WWE History Vol. 24 - Great Tag Team Rivalries

Tag Team wrestling used to be every bit as hot a ticket as singles stars. Here are some of the great rivalries that helped define the tag-team wrestling division.

If there's one thing truly unique about professional wrestling, some aspect of it which has lent itself to the general lexicon, it's the concept of tag teams.

On the outset, it's a simple enough rationalization. After all, if two pro wrestlers are good, then four must be better, right?

Originally developed as a way to get more stars onto a single card, tag team wrestling's popularity exploded, with promotions soon introducing title belts to cash in on fan interest. Tag team wrestling naturally lends itself to the more dramatic side of pro wrestling. Who hasn't booed relentlessly when the heel team breaks the rules behind the referee's back? And everyone gets that intense thrill when the poor, demolished babyface finally makes the hot tag to his fresh partner, who proceeds to clean house.

Given the agony and the ecstasy of pro wrestling tropes, it's no wonder that tag teams have formed the backbone of many a pro wrestling territory. The Road Warriors defecting from the AWA to the NWA in the 1980s was largely blamed for the former's eventual demise, more so than the loss of Hulk Hogan.

These days, tag team wrestling seems to be heating up again. Tag team bouts regularly steal the show on both WWE programming and beyond, with many of the top teams being high-end merchandise sellers, just like the New Day.

But the old saying goes, you're only as good as your opposition. Pro wrestling tag teams have led to historic pro wrestling tag team rivalries.

The WWE's Classic era was home to many of the most iconic and beloved tag teams of all time, both heel and babyface. Here are some of the greatest tag team rivalries from WWE history.

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#1. The US Express (Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham) vs. Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff

Mike Rotundo (Bray Wyatt's father) and Barry Windham (WWE Hall of Famer) vs. Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff (also HOF members.)

For our first historic tag team rivalry, we go back--waaaaay, way back--nearly forty years to the very first WrestleMania.

A few months before the first-ever star-studded extravaganza was to take place, the newly minted team of the US Express took on the team of Dick Murdoch and Adrian Adonis. The youngsters pulled off the win and captured the tag team titles. Fans were ecstatic to have the tag team belts on a patriotic babyface team. But their reign would be short-lived.

"Classy" Freddie Blassie, the manager of Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff, claimed that American wrestlers were weak, and no match for the foreign heels. The US Express rose to the challenge and the two teams faced off at Wrestlemania with the gold on the line.

In the early going, the babyface US Express dominated the match. Their frequent tags, size, and strength combined with their agility made the going difficult for the bad guys. But the heels soon took over the match, and with an assist from Freddie Blassie's trademark cane captured the tag team titles.

The US Express had a few rematches, but would never manage to recapture the gold. Soon both men would depart for other promotions, with Rotunda joining the Varsity Club and Windham, of course, being part of the Four Horsemen.

#2. The British Bulldogs vs. The Dream Team.

Davey Boy Smith puts a pre-Barber Brutus Beefcake up in the lights at Wrestlemania II

During WWE's classic era, one of the biggest acquisitions Vince McMahon made was the Canadian Stampede duo of Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid.

Despite the fact that Dynamite Kid was from Canada, both were billed as hailing from the UK. Christened the British Bulldogs, the team would be placed on a collision course with a legendary combination; Greg the Hammer Valentine and Brutus Beefcake.

Valentine was teamed with the younger Beefcake initially to help protect his Intercontinental Championship. But when Valentine lost the strap, he and Beefcake were formalized as a unit and would go on to capture the Tag Team Championships.

Dubbed the Dream Team, they utilized cheating and rule-bending to get the job done, which of course incensed the fans to no end. Time after time the Dream Team would hang on to their gold by dubious means, such as intentionally getting themselves disqualified.

This led to a massive showdown at WrestleMania II, in one of the event's three main event tier bouts. The Dream Team brought all their dirty tricks, and the superb brawling and technical acumen of Valentine, but the Bulldog's tenacity and greater strength was too much to overcome.

#3. The Hart Foundation vs. Strike Force

Trapped in an abdominal stretch, Bret Hart is rescued by partner Jim Neidhart

Throughout pro wrestling history, few teams have rivaled the success and the longevity of the Hart Foundation.

Though they only held tag team gold on a few occasions, they were considered one of the elite teams of WWE's Classic era. Bret Hart brought the sizzle with his technical acumen and submission game, while Neidhart brought the steak with size, power, and surprising speed.

