When I was growing up, one of the more fasinating aspects of pro wrestling was tag team wrestling- I was always drawn to it, & I would dare say that I enjoyed tag team matches more than singles matches.

There was a point in time, from 1983-1990, that every promotion had 6-8,sometimes even more, tag teams on its roster, most of which had been together for several years, traveling together,staying together, switching offices together. In a very real sense, the duos were "married"- and ultimately, like many real marriages, they broke up in a spectacular fashion, with their "dirty laundry" aired out for the consumption of the viewing public.

Traditional tag team matches ( known in some circles as "Australian Tag Team " matches) is puportedly the brainchild of one Joseph "Toots" Mondt, an early 20th century wrestler who became a vital cog in the wheel that is professional wrestling. Mondt, an idea man, developed many of the essential concepts that remain in wrestling to this day, which in his time, meant that everything that was done during a match should create excitement ( highspots, double Dq's, & gimmick finishes and gimmick matches) as opposed to the slow,out of date plodding style of the early 20th century.

The idea was simple: if 2 wrestlers going at it excited you, just imagine how much excitement 4 wrestlers in the same match would create? Of course, 4 men tags eventually brought us 6 man tag matches, then 8 mans, 10 ,etc.  How many of you remember the first WWE Survivor Series, when 5 TAG TEAMS faced 5 Tag Teams ? Thats right, a 20 man tag team bout!

Some of the biggest stars ever in the history of this business cut their teeth so to speak in tag teams- it helped them develop, helped them learn important aspects of working- and in some cases, it helped protect them & cover their limitations.

This is a variant of pro wrestling that almost literally has no limits; you can do them so many ways, for almost any occasion.

However, I'm sorry to say, the art form, for a variety of reasons, is dying. There are several obvious reasons, largely promoter (VKM) indifference, but lets cut thru the chase here: the young guys are not taught the art properly.

I'm not talking about guys being able to put together 2-3 complicated double team moves- while that does help, thats a lesser important element than the simple fact that, to make a tag team match work, two things must take place: 1) one guy on the Babyface team has to be willing to sacrifice himself to make his partner look strong, &  2) the heel team has to be exceptionally underhanded, and do so without getting"caught" by the referee.

In tag teams, you just can't be in the match for yourself; you have to be mindful of your partner as well, keeping both in the mix. Thats the part that makes creating quality tag teams so difficult- the mentality that you can only look out for yourself, & that you are the only one that matters.

Creating the idea that one member of the team is willing to sacrifice himself for the "greater good" was best evidenced by none other than Ole & Gene Anderson, The Minnesota Wrecking Crew, one of the dominant tag teams of the 1970s.

The Andersons were a menacing pair, mean, ornery & nasty to the bone. They made clear their only intentions were to be the top tag team in wrestling- which meant they were after the NWA World Tag Team titles, which they held numerous times over the period of 1970-1981.

Both were bruisers, but Ole was the talker- historically,a better heel promo you will have a hard time finding. One particular interview, during a series of matches vs the tandem of Paul Jones & Wahoo McDaniel, illustrated the "all for one" motto. During the finishing sequence of one particular match, a clip was shown where Ole grabbed Jones by the head, and rammed Jones' head into Genes, knocking Gene unconcious to the floor- it also knocked Jones out, allowing Ole to score the pinfall to regain their title belts.

Ole referred to it as the "Supreme Sacrifice"; Ole, with Gene by his side, explained that they expected the other to, if necessary, sacrifice the other, if it meant obtaining their goals of victory & championship glory- and they suceeded.

I couldn't imagine anyone contemporary tag teams doing such a spot, much less such an interview....it may have been a different time, but the principle remains the same: the team comes first, not the individual.

Until next time...
SSS