Bully Ray Says Tag Team Wrestling Is “Nearly Extinct,” I Say I Can Prove Him Wrong

For the past few years many have offered their opinion on the current state of tag team wrestling in the North American pro-wrestling scene, some believe it is underutilized, underrated and a forgotten art, others like current TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bully Ray who himself has won a multitude of tag team championships stated two weeks ago he was of the belief that tag team wrestling is “nearly extinct.”

Some would ignore his opinion on the matter, but the question was worded what did he think of tag team wrestling in the United States, which takes into account every promotion going, whether they be the global juggernaut WWE, Dixie Carter’s national Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, Sinclair Broadcasting’s regional Ring of Honor or independent promotions such as Dragon Gate USA, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Absolute Intense Wrestling and many others – Ray obviously failed to take these into account and as someone who started out in ECW it’s fair to say the comment was pretty ignorant.

It doesn’t take a team of highly trained investigators to see that tag team wrestling is alive and well, still cherished by some promotions more than others and still a key element in the progression of every company, from the large to the small. Tag teams used to be a way for young stars to shine and grow as a unit, and the laundry list of examples and great names is virtually endless.

The Rockers introduced us to multi-time WWE Champion Shawn Michaels, who alongside Marty Jannetty brought a frantic and fast paced style to the tag team divisions of the AWA and WWE in the late eighties and nineties. “The Excellence of Execution” Bret Hart cites The Hart Foundation for getting him noticed to begin with, before the formation Hart’s gimmick was that of a cowboy, but his team with Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart and manager Jimmy Hart would inevitably catapult Bret to the top of the WWE in the mid 1990’s.

More contemporary examples are Ray himself finding success as one-half of The Dudley Boyz or Team 3D who are notarized as one of the best tag teams of the last twenty years, without the team would Ray be where he is today? Jeff Hardy’s popularity soared as a Hardy Boy or member of Team Extreme with brother, current SCUM member and ROH anti-bullying campaigner Matt Hardy, he would go on to become World Heavyweight Champion, WWE Champion and a two-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion.

I don’t know why a promotion would make a conscious decision to not promote tag teams. Especially with each promotion having tag championships you’d think they would want the BEST tag talent in the world representing their division. Possibly these teams don’t fit the “mold” but that is another thing that seems to be changing in wrestling so hopefully it will positively effect tag wrestling,” – Jer Polk; PWP Writer

Some promotions obviously care for tag team wrestling a lot more than others, CHIKARA for example may have the most competitively sought after tag team championships in the world – yes, I said the world – with a unique format to the division implemented where to even be awarded a chance at the Campeonatos de Parejas you must pick up three points – or in basic English win three matches in a row – but if you lose, your points are scrapped and you start all over again, and even if you get the three points a 2 Out of 3 Falls match awaits for the right to be the Campeonatos de Parejas.

“CHIKARA would be the most pre-dominant as it’s tag teams and trios matches are frequently some of the best. In SHIMMER, on the last volume taped in April, a match for the tag team titles was the main event and culminated in the end of a high profile feud between the champions and challengers. Several promotions place a high value on tag team wrestling,” – Jennifer Logsdon; PWP Writer

Ring of Honor’s tag team division has been a staple of the promotions existence and has featured some of the most notable tag teams not only in the United States but in the world, teams having held the title include one of the most notable tag teams in modern day pro-wrestling The Briscoe Brothers, The Second City Saints (CM Punk and Colt Cabana), Austin Aries and Roderick Strong, Naruki Doi and SHINGO, The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli), Steenerico (Kevin Steen and El Generico) and many, many more.

“Tag team wrestling will never be a big deal in any company that has weekly TV because it’s just too hard keeping tag team wrestling on the same level as singles wrestling. It’s always going to feel secondary. I suppose Ring of Honor, for now, is the exception, because they have the Briscoes and the American Wolves, two of my favorite tag teams,” – Des Delgadillo; PWP Podcaster

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla’s tag team championship will have been in existence a decade next year and in its activity it has been held by some of the top wrestlers in the world, featured in some of the promotions top feuds, been the reward in some of the top matches and featured numerous times in the main event of shows, the company features a list of successful title defenses from each holder on its website with The Young Bucks holding the record at fifteen during their near two year reign as PWG World Tag Team Champions.

