The Samoan Swat Team (Fatu and Samu) had burst onto the scene in 1989, fresh off a run in World Class as a top heel tag team. They soundly defeated The Midnight Express in several bouts and were booked in a feud with the Road Warriors. While they physically didn't have the mass of the Skyscrapers, they were big enough and mean enough to apparently give Hawk and Animal a run for their money. They even got a win over the Road Warriors at the Omni, something the Skyscrapers never did. The Samoans were a fresh heel tandem, not the most skilled, but they had a good gimmick and came off as a very sadistic and tough tag team. Eventually they would lose their war with The Road Warriors, but remained one of the top heel teams. In fact, they were protected to the point that when they formed combinations with The World Tag Team Champions The Freebirds, it was Hayes or Garvin who would do the job. Despite the strong push in 1989, they got lost in the shuffle in 1990 and eventually left the company that August. 

The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin) debuted with a bang, winning a one night tournament for the NWA World Tag Team Titles. Jimmy Garvin, a long time Crockett babyface, returned as a heel Freebird on that night. The Birds also included Terry Gordy, whom was used in a lot of 6-man tag team battles, but it was primarily Hayes and Garvin throughout the year. Despite being a heel tag team, many fans cheered them over the babyface tag teams. They were "cool", and Hayes had been always a very charismatic heel. Their ability was somewhat overlooked, as they had a lot of good matches and were hard workers, even if they didn't possess the athletic gifts of other teams. 

The Steiner Brothers made a very quick impact. They had an array of  tandem maneuvers that hadn't been seen before, and that looked highly devastating. Scott's "Frankensteiner" was the hottest move around, and the team quickly became the most popular tag team in the promotion, aside from The Road Warriors. They were quickly seen as something "special" and would go on to become on the greatest tag teams in history. They stood toe to toe with the Skyscrapers and defeated The Freebirds, The Samoans and even The Road Warriors. In the years to come, they would add even more impressive things to their resume.