EOTR Tag Team Tuesdays: 5 Tag Team Matches At The Royal Rumble

By @TrueGodImmortal

With the Royal Rumble a few weeks away, and it being Tuesday again, I wanted to take a brief look at some of the better tag team matches that took place at the beginning of the year event. There hasn't been a classic tag team match in years so most of these will be at least 10 years old. Let's take a look.

*1-2-3 Kid and Bob Holly vs Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka
Royal Rumble 1995

-This match was for the vacant WWF Tag Team Titles and it was much better than it had any business being. Both Bam Bam and Tatanka were a part of the Dibiase Million Dollar Corporation, and this would be the final round of a vacant tag team title tournament. This match was fast paced surprisingly, and at the end, the unthinkable happened: Bob Holly and 1-2-3 Kid were the new WWF Tag Team Champions in a hot match that helped open up the Rumble PPV.

*The Smoking Gunns vs The Bodydonnas
Royal Rumble 1996 

-Another tag team title match that didn't seem promising, this would end up being a solid match on a weaker PPV. Both teams were solid in the ring and as a result, this would be a short but enjoyable contest that would end with the Smoking Gunns retaining the titles. There was a tease coming in this contest of perhaps Sunny leaving the corner of the Bodydonnas and eventually she would manage The Smoking Gunns, and the seeds were planted with this match.

*The Hardy Boyz vs The Dudley Boyz
Tables Match
Royal Rumble 2000

-There were three teams that were viable during this Attitude Era run and two of them were in this match. This was a match that I think deserves more credit for being a beginning point for the three way rivalry that changed tag team wrestling forever. With these two teams going at each other and trying to put the other through tables, this would showcase the brutality that made the Attitude Era so much fun. This was the first ever tag team tables match and it didn't disappoint at all. The Hardy Boyz would walk away with the victory and set another piece of the rivalry between the two teams into action and for the future.

*The Dudley Boyz vs Edge And Christian
Royal Rumble 2001

-The crowd was hot for this match, another tag team match that would open the show. With the tag titles on the line, The Dudleys would try to right their wrongs from last year and walk out victors. Though this match was a bit shorter, it had enough action to entice the live crowd who were firmly behind Bubba Ray and D-Von. At the 10 minute mark, after a huge 3D, the Dudleys got the three count and would be walking out of the area victorious and as the new tag team champions. Of all the matches on this list, this might very well be my personal favorite of them all. It has a fast pace, a great crowd, and the right winner. Dope match.

*The Hardy Boyz vs MNM
Royal Rumble 2007

-My last choice is a match between a team that was beyond their prime and a team that never really hit their prime. While MNM had a lot to offer in terms of ability and athleticism, they never quite got it right as a team IMO. They were tag team champions and had a decent gimmick, but they aren't as memorable as they should be considering, but this match was actually a highlight of their run. Kicking off the show with a mostly hot crowd, these two teams put on a high flying athletic show that would end with the Hardy Boyz having their hands raised in victory, but MNM put up a great fight. While the Rumble hasn't had a ton of classic or great tag team matches, you should take a look at all 5 of these battles before the big event.

-True

Read More

Eyes on the Ring 1:26 AM  No comment

EOTR Tag Team Tuesdays: 4 Great WWE Tag Team Matches In 2017

By @TrueGodImmortal

2017 was a great year for tag team wrestling overall. Many teams battled over the year to give us great match and amazing action. Today, for Tag Team Tuesday, I wanted to look at some of my favorite tag team matches of the year in WWE. WWE gave us a number of solid tag team matches and while I won't talk about all of them, I will mention 4 of my favorites, two of which feature the same team. Let's take a look.

*The Usos vs New Day
Smackdown Tag Team Titles
Hell In A Cell 2017

-Anytime you put two of the best teams in the ring together and inside the cell, you're due to get something classic. This was no different. The Usos and New Day had been going toe to toe for months and this was the end of their feud. You'll see these two teams on this list again, but I'll be honest, this might their best match this year. For The New Day, it seemed as if this match was theirs to win, but The Usos weren't going down without a fight. From start to finish, this was a brutal match with a ton of great back and forth action inside of the toughest structure in the WWE. There were plenty of near falls in this match as well, which made for an exciting buildup to the eventual finish, which saw The Usos walk away with the victory and the tag team titles.

*The Authors Of Pain vs The Revival vs DIY
NXT Tag Team Titles
NXT Takeover Orlando 

-Of all the match this year.... This might be my favorite. The three best teams in NXT at the time went at it in a triple threat tag team match for the titles and they didn't disappoint. This is definitely the best match of the Authors Of Pain's short WWE career so far and a lot of that credit has to go to the Revival and DIY. With an elimination stipulation added to this match, it allowed for DIY to be eliminated early as a surprise and shock to me, while still setting the tone for a future battle between AOP and DIY. The best part of this match was the fact that the first elimination didnt come until 20 minutes into the match, that way when DIY got eliminated, it didn't feel early or seem like a burial. The Revival would be eliminated and lose the match, moving onto the main roster and starting the next chapter. The Authors of Pain however would retain their titles and walk away with their hardest fought victory in their best match to date in WWE. If you've never seen this match before, please do yourself a favor and check it out. It's a must see.... and a NXT classic.

