reason they have risen above the competition.
"You don't want to face them, because they throw a million different things at you," said Ken Shamrock. "But it's the subtle cheating, the quick tagging, the little show they always put on before the match that gets to you. That's what you can't predict when you enter the ring."
What you can predict is that they'll have fun- often at your expense. Gunn and James like to find ways to get their opponents angry at them. Sometimes they'll do so via sneak attack. Other times it's that little comedy routine they put on before the bell rings- the one in which James serves as ring announcer for the team. They get their opponents so mad at them that they focus only on pounding them and often forget their game plan somewhere along the way.
The Outlaws' use of psychology to lull their opponents into a false sense of security is ironic, considering neither performer was previously very smart inside the ring. In fact, James spent most of his time as The Roadie completely confused about his identity.
Deceptive as they may be, the Outlaws, however, are uncomplicated. Their chief strategy goes like this: Antagonize, cheat, steal, and beat the pulp out of an opponent until he gives in. And, if things still look bleak, force a disqualification by getting outside help and subsequently turning your nemesis into a black-and-blue (and occasionally blood-red) mess.
No opponent has been humiliated by the Outlaws more than Foley. Both Road Dog and Bad-Ass have attacked him repeatedly, hurling him head-first through card tables and onto the hard ring apron.
"It's really kind of sad, actually," said broadcaster Michael Cole. "After a while you begin to feel sorry for the guys the Outlaws have made their targets. You think they're easy enough to beat, but they're not."
Like the Spanish Inquisition, the Outlaws inspire fear in their opponents even before the clang of the ring bell. Surprise and a ruthless devotion to winning also play a hand in their success. Plus, what tag team would be successful without chemistry.
"It's been a while since I've seen two guys work so well together," said legendary manager Capt. Lou Albano. "Maybe it's because they need each other. I'm tellin' ya, these two were almost on their way out of the sport until they came together. What a stroke of luck."
And a stroke of brilliance! How two once-mediocre singles wrestlers found each other remains a mystery.
Some WWF observers have fingered Hunter Hearst Helmsley as the engineer between the Gunn/James union. In light of the Outlaws' relationship with D-Generation X, this seems a reasonable hypothesis.
But Helmsley would say only this: "'Triple H' knows what he's doing, and I know how to make people click. How do you think DX came to be? Through Shawn Michaels? Come on!"
By joining forced with Helmsley and Chyna and X-Pac, the Outlaws are even more daunting and imposing than ever. Not only do opponents have to watch their backs when in the ring with them, now they have to keep a lookout for Triple-H and Chyna, who always seem to have a hand in the shenanigans.
Ironically, even though Bad-Ass and Road Dogg have adopted DX's juvenile, lews behavious, no one seems to overlook them anymore.
"They are, no doubt, the most imposing force in the tag team world, bar none," said Jerry Lawler. "You know, I wouldn't mind being part of their clique; God, what I could do for them."
Seriously, Jerry, what could you do for a tag team partnership that has become nearly invincible? Maybe the question should be asked the other way around: What could the New Age Outlaws do for you?
