Tag Teams of Wrestling Pt. III Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. A popular gimmick in the 1980s was to take two young, handsome, athletic wrestlers and pair them as a duo. In 1983 the legendary Bill Watts paired two youngsters as a tag team that had some great success in the decade. Who was this team?

Answer: The Fantastics

Young stars Tommy Rogers and Bobby Fulton were paired together by Bill Watts who dubbed the team "The Fantastics". Wearing top hats, neon colored vests and using ZZ Top's "Sharp Dressed Man" as their entrance theme they quickly became very popular. Before bouts Rogers and Fulton would walk around ringside shaking hands, giving high fives and even kissing the female fans. Competing in The UWF, WCCW and The NWA the duo won gold and had memorable feuds with The Midnight Express and The Sheepherders.

In 1989 Rogers went solo and Fulton continued the team for several years with younger brother Jackie.

2. The Andersons are a name that almost immediately jumps to mind when one thinks about great tag teams. Although several duos have used the name, who were the original duo of The Andersons?

Answer: Lars and Gene Anderson

Known as "The Minnesota Wrecking Crew" Gene and Lars Anderson, storyline brothers, were the first incarnation of The Andersons. After dominating the tag team scene the duo split in the early 1970s when Gene went to The NWA and Lars stayed in The AWA. Gene then took on "Rock" Rogowski aka Ole Anderson as his new partner and this version of the team was the most successful. Gene and Ole won The coveted NWA Tag Team Titles on numerous occasions and also developed a penchant for sadism.

The Andersons were not content to pin their opponents they preferred to bloody and batter them into submission.

After Gene retired in 1981, Ole made one last run with Marty Lunde aka Arn Anderson in 1985. This duo is best known as becoming two of the initial "Four Horsemen" in 1986.

3. In the late summer of 1984 manager Paul Jones paired these two hulking men together as a tag team. They wore military fatigues, took on African names and quickly took up their manager's feud against Jimmy Valiant. Who were these two men known as?

Answer: The Zambuie Express

In the late summer of 1984 manager Paul Jones unveiled his newest charges The massive Zamuie Express. The duo was actually made up veterans Ray Candy aka Kareem Muhammad and Leroy Brown aka Elijah Akeem. The duo quickly won a series of squash matches and became embroiled in Jones's feud against Jimmy Valiant.

Their highlight was losing to The Assassin and Buzz Tyler at "Starrcade'84". They departed The NWA in the spring of 1985 and went to The CWA where they feuded with Koko B. Ware and Norvell Austin aka "The Pretty Young Things". Sadly Brown died in September 1988 at age 37 of drugs and a massive coronary felled Ray Candy in May 1994 at age 42. One of Candy's final accomplishments was the training of the famed ECW wrestler New Jack.

4. Very often in wrestling a promoter will pair two huge, gargantuan wrestlers together thus making one unstoppable force of a team. This has been done in various promotions by several promoters with varying degrees of success. This team formed in The WWF and within one year were WWF Tag team Champions. Who were they?

Answer: The Natural Disasters

After portraying the cartoonish Tugboat for over a year veteran Fred Ottman made a heel turn in June 1991 and joined forces with manager Jimmy Hart. Hart quickly named Ottman "Typhoon" paired him with John Tenta aka "Earthquake" and dubbed them The Natural Disasters. Within months they had steamrolled the competition and were feuding with The Legion of Doom for The WWF Tag Team Titles.

After making a face turn in early 1992 they defeated Money Inc. for The WWF Tag Team Titles in July 1992. The problem with big men is that they often lack stamina and thus don't make great champions, hence the title reign of The Disasters lasted just three months.

5. Many fans remember Fatu and Samu aka "The Headshrinkers" from their WWF stint of 1992 - 1994 where they won The WWF Tag Team Titles. The team actually was formed in The CWA in 1988, what were they known as then?

Answer: The Samoan Swat Team

Samu and Fatu formed originally as a team called The Samoan Swat Team in The CWA in 1988. This was just as The CWA was merging with WCCW to create The USWA and some of their early bouts were against The Freebirds and The Von Erichs. In 1989 they arrived in WCW where a young manager named Paul Heyman took them under his guidance.

In their two years there they feuded with both The Road Warriors and The Midnight Express. In the fall of 1992 they arrived in The WWF, managed by The legendary Samoan Afa who is really Samu's father.

