Monday, October 9, 2017

Who is the most prolific tag team wrestler


In my lifetime there have been a few teams with longevity that is unreal.  For example The Rock n' Roll Express have been teaming since 1983 and are still going strong and The Road Warriors and The Dudley Boys were together for twenty years.

I'm a big fan of tag team wrestling and some wrestlers are better at it than others.  Some guys, like Billy Gunn, are good singles wrestlers but great tag team wrestlers.  In this post I take a look at wrestlers who excelled at tag team wrestling with different partners. 


"Enforcer" Arn Anderson
A member of the legendary Four Horsemen and Anderson Family "The Enforcer" first began teaming with Jerry Stubbs in the Alabama territory Southeast Championship Wrestling capturing the NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship three times.  He had a fourth title reign with Pat Rose before leaving for Jim Crockett Promotions.

Once he arrived in the Carolina's he began teaming with Ole Anderson as The Minnesota Wrecking Crew.  Together the Anderson's captured the NWA National Tag Team Championships on April 28, 1985 holding them until early 1986 when Ole was injured.  The titles were later abandoned and replaced with the United States Tag Team Championships.

Next Anderson began teaming with Tully Blanchard, one of the greatest tag team of all time.  The duo would capture two NWA and one WWF World Tag Team Championships.  In the WWF Anderson and Blanchard were known as the Brain Busters.  Returning to WCW Anderson held the WCW World Tag Team Championships with Larry Zbyszko, "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton, and Paul Roma.

In total Anderson had 11 reigns as Tag Team Champion with 7 different partners.


Stan Lane
Stan Lane was a Fabulous One, a Heavenly Body, a former member of the Midnight Express, and a 33 time tag team champion.

From 1982 until 1987 Steve Keirn and Stan Lane teamed as the Fabulous Ones touring the Southern territories and setting them on fire.  They captured the tag team championships twenty times in four different promotions including becoming 15 time AWA Southern Champions.  After breaking up they reunited briefly in 1991 in the USWA adding championship to their Legacy.

Lane joined the Midnight Express in early 1987 and it didn't take long for the duo to win tag team gold as he and partner Bobby Eaton defeated Ronnie Garvin & Barry Windham just four months after their formation.  They would hold the US Tag Team titles twice and the World Tag Team Championships one time during their near four year run as partners.

 April 9, 1992 Lane arrived in Smoky Mountain wrestling teaming with Tom Prichard to form The Heavenly Bodies managed by Jim Cornette.  The were the first ever SMW Tag Team Champions and just over a year later in May 1993 Lane left the team having held the titles five times.

In an interesting twist, Stan Lane wrestled his first match as a member of the Midnight Express on January 1, 1987 in Atlanta for Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and is final match as a member of The Fabulous Ones in a Barbed-Wire Cage Match in the CWA on February 16, 1987.


"Beautiful" Bobby Eaton
Best known as being one half of the Midnight Express with "Loverboy" Dennis Condrey and later "Sweet" Stan Lane, Eaton has 23 reigns as tag team champion with ten different partners.

With Dennis Condrey they held 7 different championships a total of nine times ranging from little known regional and independent titles and the NWA World Tag Team Championship 3 times. With Stan Lane the duo held the NWA United States Tag Team Championships three times and the NWA World Tag Team Championship once.

Eaton held tag team championships with "Enforcer" Arn Anderson, Rikki Nelson, Sweet Brown Sugar, Duke Myers, Lanny Poffo, George Gulas, Mexican Angel, Great Togo, and others.


Billy Gunn
Gunn had three long term tag team partners starting with Bart Gunn than the Road Dog Jesse James and finally Chuck Palumbo.  With these three partners Gunn held six different championships 16 times.

As one half of the Smoking Gunns in the WWE they are three time tag team champions.  Prior to joining the WWE they wrestled as The Long Riders holding the International Wrestling Federation tag team championships twice.  They teamed together just for 3.5 years.

Gunn first teamed with Road Dogg Jesse James on the October 4, 1997 episode of Monday Night Raw.  over the next 18 years the duo would team on and off in multiple promotions including the WWE, TNA, and a few dozen independent promotions.  Known primarily as New Age Outlaws and being a part of Degeneration-X they also teamed under the names James Gang and Voodoo Kin Mafia in TNA.

In between his time teaming with Road Dogg, Gunn teamed with Chuck Palumbo under the tag team Billy & Chuck.  The duo were only together for about a year holding the World Tag Team Championships two times.  They created a tremendous buzz as their characters portrayed being in a relationship together.

Other men holding multiple tag team championships with different partners includes

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Later Readers!

Thursday, October 5, 2017

Signed Trading Cards: Rey Fenix, Sami Callihan, & More

In this post all the cards I got signed in person at live wrestling events.


Rey Fenix

I met Fenix at Limitless Wrestling July 21st, 2017 and he signed these for me.  On the left is a sticker released in 2016 by the Panini company in Mexico for the AAA promotion.  On the right is a fan made card from the 2016 PWG Battle of Los Angeles set.


Super Crazy

These cards I also got signed at Limitless Wrestling in July.  The card on the left was released by San Francisco Toymakers in 2000 and included in their ECW figure line.  The card of the right is from the 2006 Topps United Kingdom Payback set.


