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Best Tag Team Breakup and Follow-Up

Hey Scott,

You had mentioned some time ago about how the Edge and Christian (or Hardyz; can't remember which) break-up didn't work because people didn't want to see them fight. This got me thinking. Throughout wrestling, there have been some decent tag betrayals (Steiner in '98; Team 3D in 200-Whatever) and of course the awesome Barbershop split. However, IMO, no split has led to anything particularly memorable in terms of a longstanding feud and the matches generally aren't inspired (Benoit and Angle might be considered an exception but they weren't really an established team (Their team was more an excuse to keep them together until they were ready to feud again)). This makes some amount of sense. Splits tend to occur when a team is on the downswing of their popularity and/or workrate. Also, teams are usually formed because either wrestler wouldn't survive in singles, or at least, couldn't maintain, as a single, the popularity he established with a team. Beyond this, team members tend not to have definable personalities while within a team and, thus, have to reestablish a connection with the fans.

But I would be surprised if, in the whole of wrestling history, not one established team ever had an epic break-up and then proceeded to have an awesome feud, if not memorable matches. The stories seem to write themselves. One member grows disillusioned with the team (Jealousy, Disappointment, Feelings of Betrayal) and not only breaks the team but becomes obsessed with destroying his partner. This is then followed by Spy vs. Spy-type stuff where both members know each other so well that they're constantly trying to figuring out each others move.Or you can have one member sell out to a stable, Million-Dollar Man-Style and have the other guy work through the stablemates until the team can finally fight. Etc... Has there ever been an EPIC tag team breakup and subsequent feud?

The team I was originally referring to was the Hardy Boyz.  Clearly E&C  needed to break up for Edge to become a bigger star.  

Anyway, the thing with tag teams is that generally when you have a really successful split it's because they have one guy who they really want to push (ie, Bret or Shawn) and one guy who they don't give a shit about (ie, Anvil and Marty), so one guy gets sacrificed to the other.  In the Hart Foundation's case that didn't happen, Bret just kind of went off and did his own thing.  The best ones are when you have guys at the same level who get split up and then feud and both end up at a higher level as a result.  So here's my favorite awesome tag team breakups and subsequent feuds:

1)  Beer Money.  Say what you will about the eventual blowoff and booking mistakes, but Bobby Roode getting tempted into hitting him with the beer bottle and winning the World title was AWESOME.   Yeah, they blew the landing, but if Storm had won the belt back at Lockdown this would be one of the all-time great angles and feuds.  But it was still pretty great and turned both guys into legit main event stars.

2)  Shawn Michaels & Diesel.  They broke up, had their blowoff at Wrestlemania over the World title, and both ended up even bigger stars.

3)  Strike Force!  Yeah, there was a long layoff for the team due to Martel's injury, but it was a pretty good turn for Martel and they milked that feud for a LONG time afterwards.

4)  X-Pac & Kane.  Yeah, the eventual payoff sucked, but the storyline was pretty solid and they were a really over tag team at the time.  

So there's four.  I'm sure there's more.

Comments

  1. Kane and RVD's break up was decent. Hollywood Blonde's break up was completely botched when it should have been epic. Considering that we now know how awesome Austin looked going with the bald look, how fucking great would it have been if Pillman turned on Austin and then shaved him bald so he couldn't be a Hollywood Blonde anymore? Then Austin comes back with the killer shaved head look and they have the big blow off brawl that they never had. Oh wait, nevermind. This would mean that WCW would have had to give a shit about either of them.

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  2. This would have been awesome. . .which is exactly why it didn't happen. Those guys needed a proper singles feud in the worst way.

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  3. I wasn't watching in 2004, but did Bradshaw do a turn on Faarooq to set up the "JBL" run?

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  4. Nope. Paul Heyman (then GM of SD) fired Ron after the aPa lost a match, Bradshaw showed up as JBL the next week. I don't even think they had one match.

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  5. The most interesting as far as where they ended up with their careers was AMW. Harris had already flirted with the main event before the official breakup, as he was put in a King Of The Mountain match. When they broke up, it seemed like Harris was the guy they wanted to push, as Storm was placed with Jacqueline, under whatever named she was using at the time, and she's never exactly been a world-class manager of champions. Now, Storm is seen as a top guy in TNA, and Harris is in the "Where are they now" category.

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  6. Minor quibble: I don't think Vince and Co. didn't give a crap about Marty or Anvil. I think he was always trying to find things for them. If anything, I think he had a soft spot in his heart for those two.

    For example, Marty was brought back into the fold in the Fall of 92. He screwed up around Royal Rumble 93. He was brought back again in the Spring of 93. He screwed up around WM 10. Brought back in Fall 95. Injuries led his way out in November of 96. Brought back in 2005 and earned himself a contract, but was let go almost immediately due to legal problems. May have been signed to help out in developmental in 06, but I forget. Brought back for a one shot deal in 07.

