The tag teams in the world today include LOD, Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney, the Dudley Boys, New Age Outlaws, DOA, and some other teams that basically mean nothing. LOD is completely washed up; they are too old to function anymore and they're gimmick went out of style as soon as Hawk got fat. Damn those steroid tests. Not many of you have access to ECW to even know of the tag teams that they boast of. You aren't missing too much. However, in the Eliminators ECW can lay claim to having the last "great tag team" in the US. Although Perry Saturn never got along with John Kronus they WERE a great functioning unit. Need proof? Watch Barely Legal, ECW's first PPV.
Eric Bischoff has made it no secret that he thinks Tag Team wrestling is boring and that he will shy away from it. In my humble opinion, this is just insane. With the mid-carder talent that he has signed the Tag Team belts should be a hotly contested division. Why isn't it? Because Eric is more concerned about keeping the upper tier happy and not letting the younger guys step into the light. The Tag belts seem to always be held within a faction of the NWO and are only defended when an on the fly challenge is made on Nitro to another group in another faction of the NWO. How many more years must we endure this? To be perfectly honest with you readers, I have NO clue who holds the Tag belts right now. I tired of WCW about a year and a half ago and have really only read the Nitro report. I rarely, if ever, tune in when Nitro is on. RAW is much more digestible. Sure, I'm pro-WWF but who in their right mind isn't? :)
Since I'm so much on the side of McMahon & Co. let me say that I'm only fairly happy with his tag belt situation. The NAO are absolutely the most over tag team in either WWF or WCW right now. They get great pops and, guess what, they have the belts. While this point may be moot to Eric Bischoff, I'm sure my readers in their infinite wisdom can see that this is a good thing. The NAO are a TAG TEAM, not two superstars put together to sell tickets. Granted, the belts were around Austin and Undertaker and then Mankind and Kain. I wasn't too happy about this, but I lived with it because I realized it was to try and gain heat on a stalling angle. The WCW Tag belt situation is, in short, this: NWO Member, "I want the tag belts just because I want them." Eric Bischoff, "All right, all right. I'll make sure to give them to you on the next Nitro." Pathetic. Eric, "Did I mention Nitro is LIVE EVERY WEEK." Yes, Eric you've mentioned it.
I don't want to go off on a rant here, but the dismantling of the Tag Team division in both organizations (much more so in WCW) is a travesty of cataclysmic proportions. It seems to me that both organizations are trying to make their living off their top guys and their top angle. The others guys seem to be there for the sole purpose of filling up the timeslot. Hell, we might throw them a bone and give them an angle with no thought put in it, but what does that matter? We've got Austin! We've got Hogan! I say it is time to rekindle the flames in the tag team division and to rekindle the feuds that don't necessarily have to have a belt involved. Let's show some interest people. Let's not only cheer for the people who cuss and make their boss look like a fool. Let's not just cheer for a bald-headed Austin-wannabe because they've made him invincible. Let's cheer for the small time guy who is working his ass off trying to get noticed. You hold such tremendous power as fans. YOU control the destiny of the wrestling industry. I say it's time we hand over the reigns to someone else. Sorry Hulkster.
Comments and ideas for articles are always appreciated and responded to. I'm sorry if I might've missed some of your e-mails but I was gone for several days and when I got home someone had deleted all the e-mails that were sent.
HellHound