Initially heels the duo made a face turn shortly before winning The WWF Tag Team Titles in April 1994.

6. In 1989 an up and coming wrestler named Johnny Ace aka John Laurinaitis was paired with another young wrestler named Shane Douglas in WCW. Sporting mullets, wearing shades and neon colored shorts their gimmick was that of two beach loving surfers. What was this short lived duo called?

Answer: The Dynamic Dudes

In the spring of 1989 Johnny Ace and Shane Douglas were paired together and formed a duo known as "The Dynamic Dudes". Although the gimmick was on the lame side you could see the talent the two young stars possessed. By the fall they had caught the attention of one, James Cornette, who offered to be an adviser to the duo. Naturally this did not sit well with Cornette's bread and butter duo of The Midnight Express.

In November 1989 Cornette displayed his true colors by betraying The Dudes in bout against The Midnights.

The plan for a long term feud was scrapped as Ace promptly left for Japan and Douglas went to The WWF.

7. In the 1960s and 1970s the hallmark of tag team wrestling was to have two men who had strong mat skills and could brawl if necessary. One of the finest teams of the era was this tough Texas Duo who were managed by Captain Lou Albano and dominated in both The WWF and The AWA. Who were they?

Answer: The Blackjacks

You would be hard pressed to come up with a team that was tougher and dirtier in the ring than Blackjack Mulligan and Blackjack Lanza aka "The Blackjacks". In 1975, managed by the infamous Captain Lou Albano they defeated Dominick DeNucci and Pat Barrett for The WWF Tag Team Titles.

The duo also had great success in The AWA where they were managed by Bobby Heenan and although they never won a title there, they wreaked plenty of havoc. The duo parted in the late 1970s when Lanza decided to spend his final years in The AWA and Mulligan continued to bounce around until his retirement in 1988. Mulligan's son Barry Windham and Lanza's nephew Bradshaw made an ill fated reincarnation of the team in The WWF in 1997.

8. These two handsome young stars arrived in WCW in the spring of 1990 and became very popular with the fans. They proudly waved the "Stars and Bars" flag and wore confederate caps and jackets. Who was this team?

Answer: The Southern Boys

Steve Armstrong and Tracy Smothers first gimmick in WCW was as the tag team called The Southern Boys. They quickly became popular with the fans and scored impressive wins over The Freebirds and The Midnight Express. Smothers and Armstrong even challenged Butch Reed and Ron Simmons aka Doom for The WCW Tag Team Titles on several occasions.

The following year they were repackaged as The Young Pistols and made a heel turn which lead to a brief run as U.S. Tag Team Champions. The duo left WCW in mid 1992 with Steve going to The WWF briefly as Lance Cassidy.

9. This brother tag team was one of the finest duos ever to grace the ring with their presence. They truly were innovators and immediately became the measuring stick for all teams during the early and mid 1990s. Who was this very successful and popular duo?

Answer: The Steiner Brothers

In mid 1989 when Rick Steiner was in the midst of a feud against Kevin Sullivan and his former Varsity Club teammates he called on younger brother Scott for help. Together Rick and Scott formed one of the greatest duos the wrestling world had ever seen and in November 1989 won their first WCW Tag Team Championship.

After dominating WCW for several years the two went to The WWF in January 1993 where they eventually won The WWF Tag Team Titles. After a tour of Japan and a short stint in ECW they returned to WCW in 1996 where two years later Scott stunned the fans by betraying his brother and joining "The NWO". Scott created the outrageous persona of "Big Poppa Pump" and had some great singles success in WCW's final years.

10. The WWF took a chance by pairing two mid card wrestlers together in 1997 and literally caught lightening in a bottle. This duo not only won numerous WWF Tag Team Titles, had legions of followers but also were one of the cornerstones of their "Attitude Era". Who was this groundbreaking team?

Answer: The New Age Outlaws

In September 1997 the powers that be paired Billy Gunn and Brian Armstrong aka The Road Dogg together as The New Age Outlaws. Nobody expected much of this team as both had just come off very lame singles gimmicks. However the duo caught on with the fans and by November 1997 had defeated the legendary Legion of Doom for The WWF Tag Team Titles.

Their outlandish behavior and lewd antics fit in perfectly with the direction The WWF were headed in and the following year they became members of "De Generation X". For the next two years The Outlaws were one of The WWF main attractions and made many segments of "Raw" truly memorable.