    Anvil was brought back in late 91 as part of "The New Foundation." He was also signed back up in the Spring of 94. He had an ill-fated run as "Who" in the Fall of 96. He was signed again in the Spring of 97 as part of the Hart Foundation stable. In 2000 in his post-WCW days, he was still getting paid as a scout for Vince. And, obviously, several years later, they sign his daughter.

    There's not many others who were mid-card or lower who were given that many chances. I think he really liked them or really liked them because of their associations (with Shawn and Bret). Either way, it seemed like he wanted both Anvil and Marty to succeed. Unstable lifestyles did not help them, however.

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  7. Could be wrong here, but wasn't Harris signed by the E basically out of the blue?

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  8. I honestly think it just boils down to if Vince think he can make a buck off you, he'll hire you.

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  9. How dare you all insinuate that the Robert Gibson vs Richard Morton feud wasn't the bees knees!

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  10. I'm not sure why I care about those two as much as I did (and still kinda do). They were a part of my childhood, I suppose. And I always thought that Marty could play a wild child/loose cannon type and Anvil could play a badass bodyguard type and be successful independently.

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  11. That's because it wasn't the bees knees.



    It was the cat's pajamas, baby.

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  12. WWE tried before to get AMW to sign, and eventually settled on Harris alone. I thought at the time letting Harris go was a huge mistake, but after seeing the shape he was in when he debuted as Braden Walker, and the laziness he showed, I saw he wasn't as dedicated perhaps as he needed to be to have succeeded in becoming a top guy in either company.

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  13. It's not really a traditional "tag team breakup" feud, but the original Midnight Express of Rose/Condrey returning to take on the modern Lane/Eaton MX was pretty original and a good feud.

    For more traditional tag team breakups, how about that time the Brothers of Destruction fell apart and started feuding? You know, that one, singular time that happened?

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  14. Strike Force breaking up was a tremendous blow to the fragile psyche of Tito. The man was so destroyed, he couldn't admit the dream was over, and wore the tights for years of the time of his life he felt most complete. It was only during a sad failed suicide attempt, when he jumped into a bullfighting arena and tried to be gored by a bull, that he found the courage within himself to shake free of those old, white trunks, and don the gayest Mariachi band costume he could afford. Arriba!

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  15. Thanks for that. And, yeah, that was a horrible convergence, between Harris not looking interested, a bad character name and ... well, I'll still buy the DVD, but you get what I mean.

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  16. 1. "the MegaPowers... EXPLODE"
    2. Hogan/Orndorff
    3. Hogan/Giant
    ...I'm sensing a pattern

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  17. Actually Anvil was a weird case, as when the infamous "broken ropes" title change happened, he was already told he was gone, but because the belts didn't end up with the Rockers due to the fallout, he was given his job back, much to Bret's dismay, as this was when his singles push was to start. Then when Bret finally got his chance, Anvil was going to be turfed again, but they changed their mind at the last second, and put him with Owen as a means to set Owen up for a future push. He was never really a big deal to the company, and only got a job when a storyline dictated he might be somewhat useful. Had Owen gone through with leaving before the feud with Bret, Anvil would have become just another 80's star making occasional spot show appearances, and legend reunion shows. He really did luck into marrying into the right family.

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  18. Now 9-3 in the FFLoD, putting up 175 this week with one more player to go tomorrow.

    WE TAKE WHAT WE WANT, AND AFTER WE TAKE OUT RYDER'S FIX-A-FLAT AND THE CROSSFACE CRIPPLERS, WE WANT THE GOOOOOOLD, SUCKA! FOUR WHORESMEN, WE COMIN FOR YOU, NIGGA! *facepalm*

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  19. That was a great rivalry. If I recall the first blowoff match was hindered by the stipulation (blindfolds?). Then they redeemed themselves with one of TNA's best matches in history. It's one of the last good things I remember before giving up on TNA for four years thanks to Russo's reign of terror.

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  20. It's really sad that Pillman went when he did. I still think that if Pillman had survived, he would have been Austin's first world title feud.

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  21. There was a turn but no feud. Heyman fired Simmons but kept Bradshaw on because they wanted him to "be a star" or something storyline wise. Simmons said that they were quitting instead of being fired but Bradshaw turned on him and said he was staying.


    Simmons either quit or was fired IRL as they were doing the angle so there was no time for a turn and for the new JBL character to retire him.

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  22. My only problem with Kane/RVD's breakup was that it didn't make sense for Kane to turn on him after unmasking. They had real chemistry and RVD was on his side and then Kane randomly destroyed him. I mean you can't look too deeply into Kane storylines because the answer is always "because he's Kane, that's why" but it still made no sense. His issue was with HHH and not JR/RVD/other innocent bystanders.

