EOTR Tag Team Tuesdays: 5 New Generation Tag Teams

By @TrueGodImmortal

Today, I wanted to do something slightly different. Sure, we talk tag teams every Tuesday, but one era of wrestling that we rarely discuss is the New Generation Era. With Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels as the top two singles stars, the tag division was full of gimmicks and interesting teams. There were no true clear cut ahead of the pack teams, but I do think some of them had better moments than the others. Let's take a look at 5 New Generation Tag Teams that made an impact.

*The Smoking Gunns 

-In a way, this team is the best of the era and it's not close. The Smoking Gunns are the most important team of the New Generation and they would be the reason we see Billy Gunn as a true tag team wrestler. Bart and Billy Gunn worked together for years in a cowboy team gimmick, which really doesn't seem to be an interesting gimmick overall, but they made it work. They lasted the entire New Generation era, going from 1993 to 1996, and they were honestly a joy to watch in the ring together. They were solid in ring guys and had a gimmick that the typical wrestling crowd seemed to love. 1995 was the biggest year for the team as they won the tag titles multiple times and had some solid matches in that time. 1996 was a little different, as Billy got injured and the Gunns lost the titles, but their feud with the Godwinns would be big for the WWF. They would turn heel and get managed by Sunny before eventually splitting. The truth be told, the Smoking Gunns are one of the best teams in WWF history so it was a must they got featured on this article.

*The Bodydonnas 

-Chris Candido is an underrated wrestler in history and his work over the years was important in the world of pro wrestling. However, one of his oddest moments came as a member of the Bodydonnas. As Skip, he worked alongside Zip and they were managed by Sunny (and eventually the weird crossdressing Cloudy.... which is still odd today). The gimmick was poorly executed, but they could actually wrestle and that made a huge difference overall. They were tag team champions before and while their reigns weren't very eventful, they stand out as one of the better teams in the New Generation.

*The Headshrinkers 

-Samu and Fatu essentially started the Headshrinkers, and I'll be honest, I wasn't a big fan of this team initially. I did enjoy their work against The Steiners at Wrestlemania 9, but all in all, the team was merely an extension of the Wild Samoans so they weren't as prevalent as they probably should have been. They would feud with Men On A Mission and Smoking Gunns during their hottest period, and eventually Samu was replaced with Sione. However, Sione and Fatu didn't have the same success as Samu and Fatu, as Samu and Fatu were tag team champions and managed to be near the top of the tag team ladder throughout their entire run. The Headshrinkers weren't legends, but they were a noteworthy team in the era.

*Owen Hart And Yokozuna

-Surprisingly, this is the best makeshift team in the New Generation Era. Owen Hart had proven himself as a singles competitor, while Yokozuna was one of the premier stars in the WWF. When they teamed up under the element of surprise, it was only a matter of time before they would run everything. Their first night together would prove to be a big deal, as Yokozuna returned at Wrestlemania 11 to help Owen defeat the Smoking Gunns. With Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette by their side, they had two great managers and after their title win, they would reek havoc on the entire tag division for a while. After a nice 175 day reign, the two lost their belts but would get them back and lose them the same night to the Smoking Gunns. While short-lived, the Owen and Yokozuna team was one of the best of the entire era.

*The Allied Powers 

-An underrated team, the Allied Powers never quite lived up to their potential. I mean, Lex Lugar was a main event talent and the British Bulldog was right there on the cusp of the main event regularly. Together, they should have been tag team champions and running the division. However, WWF seemed hellbent on making them lose and not get a tag team title reign. It's honestly the most confusing thing about this team, as there is no reason why they didn't dethrone Owen and Yokozuna as champions. They had matches with teams like Well Dunn, The Heavenly Bodies, and The Million Dollar Corporation, but the Allied Powers were defeated by Owen and Yokozuna and then they broke up shortly after, with Luger leaving the company. I wish we could have watched this team last a little longer and win the belts, but they were still pretty noteworthy in their short time together.

-True 

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Eyes on the Ring 1:53 AM  No comment

Classic Rivalries: Taker versus Mankind

There are some once in a lifetime rivalries that can never be duplicated. For me, the rivalry that is Undertaker versus Mankind is one that's legendary. I remember watching Mankind's debut, the night after WrestleMania 12, and as a child, I was instantly intrigued. Undertaker, at the time, was a creepy supernatural force that received power from an urn and his manager Paul Bearer. Taker was a draw all by himself without having to be WWF Champion or even in the picture at the time. Mick Foley, fresh off his departure from ECW, did a complete change, as he went from the character of Cactus Jack, to the slum dwelling, cellar living, rat befriending weirdo that became Mankind. The dichotomy that was built between these two characters was perfect. When Mankind arrived and set his sights on Taker, you knew you were in for something epic.

