Best Tag Team Tournament: Round 3
 

Here are the matchups!

Rockers vs. FTR
Hart Foundation vs. Demolition (Ax and Smash)
Rock n Roll Express vs. Dudleyz
Steiner Brothers vs. Midnight Express (Eaton and Condrey)
Road Warriors vs. Dream Team
Megapowers vs. Minnesota Wrecking Crew (Ole and Gene Anderson)
British Bulldogs vs. The Bar
Hardys vs. World's Greatest Tag Team

Dream mother fucking Team baby!

Thinking about Hart Foundation and Bulldogs getting this far... and gotta admit... I was more a mark for the Bulldog/Owen team than Bret/Neidhart or Bulldogs.

Steiners-Midnights is some finals shit.

Owen and Bulldog's legacy is a victim of their era. Nobody gave a shit, so they're not really in the conversation. But I really liked them, too. Also, you probably prefer them because you watched them in real-time, unlike the 2 others teams who were before your time.

Hardest choice for me so far.

Road Warriors smashing through every team as easily as they did in real life.

Oh, the choice was easy for me because I’m going Steiners over anyone. It’s just way too early for that matchup.

FTR-Rockers is the only one that made me stop and think.

I voted for The Mulkeys again.

Glad that most people are thinking FTR is a better team than The Rockers. Rockers are awesome but the body of work for FTR is already heavier.

The best thing about the Rockers was the barber shop.

Hardys vs WGTT was hard for me.

Easiest match up of the round for me

I gave the slight edge to The Rockers based on their work happening in a more meaningful era. FTR could definitely keep climbing in the next year or two though.

Also, Rockers vs Orient Express from the ‘91 Rumble is a Goddamn gem.

Didn't really have much too debate in my mind about this one.

I guess I never really gave it much thought before but I’m just now realizing how overrated I find The Hardys.

Don't give it too much thought. You're wrong about a lot of things.

Haha! Forgot who the WGTT was comprised of and voted for Hardy's over them.


Kinda speaks for itself I guess.

I prefer the WGTT but The Hardys were far too iconic a team for me to not pick them here. I think they will have a tough road going forward though.

Looking at the current totals...Hardys outlook is bleak. I mean there is an off chance they could somehow eke out a win over whoever comes out of Dudleys/RnR Express, but it would be a long shot in either case I think and would require the luck of the draw to land the matchup. They have NO chance against any of the other presumptive winners imo though.

Put a fork in em, they are done.

Gave it to the Hardys for longevity.

Yawn to FTR. Rockers easy pick.

Did the Mega Powers have only two matches together?

Lol Other than house shows, I think they might have. At least in WWF. They had a handful of matches in WCW too.

Absolute madness FTR over the Rockers. They aren’t anywhere near as over, both Rockers were superior workers and The Rockers actually meant something to fans of a massive promotion. The Rockers influence on the business is also far, far greater.

FTR were jobbers in the main territory of the day and have had their largest profile in a company watched by fewer than a million people.

I know a lot haven’t seen The Rockers and modern day fans love FTR, but it’s absolutely mental to say they are a better team. In no way, shape or form.

I've watched a lot of the Rockers. I just prefer FTR's work.

Rockers have some great matches--and could be counted on for some excitement early in the card--but never ascended to great heights as a team. There's the phantom title win but eh, there's a reason it wasn't revisited. And they lost the bulk of their feuds.

One of the MAIN reasons they're remembered fondly is because of Shawn Michaels's singles career.

Plus, this is as much personal taste as anything else. What are we supposed to do if we like watching FTR matches more than Rocker matches?

Dudleyz over Rock ‘n’ Roll Express is the real travesty here.

I got crossed up on that one. Pretty sure I went with RnR but can't remember--the only reason I'd have gone with Dudleyz (which I very well could have) was that they were far more influential to my fandom. The TLC tag teams in 2000 were really fucking awesome. I get the Express had longevity but even then, the Dudleyz were more over than they ever got up North. And the Dudleyz also have a storied history.

That said, I'd have gone RnR just because of their historical standing.

I think there is some objectivity needed. Rockers were great irrespective of what HBK did afterwards. So many teams took from what they were doing at the time. Highly influential, way more over, better workers, appreciated by a larger audience.

I just don’t think “I enjoy their matches more” is a good enough argument to override all of the above.

Rockers might not have won the title, but they really mattered to an audience that was far bigger than anything FTR have done. Their best run was in a development territory.

Eh. FTR's audience responds to them just fine. And it was a different business back then. Not FTR's fault.

I'd watch FTR a million times before watching the Rockers, so it's hard for me to vote a team ahead of them that I'm "cool" with but don't care about that much.

I am sure Psycho and Mike Grizzly’s audience responds to them just fine too, but it matters where you have done it. FTR have never done it in a top promotion and they are competing against teams that have been real draws in stadium shows.

In this case, Marty wrestles rings around Cash Wheeler after 30 somas, too. So they don’t even have the workrate argument.. They are soundly beaten here by every metric of what a great tag team should be, in my opinion.

Dudleyz/Road Warriors/Steiners is my shortlist of possible winners from those that remain

I love you Maluco, but I also went FTR. The Rockers were a lot of fun and I probably don’t appreciate them as much as I should, but they never felt like they really had that significant run. They’re a lot of people’s “favorite” tag team, but I’ve always felt like they should be excluded from the best.

FTR are probably the best in-ring team of the past decade. They’ve had kayfabe success everywhere. Even in WWE. Critically, they’re beloved, and for good reason. If you take away a recency bias against them from being the best during a crappy era for wrestling, they’re arguably as significant to tag team wrestling as The Rockers were to theirs. Possibly even more.