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  23. I went to prowrestlinghistory to find out when the AMW breakup occurred. The blindfold match was at Lockdown 2007 and the Texas Death Match was the next month. Russo clearly had the book by Bound for Glory as there's a reverse battle royale on the card. While searching I found this gem from Final Resolution 2008: "Eric Young beat James Storm in the second round of the Drinking Championship Series when Storm was the first to urinate." Man, I hate Vince Russo...

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  24. I saw this and thought "I feel bad for that loser".












    I'm that loser.

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  25. The best break up for me personally was the Rockers, shame the follow up wasn't so good because of Marty.

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  26. Pillman was so broken down at that point I think the match wouldn't have been very good

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  27. I am not sure about Anvil but the promotions - or some guys in charge in it - definitely saw more in Jannetty than just "another guy". I mean, they let him beat Michaels for the intercontinental title at a time when that belt was still seen as incredibly prestigious. hell, they even give him and the Kid an "underdog victory" to gain the tag team titles in 1994.

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  28. how about Bret and Owen ? They were tagging for a while , Owen became jealous and then they preceded to have two classic matched at Wrestlemania and Summerslam respectively .

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  29. You guys have a team called the crossface cripples? Sad.

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  30. I remember they had a decent little brawl on one RAW where the Hart Foundation was handcuffed to the ring posts around ringside. Wasn't a great technical match or anything. I think that if they'd have done a full-fledged Pillman/Austin feud the match could've been structured to hide Pillman's weaknesses. I mean it's not like there were a ton of technically sound main event matches in 97-99 when Austin was on top. Could've just had a wild brawl with a bunch of stipulations to mask both the fact that both guys were broken down.

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  31. I thought the epic feud between Travis and Troy when Teckno Team 2000 broke up was pretty stellar

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  32. It's an ode to both bob backlund and chris benoit!

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  33. Do The Mega Powers count as a tag team here?

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  34. I first started watching wrestling in 1999, and X-Pac and Kane were by far my favorite tag team. I was fucking pissed when X-Pac turned on him.

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  35. That no one can get along with Hulk Hogan? It's a damn shame he doesn't write songs about his failed breakups, or he could be doing duets with Taylor Swift!

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  36. Who would have thought that when Miz and Morrison broke up that MIZ would be the one that got to main event a Wrestlemania?


    I for one thought he was going to future endeavored, especially after that first feud with Cena where he got buried.

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  37. This is like Killer the dog's origin from Half Baked

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  38. Also 9-3 and also living the dream.

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  39. Diamonds are forever, and so are the 4 Whoresmen!!
    WWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

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  40. Well considering Morrison is one trick pony, I did.

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  41. YOU WOULD STILL BE SELLING MEAT OUT A VAN IN MINNEAPOLIS JACK.............if I hadn't lost my starting QB 5 points from the victory that would have put my at #1 overall. Now, I've lost 3 in a row and will not be making the playoffs.

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  42. Kevin Steen turning on El Generico and their subsequent feud has to be the best thing ROH has ever done and they've been running on the fumes ever since.

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  43. Just like the nWo, the nFo started out hot then bottomed out. Hogan would be proud, brother.

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  44. YESSSSSS........ that was the plan all along.....to mimic the rise and fall of the nWo.........glad to see you understand my fall was for the sake of art, and not dumbshit bad luck, and picking the wrong backup QB.

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  45. Decent mic skills and being great in the ring is considered a one trick pony?


    News to me.

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  46. Luger and Windham was a great break up even thought they weren't together very long. Deliberately, dropping the tag title is a hell of a way to dump your partner and the feud that followed was pretty good. With Windham even balding his had after punching the post.

    Every time Flair turned on Sting. Though not technically a tag team but they were definite allies especially in 89. "Get out of my life!!!"

    Steen/Generico. "I just wanted to say, I hate your fucking guts"

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  47. Watch his ECWWE heel work. Not his shitty WWE sanitized lame ass babyface stuff.

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  48. Flipping doesn't count as being great in the ring.

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  49. Someone needs to explain to me how I'm second in my division. I have the better division record and I put my foot in M Harry Smilac's ass twice this season, but HE has the division lead? HELL., NO. I want this fixed.

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  50. I totally agree with you on the Rockers breakup, but I have to ask, why don't you think the follow up was any good?

    To me, it was fantastic. They started with an iconic moment (The Barbershop window), they had a great feud with several great matches and probably still one of my all-time favorite RAW moments when Marty came out of the crowd, removed his hood, challenged HBK and went on to win the IC title later in the night.

    I get that Marty didn't become a main event star, but the booking at the time for that breakup was pretty great.

    And when they reunited for a one-off against La Resistance in, what, 2008? Oh man, I still remember going crazy like a little kid all over again for the Rockers.

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  51. We are never ever ever ever ever, like ever getting back together, brother.

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  52. ESPN's first tiebreaker is probably points.

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  53. You know, we haven't had enough FFLoD talk on here this year. Maybe the forum will help in that. And I really hope we go again next year.

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