10 Old-School Tag Teams That WWE Failed To Utilize Properly
Tag team wrestling is an art form. When done properly, tag team wrestling can be just as exciting and emotional provoking as a great singles storyline. WWE would be the home of some of the greatest tag teams of all time. The Road Warriors, the Steiners, The Dudleys have all called WWE home.
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During the 80s and 90s, WWE tag team wrestling experienced their Golden Era. Holding and defending the tag team titles was an honor given to the best in the company. Teams like the Hart Foundation, Demolition and the Nasty Boys competed for tag team supremacy. Yet, even WWE missed out on some of the tag team talent the promotion assembled. With so much talent, sometimes noteworthy teams didn't even get a chance in the company. Looking back at the 1980s and 1990s several teams jump off the page for being under utilized.
10 Haku & Barbarian (Pre Faces Of Fear)
In the mid 1990s, the Faces of Fear were a very over yet severely under utlized team in World Championship Wrestling, yet that utilization started in WWE. In early 1991, WWE would team up Heenan Family members Haku and Barbarian. The devastating duo would open up WrestleMania 7 losing to the Rockers in 10 minutes. The team would be dissolved by early spring. Yet, what an opportunity WWE had with the two stars. Haku and Meng could have tangled with the aforementioned teams of Demolition, Road Warriors and Hart Foundation.
9 Orient Express
In 1991, the New Orient Express of Tanaka and the masked Kato (Paul Diamond) would join the WWE tag team ranks. Kato replaced Akio Sato and reunited with Tanaka; the duo in AWA went by the name Badd Company. Kato and Tanaka would have several great matches in WWE, but were never given a true push. At the 1991 Royal Rumble, the Orient Express and the Rockers would tear the house down. Kato and Tanaka would come up short against the Rockers. Then again at the 1992 Royal Rumble, the Orient Express would lose to the New Foundation, Jim Niedhart and Owen Hart in another great bout.
8 Young Stallions
The Young Stallions of Paul Roma and Jim Powers would compete in WWE from 1987 until 1989. The duo was put together to be enhancement talent in the WWE tag team division. Yet, in August 1987, the Stallions pulled off an upset with a victory over the WWE Tag Team Champions, the Hart Foundation in a non-title match. The Stallions joined the Killer Bees as the only surviving tag teams in the original Survivor Series. The young duo never won the WWE titles and by 1989, they were back to being enhancement talent.
7 American Express
The U.S. Express of Barry Windham and Mike Rotunda would win two WWE World Tag Team Championships and be a very popular tag team. Yet, when Windham left the WWE, Rotunda was teamed with Dan Spivey as the American Express. The American Express was a carbon copy of the U.S. Express but WWE didn't push them in a way to get over like the original version. The American Express would feud with the Islanders and Moondogs, but didn't last long before Rotunda left the promotion. WWE could have made the American Express a very successful tag team.
6 Allied Powers
For 8 months in 1995 the "Man Made In the USA" Lex Luger and the "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith formed the Allied Powers. The team formed to battle the Million-Dollar Corporation and battled King Kong Bundy and Bam Bam Bigelow on the house show circuit. The Allied Powers defeated the Blu Brothers at WrestleMania 11. The two patriotic competitors would have made amazing babyface tag team champions, yet WWE would turn Smith heel and allow Luger to escape to WCW before truly pushing the popular Powers.
5 High Energy
In 1992, Owen Hart would join Koko B Ware to create High Energy. The High Energy tag team was an exciting combination. Both Koko B Ware and Owen Hart used a lot of high impact and top rope moves that stood out in the WWE tag team division. Add their colorful attire and babyface personas, and you had the makings of a 1990s tag team championship duo. Yet, WWE never fully invested in Ware and Hart. High Energy would only get one pay per view opportunity at Survivor Series 1992, where they'd lose to the Headshrinkers in less than 8 minutes.
4 New Dream Team
The New Dream Team would form after the original Dream Team of Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine split up at WrestleMania 3. The original team were former WWE World Tag Team Champions, yet the new team had that potential as well. Valentine was paired with veteran Canadian strong man Dino Bravo.
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On paper, you had two nasty, tough professional wrestling heels that could defeat any team you lined them up against. WWE had the potential for a quality team, yet Valentine and Bravo did not last as a team long enough.
3 Power & Glory
Paul Roma makes his second appearance on the under utilized tag team list. Roma and Hercules formed Power & Glory in 1990. At SummerSlam 1990, Herc and the Jerk would defeat the Rockers. As a heel tag team Power & Glory had a great look and were very solid in the ring. Yet, even with numerous opportunities, Power & Glory could not wrestle the tag team titles away from the Hart Foundation. By WrestleMania 7, they were losing to the Legion of Doom (Road Warriors) in less than a minute. Then at SummerSlam 91, they were in six man action, which would be their last pay per view appearance.
2 Powers Of Pain
The Powers of Pain looked like World Tag Team Champions, even if they never won the titles. The powerful face painted musclemen jumped off the television screen and looked destined for tag team success. Like other face painted teams such as Demolition and the Road Warriors, the Warlord and the Barbarian were intimidating and dominating in the ring. The Powers of Pain would only be cleanly pinned once in their WWE careers, and that was in their last match as a team. WWE truly dropped the ball of not allowing the supersized team carry the tag team titles.
1 The Rockers
The Rockers were one of the most popular tag teams in WWE history. Yet, WWE officials never officially put the tag titles on the tag team specialists. Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty would wear matching attire and use high-flying, fast-paced moves to stick out in the late 80s tag team division.
RELATED: 10 Things WWE Fans Should Know About The Rockers
The Rockers would win the tag team titles from the Hart Foundation in the fall of 1990, but due to a rope breaking mid-match, WWE would reverse the decision. Yet, the Rockers were the personification of tag team excellence and should have been multi time World Tag Team Champions in WWE.