Dinosaurs are extinct, the Dodo is extinct, Mammoth’s are extinct, the Mountain Gorilla and brown Spider Monkey are near extinction – tag teams are hardly an endangered commodity. On the independent circuit alone we have teams such as The Young Bucks, The Mighty Don’t Kneel, Super Smash Brothers, The Colony, The Kings of Armory, Team Am’bitchin, Alabama Attitude, Bad Intentions, Dojo Bros, The Unbreakable F’N Machines, RockNES Monsters, Irish Airborne, 3.0, Pieces of Hate, The Baitri, The Bravado Brothers, Aeroform, The Special Envoy, The Daywalkers and The BLK OUT.

If you examine the top three promotions tag teams aren’t as prominent as they are on the independent circuit, wrestling has evolved to the point where true tag teams are rarely found but some exist, The Briscoe Brothers and The American Wolves the most notable, but after them you have teams such as reDRagon, Bad Influence, Team Hell No, TexMex, Dirty Heels, C&C Wrestle Factory, The Usos, The Wyatt Family, Primetime Players, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins as The Shield, British Ambition and I guess now we can include… Gun Storm? Beer and Guns? Whatever James Storm and Gunner are referring to themselves as.

“I enjoy the possibilities that are opened up when you add a third or fourth body into the mix in a wrestling match. The creative, intricate combinations and double-team sequences possible are exciting because they simply aren’t possible in a singles encounter. Plus there’s the added layer of ring psychology that come with isolation and a hot tag,” – Matt Waters; PWP Writer

Tag team wrestling for me still brings that air on unpredictability, you never truly know what will happen or who’ll walk away victorious, the added bodies brings something different to the matches. In recent months two of my favorite feuds have been The American Wolves versus reDRagon in Ring of Honor and Team Hell No’s battles with The Shield in the WWE – Dragon is stealing the show but the feud itself has brought out some fantastic matches and moments such as the one from Smackdown last Friday night.

Two of the best matches I saw during WrestleMania weekend were tag team matches, at Supercard of Honor The Wolves and reDRagon tore the house down, had they not been attempting to better the Elgin versus Lethal match from earlier on in the night It’d have stolen the show – I wasn’t too huge on the cheap finish though. And at Open the Ultimate Gate, The Young Bucks versus CIMA and AR Fox matched it basically second-for-second managing to capture the Open the United Gate Championships.

“Back in the territory days tag teams were attractions that came into the territory, feuded with other teams, and had all around good matches, even main eventing some shows. But the difference was when the tag team act got stale, the team could just finish up their feud and move on to another territory where their act was once again fresh. Today, obviously, when an act gets worn out, you can’t exactly do it somewhere else,” – Des Delgadillo; PWP/Podcaster

Tag team wrestling may never go back to what it used to be, territories don’t exist and the independent circuit is pretty broad, two performers even forming a team and being consistently booked together I imagine is difficult especially if their just starting out. Wrestling is in a constant state of evolution but tag team wrestling does still exist and its potential to draw and entertain is there, Bad Influence are a great example that if you let a duo do their thing people will take interest, many commenting that week-to-week their shenanigans are the best thing on Impact Wrestling.

But to say that the art of tag team wrestling is extinct, “almost extinct,” endangered or otherwise is an exaggeration, and if Ray’s escape from that label is that he was only including the big two he probably should have listened to the question a bit closer and remembered where he started out, in the cult promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling where his big break came as a member of a little known tag team trying to make it big in the world of professional wrestling, and had they not been taken into the equation as he may have done to many independent tag teams now, I’m sure he’d have said something about it.

Tag team wrestling is in fact alive and well, you just got to know where to look and who to watch.

You can follow me on Twitter @JasonPatrickWE

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