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| source// wwe.com |
The best signature moves showcase a wrestler’s personality. The Stone Cold Stunner lookslike a Steve Austin move. It’s a tough, no-nonsense, direct method of punishment that even allows him a moment of trash-talking both before and after the move is over. That move simply wouldn’t have worked for a guy like Undertaker or X-Pac.
Coming up with a tag team signature maneuver that encompasses both wrestlers’ personalities then, based on simple mathematics, is twice as hard to do and do well.
But when they click, they’re almost always more exciting to watch than that of a single competitor. When fans saw The Hardy Boyz or Harlem Heat get into position for their big move, they went out of their seats (and minds) with anticipation. And when they hit it, the pop was usually deafening.
Choosing the absolute best of the best comes down to three essential criteria: synchronicity, impact, and above all else, how friggin’ cool it looks when its delivered. It’s tough for a team to come up with something that nails all three, but when they do it’s oh-so satisfying to watch…
10. Demolition – Decapitation
Demolition will always be known as the second greatest post-apocalyptic themed tag team in the WWE, operating on a slightly lower level than Legion of Doom.
Some of that was the simple matter of LOD doing the whole “power duo with Mad Max ring attire” schtick long before Demolition put on their studded tights, but really, when it came right down to it, Ax and Smash just weren’t as dynamic as Hawk and Animal.
And it shows when you compare their tandem finishers. While the concept of the Demolition Decapitation is incredibly savage – Smash would perform a backbreaker and hold his position while Ax came off the turnbuckle with a diving elbow drop, essentially breaking the opponent’s back twice – the execution could be a little hit or miss.
Still, when everything connected the way it should, the move was devastating to watch. It’s not as flashy as the rest of the moves on this list, but there was never any doubt that the match would (and should) be over once they brought this out. After all, how does a guy keep competing with a broken back and busted sternum?
9. Midnight Express – Rocket Launcher
Any move that involves one team member catapulting their teammate is a treat, mostly because it shows a strange amount of disregard for the person being thrown. Isn’t launching someone through the air usually done to inflict a whole bunch of damage on that person? Short answer: Apparently not when that person is volunteering to be used as a lawn dart.
In all the variations of the Midnight Express, which included as many as 6 different combinations of 11 wrestlers that stretched across every single major promotion, there was one constant: somebody was getting hurled off the top turnbuckle and splashing down on at least one of their opponents.
The move was popularized by “Loverboy” Dennis Condrey and “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton, but it was perfected by Bob Holly and Bart Gunn (aka The New Midnight Express). No one soared quite as majestically through the air, while achieving as much hang-time and crashing as hard onto the unlucky opponent quite as deftly as Holly.
It wasn’t the most complicated tag team move, but that didn’t make it any less spectacular.
8. Edge & Christian – Con-Chair-To
You might think that a pair of high-flying daredevils like Edge and Christian would use an equally flashy tag team maneuver to put down their opponents, and while the duo weren’t opposed to breaking out some audacious tag moves from time to time, it’s actually their brutal, no-frills Con-Chair-To that earns them a spot on this list.
When trying to add an extra element of ruthlessness to their collaboration, there was no better option than this devastating (and highly illegal) double chair shot to the skull.
The beauty of the Con-Chair-To is that Edge and Christian could perform it numerous ways, gussying it up by performing it from the top of a ladder, or even executing it solo by placing a chair underneath an already prone wrestler’s head on the mat.
So simple. So barbaric. So totally reeking of awesomeness.
7. The Ascension – Fall Of Man
Okay, so maybe The Ascension aren’t considered one of the best tag teams the WWE has produced lately (in fact, many would argue that they’re one of the worst). With a look that blended The Road Warriors with Mortal Kombat and a wrestling style that too often borders on just plain sloppy, The Ascension never really had much going for them.
Except for this badass finishing move. The Fall of Man had two distinct variations, depending on which members of the stable performed it. With Conor O’Brien and Kenneth Cameron, it was a spinning leg sweep and spinning heel kick combo (which the more astute among you might remember as a carbon copy of The Eliminator’s ‘Total Elimination’ from ECW).
But the updated version with O’Brien (now “Konnor”) and Viktor tweaked the formula, adding some extra flair and chest-crushing momentum with a diving European uppercut instead of the spinning heel kick.
Regardless of how awful they are for the rest of the match, they look perfectly in sync when they hit the Fall of Man.
6. Power And Glory – Power Plex
This oddball team of Hercules and Paul Roma was united out of an irrational disdain for The Rockers, which centered around one incident that involved The Rockers coming to the ring for a scheduled match while Roma was still hanging out in the ring after his prior match. A confrontation occurred that evolved into a shoving match and Hercules coming out for some reason.
