By Mr. Mal Occhio

Let’s get back at’er folks, grab that tag rope and hold on – Mr. Mal is taking everyone on a trip in his time machine again to discuss more terrific teams of yesteryear. For those who came in late (and fer cryin’ out loud – where the heck have you been anyway? – and shut the door! Were you raised in a barn!?!) we’ve already talked about the British Bulldogs, the Midnight Express and the Rock and Roll Express. Thanks to everyone who has already contributed to the discussion in the comments section (located at the bottom of each post, including Part One of this topic) and offered up some of their own personal favs such as the great Minnesota Wrecking Crew, Hart Foundation, Money Inc., New Age Outlaws, DX, Demolition, The Outsiders, Men on a Mission and Too Cool. Mr. Mal concurs with a few, forgot about a few others, and offers up even a few more – all for your wrasslin’ ravaged minds!

THE HART FOUNDATION – Indeed, by anyone’s standards, one of the all-time great teams. Just that look they had might get them on this list (whether in their original baby blue or – later – shocking pink outfits with ever-present sunglasses). Make no mistake, however: Bret Hart made this team. Anyone who ever saw any of Jim Niedhart’s singles work – Who? - should surely agree, let alone his later teaming with Owen Hart. That powerslam was cool, but c’mon – anyone could have been paired with the “Excellence of Execution� and been cemented as a top-flight tandem. Full marks to Jimmy Hart as well. This team wouldn’t have been anywhere near as legendary without “The Mouth of the South�. Their “Hart Attack� finisher was simply a classic.

THE ROAD WARRIORS – Honestly, Mr. Mal can’t believe he got this far down a list without listing the pre-eminent power team of all-time. Sure, they didn’t sell for beans. But there was never a team on God’s green Earth that made a young Mal miss more sleep than the Legion of Doom (even though – for the most part – their TV bouts consisted of a one-minute squash of the Mulkey Brothers or other similar enhancement talent). Hawk and Animal were truly the Hulk Hogan’s of the 80’s wrestling scene, having dominated in every league they ever appeared in (AWA, Montreal’s International Wrestling, Japan, NWA and WWF included). In fact, they got so popular at one time later in the decade, that even turning on the ultimate face (the rare never-a-heel Sting) still didn’t get them booed. The fans – and Mr. Mal – just loved’em too much to be bothered. Rest in peace, Hawk. And for the record, that whole Rocco-thing was just a bad dream, okay?

THE MIDNIGHT ROCKERS – They will always be referred to by their original name by Mal (WWF name-change be damned!) Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty tore the joint down in nearly-every AWA match in which they ever appeared. Great feuds with both “Playboyâ€? Buddy Rose and “Pretty Boyâ€? Doug Summers, along with “Badd Companyâ€? – Pat Tanaka and Paul Diamond. Again, a take-off gimmick (this time of the Rock and Roll Express) that worked on its own. Smooth double-teaming worked well for several years, until a backstage feud split them apart (only to reconcile years later). Michaels could blade like few others, too – always a plus for a face team. Real-life “rockingâ€? cost them their first-stint in the WWF, with the duo fired after only two weeks in the summer of ’87 (forcing them to be briefly billed in the old territories as “The Rock and Roll Midnighters”). Seeing them together again recently, albeit ever so-briefly, brought back fond memories of this underrated coupling.

You want more? You’ll get more! Stay tuned to Mr. Mal Occhio’s Wrestlers Ramblings for more top-draw tag team talk. Again – feel free to offer up more comments! To ape a famous Sally Field quote – “You like me! You like me! You really like me! You are all Mal’s pals!� Okay, so I added that last part. Hey – it’s my blog, you know! And pass on this URL to all your friends! The more the merrier, says Mal!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 19th, 2006 at 10:16 pm and is filed under Wrestling History, Musings from Mal Occhio. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.