I know I write a lot of negative things about WWE most weeks, but at the Great American Bash pay-per-view on July 23rd, they did something that breathed some life into my inner mark, and told the cynic in me to go wait outside. The show’s opening contest featured WWE Tag Team Champions Paul London and Brian Kendrick, known in some circles as “The Hooliganz”, defending their gold against Kid Kash and Jamie Noble, The Pitbulls.
TODAY’S ISSUE: The Hooliganz versus The Pitbulls
This one match made great strides toward restoring my faith in WWE, the SmackDown! brand, and tag team wrestling as a whole. I love tag team wrestling, but lately it seems to be on the back burner in WWE. While TNA has AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels, two of their best workers (and two of the best in the world, in my opinion) sporting the NWA tag team titles, WWE hasn’t done much with either of their tag team divisions of late.
On RAW, the brand new but anachronistic Highlanders are the top contenders for the titles held by all five members of the Spirit Squad, a one-trick pony gimmick team that has worn out its welcome on Monday nights. Gimmick versus gimmick, comedy fodder team against comedy fodder team. Not too many great matches will spring forth from that well.
Meanwhile, the best thing to happen to the tag team ranks on SmackDown! in ages has been The Hooliganz. They’re two young, energetic, talented daredevils with a unique look, a fearless moveset, and an enthusiasm and excitement that resonate against the rafter of arenas all over the world.
Matching London and Kendrick up against a very different type of team in the Pitbulls has made for some highly entertaining contests on television, and the ppv match at the Bash really delivered in what I hope wasn’t a blow-off match.
The high-flying risk takers squared off against the rugged, tough, “ground-and-pound” challengers Kash and Noble in a beautiful contrast of styles.
The champs started out with multiple quick tags and high-impact top rope attacks, keeping the pace to their advantage and dancing with what brung ’em. Conversely, The Pitbulls kept trying to slow things down, before executing the textbook, classic tag team strategy of cutting off the ring and pounding on one of their two opponents for an extended period. In this case, it was Brian Kendrick who got to play Ricky Morton, while his partner Paul London stood by watching, anxiously awaiting a tag to get back into the thick of things.
This contest was everything a tag team match should be. It was hard hitting, action-packed, and fun to watch. It kept the intensity cranked up high, told a story, followed two distinct, time-honored match patterns (1. two teams trying to impose their pace/style upon each other; 2. face-in-peril), and brought the crowd to life while stealing the show.
JBL’s outstanding commentary during the match added a bit of seasoning to the already delicious meal the four men served up, and kept me in the match that much more.
After 15-18 minutes of back-and-forth action, The Hooliganz scored a pinfall on Kid Kash by way of a gorgeous tandem sunset flip/dropsault maneuver which was not only poetry in motion, but fit nicely with the flow of the action and wasn’t the least bit contrived, which some double-team finishers have been throughout tag team history.
I was actually a little disappointed when the referee counted to three, like grabbing the last beer from the fridge. I wasn’t ready for that party to end just yet, and was sorry that the match was over. In fact, I wouldn’t mind seeing these two teams feud all the way through Survivor Series, but in the “wham, bam, thank you Ma’am” WWE booking style, it seems the champs have already moved on. They were shown scouting two other teams on SmackDown! last Friday night.
There’s a lot of talk about how tag team wrestling, especially in WWE, is dead. But as long as two impressively skilled teams like these are given time to tell their story and electrify the audience, there is absolutely no reason the tag team division should do anything but flourish.
Hopefully this feud is indicative of a new focus on the WWE tag team scene, rather than the all-too-common case of Vince McMahon stumbling upon lighting in a bottle, then promptly sending the bottle back for the 5-cent deposit fee because he doesn’t realize the value of what he has.
Please Vince, give us fans more Hooliganz, more Pitbulls, and more solid in-ring action in the tag team division. We promise to be good, and to keep our liver enzyme counts in check.
See, Mr. Murray? It isn’t ALL gloom and doom from the “IWC”. If they give us the goodness, I’ll be a happy fan…
For more pro wrestling fun, check out Iain Burnside’s The Anti-Pulse, Mark Neeley’s NeelDown Review of Taboo Tuesday 2004, Eric Szulczewski’s Triple-Threat Short Form, and Carlos Zarur’s Sunday Night HEAT Wave.com.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled reality.
p.s. – Why do the songs “Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star” and “The Alphabet Song” share the same melody?