Sami Callihan

I also got these cards signed at the July Limitless show. The card on the left is from the fan made 2016 PWG Battle of Los Angeles set.  The card on the right is from the Topps 2015 Slam Attax card game and features Callihan as Solomon Crowe.  I'm slightly disappointed because I was distracted and he signed the back of the PWG card before I could say something.

 


Kushida

This card I did not get signed at Limitless.  I met Kushida at the Ring of Honor pay-per-view Best in the World 2017 on June 23rd in Lowell, Mass.  This card is from the Japanese 2015 King of Pro-Wrestling card set.

Thanks for reading, please leave a comment, read my other posts, and like my blogs Facebook page and while you're at it check out my weekly podcast Podcast of 1,000 Holds on the Nerdy Legion Podcast Network. 

Later Readers!

Monday, October 2, 2017

They Wrestled in the WWE?

In this post I take a look at a few guys that you may not have known ever wrestled in the WWE.  Everyone one of these men I associated with wrestling in World Class, the NWA, Japan, AWA or anyplace but the WWE;


Jumbo Tsuruta
April 1, 1974 Madison Square Garden defeated Johnny Rodz

Tsuruta was recruited into wrestling by Shohei "Giant" Baba and sent to Texas to train with Dory Funk Jr.  He is the man who unified the NWA International Heavyweight, NWA United National, & the PWF  World Heavyweight Championships into the All Japan Pro Wrestling Triple Crown Championship on April 18, 1989.  He is also a former AWA World Heavyweight Champion and held numerous other championships.

However, I never knew that Jumbo had a match in the WWE.  His one and only appearance was on April 1, 1974 at the fabled Madison Square Garden where he defeated Johnny Rodz.  This match was part of a short 4 match tour he made in the States also wrestling in NWA St. Louis and Championship Wrestling from Florida.


Gino Hernandez
February 8, 1977 Philadelphia, PA defeated Sylvano Sousa at Championship Wrestling TV Taping
February 9, 1977 Hamburg, PA drew Johnny Rodz at All Star Wrestling TV Taping
March 7, 1977 Madison Square Garden defeated Johnny Rodz

When I hear the name Gino Hernandez the only place I think about it Texas.  Hernandez debuted in 1973 after training with Jose Lothario for Joe Blanchard's Southwest Championship Wrestling.  In Southwest he feuded with Lothario before forming a top heel tag team with Tully Blanchard; The Dynamic Duo.  In World Class Championship Wrestling he feuded with the Von Erichs teaming with "Gentlemen" Chris Adams losing a famed hair vs. hair match at the Cotton Bowl on October 6, 1985.  He turned on Adams in December blinding him with the Freebirds hair cream.

Sadly Hernandez died on February 2, 1986 from a cocaine overdose he was only 28 years old.


David & Kevin Von Erich
November 19, 1979 Madison Square Garden David defeated Davey O'Hannon 8:47
January 21, 1980 Madison Square Garden Kevin pinned Johnny Rodz with a Thesz press

The world famous Von Erich family are a Texas Wrestling institution.  There has been so much written about the Von Erich's that I don't need to rehash it here.  I knew about Kerry's run in the WWE from 1990 - 1992 but I wasn't aware of any other time on of them wrestled in the WWE.



However, in a five month period brother's David, Kevin, & Kerry all did.  For David and Kevin not only was it their only appearances in the WWE but it was at Madison Square Garden which is significant.  Incidentally Kerry defeated Jose Estrada on March 24, 1980 also at MSG.


"Wildfire" Tommy Rich
January 28, 1980 Scranton, PA wrestled WWF World Champion: Bob Backlund to a 60 minute time limit draw
February 18, 1980 Madison Square Garden defeated Johnny Rodz 7:41

Tommy Rich debuted in 1974 and is most likely best known for four day reign as the NWA World Heavyweight Champion defeating Harley Race on April 27, 1981 in Augusta, GA and losing it May 1, 1981 in Gainesville.

Prior to that though Rich made two appearances in the WWE where he wrestled then champion Bob Backlund and later making his only appearance at Madison Square Garden.  Otherwise Rich spent the majority of his career in the Southern Promotions and a couple years in ECW as the Big Don.


Greg Gagne
January 17, 1977 Madison Square Garden defeated Johnny Rodz
April 21, 1980 Madison Square Garden pinned Jose Estrada after two dropkicks
August 9, 1980 Shea Stadium pinned Rick McGraw

The son of promoter Verne Gagne his name is synonymous with the AWA.  I knew he had worked for both WCW and the WWE in producer or agents roles after his in ring career ended however I can't recall ever hearing about him wrestling anyplace other than the AWA.



The pattern that stands out for all of these competitors is that each of these competitors wrestled at Madison Square Garden which has long been considered the mecca of wrestling venues in the United States.  The only other connection is other than David Von Erich, they all wrestled "The Unpredictable" Johnny Rodz.

"The Unpredictable" Johnny Rodz
Thanks for reading, please leave a comment, read my other posts, and like my blogs Facebook page and while you're at it check out my weekly podcast Podcast of 1,000 Holds on the Nerdy Legion Podcast Network. 

Later Readers!