In a virtual reality wrestling world, one day I will be running Rockers vs. FTR matches and they will be amazing.

Were Edge & Christian in this tournament? Who knocked them out? The Steiners?

Rockers might be the most over rated thing in wrestling history. If Shawn Michales doesnt go on to have the singles career he has they would barely be a footnote in history.

Yeah I feel like most people remember The Rockers as "Oh wasn't that the team Shawn Michaels was in earlier on?"

See you can be right sometimes too.

I think some of those takes are a bit extreme too. I dunno, it’s just my perspective, but I think of them as being remembered as a great tag team that should have gotten a run with the belts to be more than they were (when that mattered), but were broken up before they could really feel properly actualized.

Bad faith argument. You're talking utter shite because your feelings are hurt that your favourite overrated tag team is being owned.

Marty was a good worker--I liked his singles stuff too and enjoyed him when I was a kid-- but he definitely couldn't "wrestle rings around Cash Wheeler" sober, never mind after 30 somas (which was basically him sober, anyways). Watch his matches. His offense was alright but not exactly convincing and he was not a great seller with horrific facials.

But FTR's body of work speaks for itself. You're just being a straightup hater, Maluco, and aren't willing to have a conversation without leaning into hyperbole because your feelings are hurt.

Damn Dale with the scathing takedown of Maluco.

Dale is just angry that Marty has a golden tan he that he himself could never attain.

:shifty::shifty:...I don't know what you're talking about...

Silence sun dodger!

As the King of all Daywalkers, I can confirm that Dale is counted among my subjects.

That doesn't tell us much. The daywalker spectrum goes from pale all the way to the darkest shade known to man, Wesley Snipes

The only person paler than me is Sheamus and he gave up his claim to the throne to chase fame.

I was high and daywalker I guess wasn't the right term. I'M THE KING OF THE PASTIES

Dale is still counted among my subjects, fyi

Conan takes that honor, sir.

No, but he is one of my Generals.

The SPF 200 club.

I can imagine Seph at the beach now, socks and sandals, loose fitting pants, a god awful Hawaiian shirt and a bucket hat that never leaves his head while he’s outdoors.

I am actually a skywalker based on how high I am all the time.

IT'S A SHAME FOR FAME, THAT'S MY NAME

TOO MANY LMES

TOO MANY LIMES

They were eliminated first round by The Freebirds, who were eliminated by the Hardys.

I went with FTR because they are the best of right now. The Rockers were overshadowed by half of the WWF at the time and much of their "innovative" stuff was them existing at the same time in the AWA as the Rock n Roll Express. On top of that, Badd Company were the better team from THAT time period, as well.

Demolition was one of my favorites from that time period. But not my absolute favorites. That would be the Hart Foundation.

I went with the Rock n Rolls because the Dudleyz eliminated the Mulkey Brothers, so fuck them. :foc:

I thought Midnights vs Steiners would be much closer than it is, and voted for the Midnights. But Steiners is probably the right choice, in all honesty. Damned RNG.

Dream Team may have become my new favorites after eliminating the Bucks, but they are still no Road Warriors. No one could be.

I went with the Minnesota Wrecking Crew, because they were a proper team, as opposed to the Megapowers.

The Bulldogs were another easy choice in retrospect, but on paper it was much closer. Cesaro is probably better all around than both, and Sheamus had a better career than everyone in the match, together, Davey Boy and Dynamite were the tits.

I don't know why I went with WGTT over the bar, I just did.

Ah, that’s right. I wish Edge & Christian were where the Hardys are now.

Don’t disagree with much you’ve said there at all. I think I voted exactly the same way you did, lol.

Demolition should of won the whole damn thing. Sad.

Rock N Roll Express coming back. They have a dream date (rape) with destiny.

Meh. I like Demolition but Harts were way better.

Midnights got such a tough draw against the Steiners :(

The Duds and the Hardys shouldn’t still be in here.

And yet the Dudleys keep setting the table.

As I said, Dudleyz are on my shortlist to maybe win it all

It’s not shite. I haven’t been impressed by any feud or “run” they have had. That being said, I didn’t cry because the Rockers lost. I just think it’s absurd. I’m not going to go through all the obvious reasons for it not being shite again.

They would be some way down my list of favourite tag teams, but FTR would be somewhere near WGTT and the like. Solid hands, good matches, not much else. The line about Marty and his somas was just a bit of fun, but I do genuinely believe they are better workers. I just think FTR have done very little to put any sort of mark on the business and are currently in a relatively small promoton in, what is supposed to be, their prime.

Their best run in the biggest promotion was in the development territory. I don’t think they have even done anything particularly memorable. The Rockers were a real highlight of massive shows at an enormous time in the business. They brought a style to a new audience and we’re capable of stealing the show on cards with genuine megastars on them. It’s not FTR’s fault that the business is on a downturn, but it is their fault that the don’t have the same charisma or energize a crowd in the same way. I think it might be the FTR superfan’s feelings that are hurt. (Only joking btw!!)

It’s fine if people really prefer FTR, I just find it a bit mad, why not say it here?

Winners are:

FTR
Hart Foundation
Dudleyz (The Mulkeys AND the Rock n Roll Express? FUCK THESE GUYS!)
Steiner Brothers
Road Warriors
Megapowers
British Bulldogs
Hardys

I will do the draw for next round in the morning, alongside announcing the First Four Undercard matches.