This feud essentially was a long running two year feud from 1996 to 1998, with very few breaks or different opponents in between. After the feud kicked off on RAW following Wrestlemania 12, we didn't see Mankind go after The Undertaker for a few weeks, when he helped Goldust to bear down Taker, setting up their first encounter at King of The Ring 1996, which Mankind shockingly won. Essentially, Undertaker went ahead and put over Mankind, solidifying him as a threat, as well as making him a made man. The feud continued with what is probably their 2nd most known encounter, the Boiler Room Brawl at SummerSlam 1996.

This match was significant, because it was the first of its kind, and it featured the ultimate swerve of Paul Bearer turning on Undertaker to manage Mankind. In reflection, that might be the biggest story of this entire feud. Bearer, who was Taker's manager for years at this point, found someone who he saw as much more worthy of his power than Taker, and the ultimate mind games were beginning. Thus far, Mankind had been dominating the feud, winning both matches and taking Taker's manager and urn. Keeping up with energy of having such an inventive feud, Mankind and Taker would clash at a PPV called In Your House: Buried Alive, in the main event. This was the first ever Buried Alive match, with the objective to put your opponent into a makeshift grave. One would assume that this would certainly mark the feud's end, as there is nowhere to really go after a Buried Alive match. The Undertaker technically won the match, but end up buried under dirt by Mankind and some heels, almost guaranteeing the feud would continue.

The feud had one last big 1996 encounter at Survivor Series, with Taker picking up the victory and going on to feud briefly with The Executioner, who helped save Bearer from an ass whooping from Taker. After Survivor Series, it seemed as if this feud had simmered down, until Wrestlemania 13, where Taker won the WWF Championship from Sycho Sid. Who would Taker's first PPV opponent be?? You guessed it. Mankind vs Taker took place at the April 1997 In Your House PPV, with Taker soundly picking up the victory, seemingly bringing that feud to an instant close again. Taker would go on to feud with Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and Faarooq through the rest of 1997, before getting trapped in a huge feud with his "brother," Kane.

It was the Kane feud that would bring things full circle for one last epic encounter. Mankind had aligned with Kane, and cost Taker a no. 1 contender match against him, rekindling the feud and setting up an epic Hell In A Cell encounter at King of The Ring 1998, two years exactly after their first match on PPV.

This match is one of the most famous matches in both of their careers, mostly for the sheer brutality. Foley took a huge fall off the top of the cage, and a chokeslam through the top of the cage soon after. Taker picked up the victory, but Foley walked away with fans' respect forever. That iconic image of him in mid air falling from the top is one of the greatest moments in wrestling history. Which goes back to the point I made earlier: Undertaker helped make Mankind into a formidable star in 1996 during their year long feud, and at the end, he helped get him that long lasting respect and validation that Foley had searched for his whole career.

The feud finished up the next month with a tag team title match at Fully Loaded 1998 with Austin as Taker's partner and Kane as Mankind's partner. They crossed paths on RAW after that feud ended a time or two, but that rivalry had finally come to a close. Two years of intense matches, breaking new ground and introducing two new matches to the WWF, Taker vs Mankind is hands down one of the best rivalries period, and definitely Foley's defining rivalry in his career.

Until next time,
-True

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Eyes on the Ring 12:02 PM  No comment

Great Moments in Wrestling History: The Enhancement Guy Era

Some of these men are among the greats. However, if you don't recognize someone, chances are, they belong to what True calls...the Enhancement Guy Era.

 

The New Generation. Designed seemingly to highlight the new era of greatness exemplified in guys such as Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, The 1-2-3 Kid, Owen Hart, Razor Ramon, and more. And while those wrestlers got to showcase what they brought to the table, there was another era building during the tail end of the New Generation period: The Enhancement Guy Era. Now, by Enhancement Guys, I don't mean a super jacked-up steroid freak, but rather a wrestler who is not expected to be very much and exists merely to put over other guys once he's racked up a few wins over jobbers. You see, it's one thing to be a no name jobber, who shows up, gets defeated on an episode of Superstars, then you're not heard from again on TV. Its another thing to get a cheesy vignette, a small feud, pick up jobber wins, then go nowhere. Unfortunately, WWF had a bunch of those guys. Every week, an enhancement guy would make his arrival to WWF TV, beat some no-name, repeat this again the following week, then end up losing from that point on. Hell, even in the previous era, a guy like Repo Man or Skinner could get a feud and PPV spot at times. Once The New Generation got here, an enhancement guy wasn't even good enough for the free for all before the PPV, and was very seldom seen on RAW. The closest thing to an enhancement guy who tasted a little success was probably Waylon Mercy (Ed. Note: The guy who had a Bray Wyatt gimmick twenty years too early) or Duke "The Dumpster" Droese, and not even that lasted too long. I remember Droese having a small feud with Hunter Hearst Helmsey, but aside from that, nothing of note comes to mind. Below are some of those enhancement characters and just how awful they truly were.

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Eyes on the Ring 12:28 PM  No comment