Who was the weak link?

[Guest Bulldogs'86]

Looking over the tag teams of the past, wasn't there usually one member of the team who was the superior wrestler to his teammate? Are there any tag teams from the 1980s and 1990s where you can say both members of the team were truly equal in skill?

 

Here are some famous tag teams of the past with my opinion on who was the weak link. What are your thoughts?

 

 

 

Rock & Roll Express (weak link - Gibson)

Hart Foundation (weak link - Neidhart)

Midnight Express (weak link - Lane)

Steiner Brothers (weak link - Rick)

Outsiders (weak link - Hall)

Demolition (weak link - Smash)

Rockers (weak link - Jannetty)

Islanders (weak link - Tama)

Can-Am Connection (weak link - Zenk)

Strike Force (weak link - Santana)

British Bulldogs (weak link - Davey Boy...although Davey improved a lot after they broke up)

Powers of Pain (weak link - Warlord)

Road Warriors (weak link - Animal)

Brain Busters (weak link - Anderson)

Sheik & Volkoff (weak link - Volkoff)

Killer Bees (weak link - Blair)

 

 

Any other teams and your opinion on who was the weak link?

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

I can't take any list seriously that classifies Arn Anderson as a "weak link."

[Vern Gagne 0]

Hall was the weak link?

[JN News 0]

Agreed.

 

 

The Enforcer was the man in the Brain Busters.

[Guest Bulldogs'86]

I agree that Anderson had the longevity. However, if you look at the original Horsemen, wasn't Anderson portrayed as the weakest of the 4? He was the one who didn't have a singles title. Blanchard was walking around with the U.S. title and TV title.

 

And yes, I would say Hall was considered weaker than Nash.

[CanadianChris 0]

I can't believe anyone would care enough about the Killer Bees to wonder who the better of the two was. That's like arguing over which of the Young Pistols was better.

 

Besides, Brunzell could have been the weak link, and you just mixed them up when they had the masks on.

[cabbageboy 0]

I actually think Dynamite was the weak link in the Bulldogs. He was the one who was injury prone and cost them matches.

 

How was Stan Lane the weak link in the Midnight Express? I don't think they really had one. Ditto Demolition...neither guy was different enough to really be the one who got pinned (besides, Ax was the guy with the heart trouble).

 

As far as the Brainbusters, I don't think Arn was a weak link. I'd think if you ask most people who is more credible between Arn and Tully, they'd say Arn in a heartbeat.

[Black Lushus 0]

Neidhart was the weak link? I though Bret always played "face in peril"? I'll have to go back and see.

 

Davey played face in peril because Dynamite was injured all the damn time, but I'm pretty certain it was Dynamite who almost always took the pin.

[PLAGIARISM! 0]

So are we talking weak link in wrestling or kayfabe terms here?

[deancoles 0]

Neidhart was the weak link? I though Bret always played "face in peril"? I'll have to go back and see.

Bret was the one who usually got the pin, Neidhart was the one beat when Strike Force and the Nastys won the tag Belts.

[Black Lushus 0]

gotcha, thanks!

[Dobbs 3K 0]

I gotta take issue with some of your choices on that list:

 

Demolition - My friends and I always thought Smash was cooler than Ax. But, they were basically booked as interchangable equals. Smash was the one who stayed on after Ax left, too.

 

Rockers - Come on...before they broke up, the only way to tell Jannetty and Michaels apart was their hair color. Really didn't see one being booked stronger than the other.

 

Midnight Express - I'm sure Jim Cornette would take issue with your pick. Lane and Eaton were different, but booked as a cohesive unit very consistenly. Eaton brought the high flying, Lane had the kicks and technical wrestling side.

 

Brainbusters - In their solo matches, it seems like Arn was portrayed as being able to beat almost anyone. Tully usually had to cheat or do something crooked to win. I think they were basically equals, though. The only reason Arn was maybe the weak link in the early Horsemen was because he was still pretty young, and less experienced than the other members.

[Just John 0]

Honestly, I don't know if you can pick out weak links from great teams. I mean, part of being a great team is the chemistry between the two guys. Even if you replace one guy with a better individual wrestler, the team probably suffers a net loss in quality because the they lose the team aspect. If you took, let's say Edge and Christian, and replaced Christian with 1994 Bret Hart, would the team really have worked as well? Or what about putting 1989 Ric Flair in place of D-Von Dudley?

 

Even on teams like Harlem Heat where one worker is clearly superior to the other, the team dynamic still plays to the strengths of both guys, and is more valuable than the individual quality of the wrestlers.

[Hasbeen1 0]

I don't see a good way to pick out a weak link unless it's kayfabe, who got pinned more often, etc. You never know which team would have gotten more belts, heat, longevity with different partners, say Tommy Rogers with Rick Morton as RnR Express instead of Fantastics with Bobby Fulton. The best and most memorable teams are the ones where the partners were fairly equal, not the individuals like Undertaker and Kane who dominated the tag division. All that tag talk from the 80s makes me bring up, again, how I'm still pissed the Sheepherders were used as bumbling Bushwhackers by McMahon.

[Betty Houle 0]

I can't believe anyone would care enough about the Killer Bees to wonder who the better of the two was. That's like arguing over which of the Young Pistols was better.

 

Armstrong was definitely better than Smothers!

[Guest Bulldogs'86]

I can't believe anyone would care enough about the Killer Bees to wonder who the better of the two was. That's like arguing over which of the Young Pistols was better.

 

Besides, Brunzell could have been the weak link, and you just mixed them up when they had the masks on.

 

 

Brunzell had that killer dropkick - one of the best ever. Nothing special about Blair. You're right though - the Bees are pretty forgettable for the most part as a team.

 

I think I remember the Bees pretty well because, unfortunately, the first live event that I went to in August 1986 involved a twenty minute draw in a singles match between Blair and Valentine followed by another 20 minute draw in a singles match between Beefcake and Brunzell. What kind of card is that? Let me tell you, it was hard to get my Dad to ever take me to another wrestling match again as a kid.

[Guest dlb19338]

Interesting topic - but similar to the Killer Bees, etc, how can you say the Warlord was the weak link of the Powers of Pain....weren't he and the Barbarian basically booked the same?

 

How about Savage being weak to Hogan in the MegaPowers? (Not a real tag team?)

[Perfxion 0]

How is Animal the weaklink of the Road Warriors? Didn't they pretty much fight, can't say they wrestled, on a par.

 

With the brainbusters, there wasn't a weak link at all. Maybe Tully, after being busted with drugs in his system. As for the IV Horsemen, well, whoever wasn't named Arn, Tully, or Ric was the weak link in the early versions since that spot seem to be a revolving door.

[Guest East.Coast.J]

I would say that for the majority of the Steiner Brothers run when they actually meant something as a team (1989-1992 maybe), Rick Steiner was the strong link in the team.

[Timmy8271 0]

Road Warriors (weak link - Animal)

Brain Busters (weak link - Anderson

 

Bull. Tully got fired so that screwed up Survivor Series 90. Hawk was out of his mind so i say he's the weak link.

[Guest netslob]

That's like arguing over which of the Young Pistols was better.

 

that's easy, Tracy Smothers.