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

Eyes On WWE: 10 Of The Worst Booking Decisions

By @Phranchize19

Vince McMahon is a genius mostly (Editor's Note: He really isn't). He’s made some brilliant moves and some not so brilliant (Editor's Note: mostly not so brilliant). I’m gonna talk about 10 of the worst booking decisions he’s made. Mind you, this isn’t a complete list or the worst decisions, just 10 of the worst to me.

*Hulk Hogan Defeats Yokozuna For The WWF Title (Wrestlemania 9)

-McMahon loved Hogan. That was his guy, for a good reason though, as Hogan helped him become the success he is today. That love has caused for questionable decisions and this was one of them. Yokozuna was riding a wave of momentum, as was Bret Hart. Bret and Yokozuna had a fair main event but then after winning the title, Yokozuna’s manager Mr Fuji challenged Hogan to wrestle Yokozuna for the belt. No one ever does this so it was strange to begin with. No one had defeated Yokozuna up to that point and Hogan defeats him for the belt he just won in less than 30 seconds. That devalued the push both Bret and Yokozuna got as well as devalued the belt.

*Hulk Hogan Regains WWF Title From The Undertaker One Week After Losing 

-Undertaker was something different. He was refreshing. He held an undefeated streak and it led him to the title. Hogan’s popularity was clearly on the decline but McMahon didn’t care. The problem wasn’t so much Hogan winning the title back it was winning the title as quickly as he did. That devalued the belt and cut The Undertaker short to where he almost didn’t recover.

*Ted DiBiase Never Becoming WWF Champion

-Ted DiBiase is one of the best wrestlers ever as well as a top 10 heel. The decision for him to never be WWF champion baffles me. The strange part is he was actually booked to win the WWE title during the tournament at Wrestlemania 4 before it changed. 

*The End Of Summer of Punk 

-The entire summer of Punk was NOT a waste. Some of the most interesting storylines came from this storyline. However there are 3 things that were strange here. First, CM Punk wins the title at Summerslam but loses to Del Rio shortly after. Normally this is just to get the the briefcase cashed in but Del Rio cashes in and feuds with Cena. Next, Punk not only loses the belt, he then feuds with Kevin Nash. Kevin Nash. Lastly, when the match with Nash falls through, he goes on and feuds with Triple H and LOSES. Enough said.

*The Wrestlemania 2000 Main Event

-With Stone Cold Steve Austin out, McMahon had to call an audible for the main event. His two hottest guys at the time was The Rock and Triple H. Naturally, they should’ve headlined but McMahon decided to add Big Show and originally Chris Jericho but they gave his spot to Mick Foley. Not only was it a Fatal 4 Way but a McMahon was in every corner. The match was overbooked before it even began. The action in the wrong was overshadowed by the McMahon family drama. The main event should’ve been the main event we got at Backlash 2000.

*Undertaker’s Booking From 1992-1996

-After Undertaker lost his undefeated streak and the WWE title to Hulk Hogan, he foundered in a big way. Taker would squash Jake Roberts but then feud with the likes of Giant Gonzalez. After a decent feud with Yokozuna, he then had an uninspiring feud with the Million Dollar Team. After this, Taker would FINALLY get a feud that would probably have been considered the best feud of 1996 with Mankind. Had it not been for Mankind, Undertaker wouldn’t have probably become the legend that he is or at least found the right lane.

*Storyline Treatment Of Jim Ross

-Personally I felt the way Vince handled Jim Ross wasn’t right. Jim Ross would constantly get embarrassed from being beat up by the likes of Austin, Eric Bischoff, Triple H among others to being fired on TV or be embarrassed in general by guys like CM Punk. Jim Ross and Undertaker may be the most liked and respected individuals in the wrestling industry and I felt Vince treated JR unfairly. His booking as an on air personality was never right.

*Legion of Doom Booking

-The Road Warriors are considered by many to be the greatest tag team ever (personally I feel Hardyz and Dudleyz have surpassed them but that’s another story). LOD won the tag titles in WWE but their reigns were rather unforgettable. While I agree that those guys were supposed to put over teams at that stage in their careers (New Age Outlaws), they didn't book them as too much of a threat at any point. Road Warriors dominated every tag division they set foot in but their WWE runs were largely pedestrian at best.

*The "Divas" Division 

-We are seeing women’s wrestling at its apex. But once upon a time, women were seen as eye candy and that’s all. The Attitude Era would be a prime example where Sable was the face of the division without being a competent wrestler. From there, it got better during  2002-2008. Once Trish, Lita, and others retired, Vince tried to give us Kelly Kelly as the face of the division, which was all bad. Thankfully, Vince saw the light (Editor's Note: Triple H handles most of that) and we have a great era now.

