10 Thrown Together WCW Tag Teams That Hurt Both Wrestlers

WCW used the storytelling device of having singles wrestlers forming tag teams to try to find a new direction. Makeshift tag teams are hit or miss when looking at the success track record. WWE has been doing it for decades and Tony Khan has put together some of AEW’s most successful teams.

RELATED: The 10 Best Tag Teams In WCW History, According To Ranker

However, wrestling was a little different during the WCW years when fans were more accepting of changes. It took a few things going wrong for the experimental tag teams to flounder. The worst case scenario for a put together team is both wrestlers suffering from it. WCW had that play out for the following makeshift tag teams hurting two singles wrestlers.

10 The Dancing Fools

Alex Wright was once viewed as a future main event prospect for WCW before the Hulk Hogan era. Ric Flair and other pivotal WCW backstage minds wanted to elevate Wright as a huge part of the company’s future. Disco Inferno never had that hype, but he won some mid-card titles for the cheap heat.

RELATED: 10 WCW Wrestlers Who Changed Gimmicks & Completely Fell Off The Map

WCW pairing Wright and Inferno together had both ups and downs for the odd duo. The dancing gimmicks did have some logic, but it was still two different wrestlers trying to make it work. WCW reuniting them in 2000 led to the end of their relevance in wrestling going back to an act fans didn’t care for.

9 Marcus Bagwell & 2 Cold Scorpio

WCW signed both Marcus “Buff” Bagwell and 2 Cold Scorpio as talented young prospect with a chance to break out. Both guys did have decent careers, but the forced tag team run together slowed down their chances at faster success.

The WCW Tag Team Championship win for Bagwell and Scorpio didn’t even help their tag run. Future shoot interviews showed both wrestlers strongly disliked having to work together. Two singles wrestlers not on the same page is going to always lead to failure as a tag team.

8 Lenny & Lodi

The comedy pairing of Lenny Lane and Lodi didn’t pan out like WCW hoped when putting them together. Lodi was previously known for holding signs at ringside with Raven’s Flock. Lane was a cruiserweight looking for any chance to get more television time.

The tag run did show some chemistry between the two, but WCW booked them horribly. An offensive gimmick caused Turner’s standards and practices to demand WCW end their run together. Neither wrestler ever did much in wrestling beyond that failed tag run.

7 Cactus Jack & Kevin Sullivan

WCW had some great hardcore matches with Mick Foley as Cactus Jack, but they never used Foley to his potential. The biggest issue was that WCW never let Foley show his creative side and just placed him in matches based on violence to make him one-dimensional.

One of the storylines to show this feature Cactus forming a short-term team with Kevin Sullivan.

Both wrestlers were good hardcore wrestlers, but their characters were too far apart. Sullivan struggled to look relevant, and Foley was out of WCW not too long after the tag run.

6 Wrath & Mortis

WCW could have done more with the tag team pairing of Wrath and Mortis. Eric Bischoff was inspired by the Mortal Kombat video game franchise to come up with these stranger gimmicks. However, the managing skills of James Mitchell added to the act.

Mortis and Wrath were both interesting and different enough to make the tag dynamic work. The lack of importance just each of their respective careers. Chris Kanyon thankfully bounced back a few years later without the Mortis persona, and Wrath didn’t find relevance until teaming with Brian Adams in Kronik.

5 The Dark Carnival

The booking for WCW talent in 2000 would see things drastically changing from one week to another. Vampiro had hope that his feud against Sting would help him move up the card since he was getting a big push with the New Blood faction.

RELATED: 5 Tag Teams That WWE Used Better Than WCW (& 5 That WWE Used Better)

Unfortunately, WCW just placed him in another tag team act with Japanese star The Great Muta to form The Dark Carnival. Muta was a respected singles talent after quite a few successful tours in WCW. The tag run just watered them both down and made them feel less important.

4 Shane Douglas & Buff Bagwell

The New Blood faction led to WCW trying to find ways to elevate new talents into the main event picture. Jeff Jarrett was considered the biggest singles star winning the WCW Championship, but Shane Douglas and Buff Bagwell were right behind him.

WCW pushed Bagwell and Douglas to win the WCW Tag Team Championship when the New Blood held all the gold. The run didn’t work out as it felt like steps down from their singles potential to move back into tag teams. WCW bailed on the idea when the New Blood angle started to fail and things changed on a weekly basis.

3 Team Madness

Randy Savage returned in 1999 with a new look and persona to receive another main event push. The Team Madness faction became a thing with the trio of valets Molly Holly, Madusa and Gorgeous George at his side. Sid Vicious joined Savage to form a tag team that competed in main event matches.

WCW even had Savage winning the WCW Championship from Kevin Nash in a tag match teaming with Sid. The lack of character direction or general purpose for both men working together doomed them. Savage’s new character flopped badly, and Sid had to rebuild his momentum to reach the main event scene.

2 The First Family

Brian Knobbs returning to WCW in a singles role without Jerry Sags ended the Nasty Boys tag team for the time being. WCW used Knobbs in the hardcore division with Jimmy Hart as his manager before forming a new tag team with an unlikely partner.

Fit Finlay also being managed by Hart led to them forming the First Family faction with a few members. Knobbs and Finlay didn’t have much chemistry to doom their tag run. This was Knobbs final noteworthy run for a major promotion. Finlay moved to producing for WWE until they had him return to the ring years later.

1 Totally Buffed

The final makeshift tag team for WCW may have been their worst at the end of the company’s run. Lex Luger and Buff Bagwell formed the Totally Buffed tag team at the end of 2000 and existed until the company closed in March 2001.

WCW placed the two singles talents in a team to feud with Goldberg and even “retired” him as part of a storyline. Totally Buffed joined the Magnificent Seven faction under Ric Flair’s leadership, but they felt like secondary members. This unnecessary tag run harmed their momentum as WCW ended with their final chances at success passing them by.