Where Wrestling's Regional History Lives!
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Where Wrestling's Regional History Lives! |
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- Shannon Steward This month's article will take a look at the
tag team wrestling scene in 1989, specifically focusing on those teams
who made an impact (or failed to) for the first time in that
year. Jim Crockett Promotions had always been tag team
country, having some of the finest tag teams in the history of the
sport. From the babyface tandems of Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood
and The Rock N' Roll Express, to the heel tandems of The Andersons and
The Midnight Express, it was tag team heavy throughout the 1980s. When
the "NWA" (no longer Jim Crockett Promotions at this point,
due to the buyout in late 1988) entered 1989, the tag team division was
in need of some fresh tandems. The Road Warriors were heels at that point, and it
was apparent that it was realized to be a mistake, as their character
was slowly weened back into being babyfaces. The Varsity Club were a top
tag team at this point, Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane were about to
eliminate the threat of Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose, and the
Fantastics were on their way out. Could the calibre of tag team
wrestling produced in years past occur in 1989? Throughout the year,
several new tag teams were introduced. The Skyscrapers (Sid Vicious and Dan Spivey) were
brought in as a monster heel tag team managed by Teddy Long. It was the
first national run of Sid Vicious, and while a heel, he quickly gained a
cult following. The Skyscrapers became a cool tag team in the eyes of
the fans, despite Sid being very green and lacking in real ability. They
squashed overmatched preliminary teams every week on television,
finishing them off with the "powerbomb", a maneuver which
hadn't had much exposure in the United States yet (although Terry Gordy
had used it on a regular basis for many years in the U.S.). They were
matched against the most popular team in the NWA, the Road Warriors.
While the NWA wasn't drawing overly well in 1989, those that were
watching and attending the shows had a lot of interest in that matchup.
The Road Warriors were made to look vulnerable, and people really
thought The Skyscrapers could be the team to defeat them and become THE
monster tag team. The teams met at Halloween Havoc 1989 in Philadelphia.
Not a classic match, but it was fine and all four did well, in
a match with a lot of heat. The Road Warriors escaped with a DQ victory.
Before the teams could have another high profile matchup, Sid suffered a
punctured lung and was on the shelf for several months. That would prove
to be the end of the original Skyscrapers, aside from a one time reunion
at Starrcade 1990, in which they received one of the biggest responses
of the night. The Skyscrapers were not a great working tag team, but of
all the tag teams to come onto the horizen in 1989, they made one of the
biggest impacts with the fans. The Dynamic Dudes (Shane Douglas and Johnny Ace)
debuted in May. The NWA had lost the Rock N Roll Express a year earlier
and had just lost The Fantastics as well, leaving a void to be filled.
The Dudes were given a big win in their first big match, defeating The
Samoan Swat Team (Fatu and Samu) at Wrestle War on pay per view. They
were two bleached-blonde pretty boys dressed in neon colors, who entered
the ring on skateboards to the tune of "Wipeout". While they
worked hard and were a quality tag team in the ring, the image didn't
get over with the fans. They would be cheered at arenas, but they
weren't drawing the fans to the arena, unlike the Rock N Roll Express
years earlier. They found themselves feuding with The New Zealand
Militia (Rip Morgan and Jack Victory), whom were the lowest heel tag
team on the totem pole and whom frequently did television jobs for the
stars. While those were good matches, the Dudes were not viewed as one
of the elite teams in the NWA. The Dudes began a storyline where Jim
Cornette was coaching them, and dissension was caused between them and
Cornette's Midnight Express, whom were babyfaces at this point. They
were elevated into a World Title match with Michael Hayes and Jimmy
Garvin at Halloween Havoc. For a few reasons, one being that
the hardcore fans in Philly didn't like the Dudes' image, and also
because the fans generally liked the Midnight Express more than the
Dudes, which made the Dudes "heel-like" due to the
dissension storyline and because they were facing the popular heel
tandem of The Freebirds, they were loudly booed throughout the course of
the match. They briefly feuded with The Midnight Express afterward,
including the famous match where Cornette turned on them and helped the
Midnights secure the win on a live Clash of the Champions. The Dudes
would be around a few more months, before their run finally ended in
March 1990. The Dynamic Dudes, while hard workers who had decent to good
matches, were just unable to reach the level that was expected to them.
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