*Stone Cold Steve Austin Heel Turn At Wrestlemania 17

This may have been the worst booking decision (Editor's Note: It actually was a good decision in the end). Austin’s career never recovered after this heel turn (Editor's Note: Actually, it got an added dimension thanks to the heel turn, it's the injuries and booking that messed him up) which turned him from bad ass to a McMahon disciple. Austin becoming friends with his biggest rival was already bad enough but playing guitar and buttering up McMahon made it absolutely horrendous to watch (Editor's Note: All of this was entertaining TV and helped Austin out of a box). By the time Austin turned face again, the damage was already done (Editor's Note: Austin and WHAT? were immensely popular after the heel turn so I'm not sure what Phranchize means here).

Whether or not you agree with Phranchize on these or not, these all make for a compelling discussion on the logic of WWE booking and the ramifications of it. Let us know your thoughts on this list.

-Phranchize

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Eyes on the Ring 2:02 AM  No comment

WIRTB Review: IYH 3

Oh, New Generation. I really wish that I didn't have to perform defecatory services upon your lifeless corpse. However, you just make it so easy. I'm Speed on the Beat and welcome to yet another WIRTB Review, the EOTR series where I make up my own acronyms and review the crap, so you don't have to. I've taken a break from my Game of Thrones binge-a-thon to cover an event that screams "my little brother booked this in WWE 2k15 because he thought it'd be a great idea to do to give John Cena and Roman Reigns complete reign over the WWE." I'm talking about, as mentioned, In Your House 3 a/k/a the one where we got three belts, one match, and a couple years of WTF afterwards.

If you ever had to make a case for "backstage politics," look no further than this match. And, yes, I'm anticipating Shawn Michaels to superkick the block button on Twitter to block me after this one. Strangely, I'm cool with that. Because this main event shouldn't have happened--video game or otherwise. Anyway, let's get into the matches. Let's run down the dark matches.

Goldust def. Bob Holly: Goldy is at his goofy cartoon stage, but still not completely at his weird sexually open self that we see in the Attitude Era.
Ahmed Johnson def. Skip: Uh,,,enough said. Next,
Fatu def. Hunter Hearst Helmsley: And Rikishi didn't even do it for The Rock this time.
Taker def. Mabel: Because the world asked for this feud, right?

Our first non-darkie (and that sounded so less racist in my head) pits Savio Vega versus Waylon Mercy. In other words, OG Sin Cara's push versus 2015 Bray Wyatt. Savio wins, because reasons that include Waylon (get it? Wailin' [for] Mercy? It's genius!) leaving WWF after this match. But, at least Waylon damn near kills Savio with a brainbuster, right? Because what's more important: not killing the guy in the ring or trying out something new to get over/piss someone off?

Fuck this next match. It's shit. No, literally, there's (kayfabe?) pig slop and shit just around the ring because it's everyone's 274th favorite hillbilly Henry Godwin versus Sycho Sid. First, how the hell did Sid go from being a major contributor to the Next Generation to...this? Well, people stopped giving a shit. That, plus injuries, and him joining the Million Dollar Corporation with...Tatanka. So, again. Fuck this match.

Owen Hart leaves the arena. Smart man, that Owen Hart.

There's something resembling a match between BBB and British Bulldog that they're hyping to come on next, but I'm already saying fuck this company. And that's usually reserved for WCW. BBB doesn't give a shit...at all. Why should I? BBB's big moves get countered and little to no pops. BB's moves get little to no heat. And I give little to no fucks.

Shane Douglas and Razor go up next. Something something punch, something something Razor's edge, something something 1-2-3 Kid run-in to advance his feud with Razor.

Bret Hart wrestles a pirate. No, I shit you not. Bret Hart wrestles Jean-Pierre LaFitte, a guy who was supposedly related to a real pirate. He wore an eye patch for his glass eye and everything. He also tagged with The Mountie at one point. The match was decent, but I couldn't care much considering what came before it and what came after it.

So, with that said, let's get into our main event. Owen Hart left because his wife was preggers. Guess who he's replaced by? The British Bulldog. So, in our main event, we've got Diesel and HBK (WWF and IC Champs respectively) versus Yoko and BB (Tag Team Champions) for a "one ring to rule them all" match. Whichever team won, they'd win all the belts. Or something like that. I watched it on the Network and I'm still slightly confused by it. Anyway, Bulldog spends most of this match getting destroyed. Yoko puts everything in a rest hold. All is lost for a dirty screwjobby finish until...OWEN HART COMES BACK!

And then gets pinned by Diesel.

Nothing about this PPV made sense. At all. It's like having sex with a woman made of barbed wire. The insanity doesn't hurt less the closer you get to the finish. If anything, it's made more insane that you'd put yourself through such stupidity.

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Eyes on the Ring 2:23 PM  No comment