*Seth Rollins And Dean Ambrose vs Cesaro And Sheamus
RAW Tag Team Titles
Summerslam 2017

-I have to make a mention of the best RAW feud for tag teams. This feud was pretty good and it seems like it won't be ending anytime soon. Rollins and Ambrose are a top tier team together and when this match was made, I think we knew exactly what was coming. Rollins and Ambrose were obviously going to win the tag titles, but the journey to arrive to this point was the fun of it all. This is the best tag team match of the year to me from the RAW brand and the crowd was hot for this one. With a few near falls, as well as some great moments of action, the crowd was pensive and waiting for the big moment to come. After hitting their respective finishers, Seth and Dean would get the victory and win the tag titles together, adding to their great legacies as The Shield and individually. This match was amazing even with a shorter time.

*The Usos vs The New Day
Smackdown- September 2017
Las Vegas Street Fight

-This match didn't even get a long time, but in the 14 minutes of action we got, they did a lot. The Usos had just won the tag titles back and they were ready to put an end to The New Day after winning the right to pick the stipulation. They chose a Las Vegas Street Fight and unfortunately, it would not work out well for them. The Usos would lose this match and the tag team belts, but in such a short window of time, these two teams proved why they are the cream of the crop. The Usos would end up walking away without their belts, but they could hold their heads high due to the effort they put in. The Usos vs The New Day is the feud of the year, and matches like these are the reason why. They made tag team wrestling so fun, just like the other matches and teams listed here.

-True

Read More

Eyes on the Ring 1:09 AM  1 comment

EOTR Tag Team Tuesdays: 5 Tag Team Matches At Survivor Series

By @TrueGodImmortal

Survivor Series is almost here and you can bet we are excited here at EOTR. The card looks solid and is building up well, so we wanted to do something different. We wanted to look at 5 tag team matches at Survivor Series. Not the 5 on 5 or the 4 on 4, but matches that feature two man teams over the years. Let's take a look at 5 interesting tag matches at the November event.

*The Dudley Boyz vs The Hardy Boyz
Survivor Series 2001

-As the Hardy Boyz were starting to tease a breakup, they would end up going into Survivor Series looking to unify the tag titles and put the WWF on top over the WCW/ECW Alliance. This was a tag team steel cage match that got out of hand, and had great action throughout. However, after Matt made it out of the cage for his team, it was up to Jeff to do the same. Jeff would make it to the top and be right there, but made the mistake of wanting the big moment and would end up costing them the match and the titles. This would set for a possible breakup of the team that just never happened, though a one off match occurred.

*The Rock and John Cena vs The Miz and R-Truth
Survivor Series 2011

-One of the most famous tag team main events in the history of the event, this was the first match for The Rock since 2004. Almost 8 years removed from his last match, Rock would team with his Wrestlemania 28 nemesis John Cena to take on The Miz and R-Truth in what turned out to be a pretty decent match. Rock doesn't do much of the heavy lifting in the match, but he would take a few bumps and win the match for his team with a big People's Elbow and then lay Cena out with a Rock Bottom to close out the night.

*Randy Savage and Mr. Perfect vs Ric Flair And Razor Ramon
Survivor Series 1992

-A heavily promoted tag team match that didn't go the way we expected. Initially, Savage was supposed to team with the Ultimate Warrior, but as we know, Warrior didn't make it to this match and would not be heard from again on WWF TV for quite sometime. Mr. Perfect would replace Warrior, which worked out better in the long run, as Razor was getting a small heel push and Flair was continuing his subpar heel run in the company. This match is actually solid, but the result is a bit underwhelming, as Razor and Flair got DQed and lost. I would have preferred Razor to take the pin after a Savage elbow drop, but as expected, this was an indecisive finish and I'll attribute that to the fact that Warrior was replaced. Still, this was a solid contest.

*Edge and Rey Mysterio vs Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit vs Los Guerreros
Survivor Series 2002

-This is the greatest tag team match in Survivor Series history. It's one of the best tag team matches of the Ruthless Aggression era. When you take the members of the Smackdown Six and put them together with the tag titles on the line, you're bound to get greatness. Greatness is exactly how I would describe this match as all three teams gave their all in this triple threat elimination match. Angle and Benoit were eliminated first in a shocking turn of events, but Los Guerreros managed to hold on and win this match. It was a great culmination to the month long battles between both teams and this was the perfect ending and a classic match at the greatest Survivor Series event.

*CM Punk and Daniel Bryan vs The Wyatt Family
Survivor Series 2013

-Of all the tag team matches, this is the most forgettable one on the list for one glaring reason: Bray Wyatt didn't wrestle. Punk and Bryan were teaming together and that was amazing, but what made it so interesting was that they were battling the much bigger and brutal Harper and Rowan. Of course, Punk and Bryan would end up winning this contest, but it's surprising that we didn't get the anticipated Punk vs Wyatt and Bryan vs Wyatt battle, which made this match a little underwhelming, but still enjoyable nonetheless.

-True 

Read More

Eyes on the Ring 9:42 PM  51 comments