11. Identical twin brothers Ron and Don Harris had several different personas during their stint in The WWF. Which of the following teams was not one of their gimmicks?

Answer: The Basham Brothers

In January 1995 identical twin brothers Ron and Don Harris arrived in The WWF as Jacob and Eli Blu. Sporting long beards and shaggy mops the duo had some mild success and faced Lex Luger and The British Bulldog at "Wrestlemania XI". In mid 1996 the two were repackaged as Jared and Jason aka The Grimm Twins.

This was the shortest lived persona as they did not even last a full year. After lying low they resurfaced in June 1997 with shaved heads and tattoos as members of Crush's Disciples of Apocalypse.

After Crush and Chainz departed The WWF, Skull and Eight Ball carried on The D.O.A. as a tag team until early 1999.

12. Many remember the late Lance Cade for his team with Trevor Murdoch that won The WWF Tag Team Titles in September 2005. In 2003 he was known as Garrison Cade and teamed briefly with another partner. Who was his partner?

Answer: Mark Jindrak

Originally known as Garrison Cade the late Lance McNaught got a break in late 2003 when he joined forces with the talented Mark Jindrak. The duo had some mild success against such teams as Le Resistance and The Dudley Boys. The duo parted ways in 2004 with Jindrak becoming a lackey for Kurt Angle.

The following year Cade reappeared as Lance Cade and began a successful duo with Trevor Murdoch which lasted until 2008. After a short alliance with Chris Jericho, Cade was terminated in 2009 and died in August 2010 of drugs at age 30.

13. Although Tag Team wrestling is not what it was during the 1970s and the 1980s a great duo formed in The WWE in 2007. Many questioned whether these two self absorbed stars could co exist but they did and had great success for two years. Who was this duo?

Answer: The Miz and John Morrison

In 2007 John Morrison who had previously gained success in The WWE as Johnny Nirto in the tag team "MNM" with Joey Mercury joined forces with the obnoxious wrestler known as "The Miz". Although possessing huge egos the two meshed well together and won both The WWE Tag Team Titles and WWE World Tag Team Titles during their time together.

The had some epic bouts against The Colons, Cryme Tyme and Curt Hawkins and Zach Ryder. After a brief feud against each other in 2010, Morrison departed but The Miz stayed on as one of the promotions top personalities.

14. At the very beginning of the 1980s these two handsome, technically gifted stars delighted fans by winning The WWF Tag Team Titles twice. One was a consummate tag team wrestler having won The WWF Tag Team Titles on numerous occasions, the other would return later in the decade with a more arrogant persona. Who was this team?

Answer: Tony Garea and Rick Martel

Tony Garea had already won The WWF Tag Team Titles three times along with Haystacks Calhoun, Dean Ho and Larry Zbyszko before joining forces with Rick Martel. The duo defeated the dreaded Samoans for The WWF Tag Team Titles in November 1980. They then entered into a long feud with the eccentric Moondogs which saw them lose and regain the titles.

After dropping the belts to the nefarious Mr. Saito and Mr. Fuji in October 1981 the duo parted ways in early 1982. Although often forgotten about these two were immensely popular during 1980 and 1981 and had the success to prove it.

15. In the fall of 1986 these two fiery Polynesian wrestlers joined forces as a popular duo that enjoyed some mild success. In the spring of 1987 they made a surprising heel turn and joined an infamous manager's family of wrestlers. Who was this duo?

Answer: The Islanders

In September 1986 King Tonga aka Haku joined forces with The Tonga Kid aka Tama as the exciting duo called The Islanders. Although talented the duo would beat jobbers but routinely lost to the likes of Demolition, The Dream Team and The Hart Foundation.

In May 1987 in a televised match The Islanders turned heel in a contest against The Can'AM Connection and joined Bobby Heenan's infamous "Heenan Family". The duo had more success as heels, defeating The British Bulldogs and The Killer Bees, but still The WWF Tag Team Titles evaded them.

The duo split in the spring of 1988 when Tama was terminated and Haku briefly teamed with High Chief Afi before being crowned "King" in July 1988.

Source: Author jperrone

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor linkan before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

For years Tag Team Wrestling has played a very important role in the industry. This quiz will test your knowledge of some teams of the past, some might be easy others might be hard.

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