It was…weird.
And indeed, the pairing felt a little cobbled together at the time. But holy hell did this slapdash team have some amazing chemistry in the ring, exemplified by their ideal blend of brawn and agility.
That deadly combo was put into motion for their ruinous finisher, the Power Plex. Hercules showcased his forcefulness with a superplex, while Roma simultaneously leapt off the turnbuckle from the next corner, splashing onto the opponent as soon as his back hit the mat.
5. MNM – Snapshot
The highly underrated and unfortunately short-lived pairing of Joey Mercury and John(ny) Nitro/Morrison never failed to hold up their end in the ring. Natural successors to the likes of The Hardy Boyz and Edge & Christian, MNM had panache oozing out of their orifices.
With their ego-maniacal gimmick and a penchant for performing moves simply for the sake of looking cool (which they always did), The Snapshot managed to both look cool and traumatic for the recipient.
While Mercury lifted the opponent up for a flapjack, he held them in position just long enough to throw in a bit of taunting and allow his tag partner to come in and put some extra stank on it with a swift DDT. Seamless.
4. The Hart Foundation – Hart Attack
Merciless and methodical; those were the two credos that The Hart Foundation lived by. Combining the brute strength of Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart with the precise execution of Bret “The Hitman” Hart was a brilliant move, even if it was initially conceived as a way to buy time while figuring out what to do with the two young Canadians.
There were no wasted moves when The Hart Foundation was in the ring, and they had no use for unnecessary flamboyancy. Basically, they were the exact opposite of The Rockers.
But that practical style resulted in one of the most effective tag team maneuvers of all time. While The Anvil cozied up with his opponent in a snug, suffocating bear hug (cackling maniacally the whole time), The Hitman would shoot toward the ropes, building up momentum and delivering an absolutely debilitating jumping lariat.
Is it the most extravagant move? Not by a long shot. But does it get the job done and make audiences wince just a little bit every time? You betcha.
3. The Brain Busters – Spike Piledriver
Two founding members of the original Four Horsemen, Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard were about as no-frills as they came in the Rock N’ Wrestling Era of the WWE. While most other tag teams had either a goofy gimmick or an in-ring style that favored showmanship above efficiency.
The Brain Busters, to put it bluntly, did not f**k around.
They were serious about getting the job done in the ring, and weren’t afraid to use any means necessary to ensure they walked out of the match victorious.
Enter the Spike Piledriver, a move that reflected both the ethos of the team and their name. Because it was always a possibility that whoever was on the receiving end of this finisher might have their brain permanently scrambled. A regular piledriver is bad enough, but this violent upgrade doubled down on the velocity and the resulting pain.
In the modern era, where piledrivers have been banned, there’s no chance of seeing this finisher resurrected. Though it would definitely up the realism.
2. Legion Of Doom – Doomsday Device
There’s probably not a better definition of a “classic” tag team finisher than LOD’s Doomsday Device. It was the quintessential melding of brute physicality and high-risk offense that Hawk and Animal pretty much invented in their days with the NWA.
Fans would jump out of their seats when they saw Animal hoist the usually lifeless and terrified opponent onto his shoulders, and they’d absolutely lose their minds when Hawk would ascend to the top turnbuckle.
The look on the face of whoever was being lifted into position was priceless, because you could always see just a little bit of honest fear in their eyes. And you’d be frightened to if Hawk was about to launch himself off the turnbuckle with a “clothesline from hell” just for you.
Depending on how nice the typically stiff-working Animal was feeling that night, he’d either soften the blow by falling into a back body drop or simply let the clothesline send them twisting through the air and crashing to the mat. Ruthless.
1. Dudley Boyz – 3D
When considering the unequivocally greatest tag team move of all time, it was pretty much neck-and-neck between The Dudley Boyz and Legion of Doom. What ultimately gave Bubba Ray and D-Von the edge is the versatility of their Dudley Death Drop.
Like Randy Orton’s RKO, the 3D could pretty much appear out of nowhere at the drop of a hat. Sure, sometimes they’d let the crowd relish the moment by calling it out beforehand, but it was just as likely that they’d drop a 3D while you were busy trying to remember if you locked your car door.
It didn’t matter the angle, or the surroundings, or whether Bubba was even in the ring when D-Von initially hoisted the opponent into the air for his dawdling version of the flapjack. Whatever the situation, Bubba was going to get there in time to cutter the hell out of them.
And the fact that they could seamlessly toss a table into the mix, thus elevating the impact and general badassery of the maneuver with a little extra wood, makes the 3D a more diverse and devastating tandem finisher than anything else you could probably dream up.
Which other tag team finishers belong on this list? Share your favourites below in the comments thread.
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