They ran roughshod over the tag team division during their first reign, leading Gorilla Monsoon to declare them borderline unbeatable. But then they ran into a brick wall by the name of Strike Force.

Tito Santana was a former Intercontinental champion, and one of the most recognizable Latino stars of his era. Rick Martel, at the time, was an up and coming rookie. Together they formed the team of Strike Force, and even were one of the first to get their own unique theme song, Girls in Cars.

The rivalry between Strike Force and the Hart Foundation was so hot that it couldn't wait for a pay-per-view to explode. Strike Force pinned the Hart Foundation cleanly to become World Tag Team Champions in a taped match that was later shown on WWE's weekend programming block.

The Hart Foundation would eventually wear the gold belts again, but they would never, ever, defeat Strike Force for them.

#4. The Hart Foundation vs. the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers.

Jacques and Raymond, the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers, were a thorn in the Hart Foundation's side for some time

So far, the rivalries on our list have all revolved around the WWE Tag Team Championships. But the tag team division was so hot in the WWE during the 1980s that some rivalries eschewed championship belts entirely.

One such feud happened between the Hart Foundation and The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers. The Foundation's manager, Jimmy Hart, had begun to rankle on Hart and Neidhart. They tired of his constant cheating and interference in their matches and wanted to break away.

But Jimmy Hart owned 25% of the Hart Foundation's contracts. Hart may not have come out to the ring with them, but he was still technically their manager. In order to punish the Hart Foundation for leaving him, Jimmy enlisted Jacques and Raymond to help.

The feud revolved around the fact that Hart 'gave' the Rougeau brothers the Hart Foundation's contracts. They engaged in a long war, punctuated by hilarious interview segments with Jacques and Raymond. (When the Hart Foundation called them wimps, the Rougeau brothers responded by saying 'sticks and stones may break our bones, but names will never hurt us' as if they were on an elementary school playground.

Eventually, the Hart Foundation emerged triumphant and became babyfaces in the process. Bret went on to become a Grand Slam Champion, while Neidhart went on to become Who. Someone had to be the Janetty, one supposes.

#5. Demolition vs. the Legion of Doom.

Demolition and the Legion of Doom. Brothers in paint, enemies in the ring.

During the 1980s, a bidding war broke out over who would acquire the services of pro wrestling's hottest tag team, the Road Warriors, Hawk and Animal.

When the Road Warriors joined the NWA promotion rather than WWE, Vince McMahon didn't get mad. He just created his own version of the team, Demolition.

Ax and Smash were cagey veterans and ran roughshod over the entire tag team division of WWE, engaging in the (formerly) longest tag team reign of all time until that record was broken by the New Day.

Eventually, Hawk and Animal did come to the WWE, under their other nickname the Legion of Doom. Naturally, the LOD and Demolition became fierce rivals.

Behind the scenes, the two tag teams respected each other. But in the ring, Hawk and Animal seemed almost disdainful of their 'copy cats.' LOD would establish dominance, and Demolition would disband soon thereafter, leaving Hawk and Animal the undisputed victors of the feud.

#6. The Mega Powers vs. the Mega Bucks.

At the very first SummerSlam, the Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage) took on the MegaBucks (Andre the Giant and Ted Dibiase.)

There may be no way to adequately describe just how thrilling The Mega Powers were to someone who didn't live through the era.

It was like King Kong teaming up with Godzilla to form the ultimate tag team combination. Once again, this rivalry did not revolve around the tag team titles but rather had to do with the hatred all four men had for each other.

The Mega Powers were a named team almost from the get go, but it took over a year before Andre the Giant and Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase became known as the Mega Bucks.

The two teams faced each other many times, but most notably at the very first-ever SummerSlam. While Hogan and Savage were undoubtedly a powerful duo, the sheer size of Andre and the devious nature of Dibiase had them on the ropes.

Thanks to a quick strip-tease by Miss Elizabeth, the Mega Bucks were distracted long enough for the Mega Powers to pick up the win.

Two tag teams, four legends, four Hall of Fame talents. This is probably the ultimate tag team rivalry in all of WWE history — for now. Who knows what the future may bring? Will we ever see the tag team division of WWE grow as hot as it was during the Classic era?

Only time will tell.

Thanks for taking this trip down memory lane with us through WWE History, and as always thanks for reading. Do you have any fan-favorite moments of great tag team rivalries? Please feel free to share them below the article.