The SmarK Rant for WWE Vault – Iconic Tag Teams Earliest Appearances

The SmarK Rant for WWE Vault – Iconic Teams’ Earliest Appearances

Originally written 10.17.25

YES I KNOW, Crockett Cup 87. Trust me. But it’s 4.5 hours long and I’ve got WrestleDream to cover this weekend first. But it’s absolutely on my “Watch Later” list already and waiting for me to review it. It’s gonna happen.

Anyway, this is a bit shorter and almost as intriguing of a concept, as the Vault presents notable first appearances of famous teams, as a team. There’s also a “show stealing tag team matches” playlist on here as well that is appealing to me. So many cool videos, so little time.

https://youtu.be/-2W9SpwuiOw?si=xlHImoYRBwAunf_o

Paul London & Spanky v. Sean O’Haire & A-Train

So this is a dark match from a GIANT FIST ERA Smackdown taping, as if A-Train existing didn’t give it away. Spanky (Brian Kendrick) throws forearms at A-Train and gets nowhere with that, and A-Train clobbers him down. I feel like A-Train should be moving faster for some reason. Over to O’Haire, who puts Kendrick down with a chop, but London comes in for a cutesy double-team that gets two. O’Haire clobbers him with a lariat and London flops around off that, and it’s back to A-Train, who uses the power of clubbing forearms to take over. Sean beats London down in the corner and tosses him with a slam across the ring, but Kendrick breaks up the pin. A-Train with a butterfly suplex and he drops an elbow for two. O’Haire works the arm, but London comes back with a leg lariat off the middle and it’s HOT TAG Kendrick. Spanky is running wild with kicks and he dropkicks the A-Train’s knee for two. He goes up with a tornado DDT for two, but O’Haire saves and it’s PANDEMONIUM BREAKING LOOSE. But London and O’Haire both tumble to the floor and Kendrick hits Train with a DDT for two. But then Train finishes with the Train-ing Bra or whatever his finisher was called at 7:50, basically a body vice drop. This was a shockingly good match for a random ass 2003 taping because hot take, London & Kendrick ruled together. They also went on to be a staggeringly long-reigning tag team champion that no one remembers today. ***

The Road Warriors v. Joe Young & Randy Barber (06/11/83)

Time for Georgia, with the debut of Hawk & Animal after a few months of Animal doing a biker gimmick as a single and stinking up the territory. So Gordon Solie introduces them as the “New National tag team champions”, which was complete bullshit and in fact Ole Anderson just put the titles on them in advance of their debut here, and pretended that they won a tournament or whatever. So no facepaint here, and no mohawks, just leather pants and a whole lotta steroids. Neither guy has a name yet as such, but we’ll call the first guy “Hawk” and the other guy “Animal” to simplify things. They take turns beating on Barber while Paul Ellering does commentary with Gordon, and it’s over to Young, who looks like 1996 Paul Wight on Ozempic, and the Warriors finish him with a double clothesline at 2:00. Holy shit they were incredibly awful at this point. DUD

Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods v. Stardust & Goldust (10/04/14)

This appears to be a house show match in Trenton NJ, with the ring announcer talking about the Susan G. Komen foundation before the match. Man you don’t hear much about THEM these days. Surprising, since they were so corrupt that’d fit right in with all the billionaires stealing money from cancer patients now. It’s barely even a misdemeanor offense today, it feels like. Big E is with Kofi & Xavier, which would make this the stealth debut of the entire New Day unit in advance of their full repackaging. Stardust had about hit his peak as half of the WWF tag team champions here, and of course disappeared sometime after this and I don’t know what happened to him after that. Maybe he can host a podcast or something. Despite their big babyface win for the titles, the Dust Brothers turn heel on New Jersey by declaring this a non-title match. Big E, it should be noted, already has the “NEW DAY ROCKS” cadence for pounding on the mat outside, in advance of that being their actual gimmick. Stardust with a monkey flip on Kofi, but he lands on his feet, and the New Day double-teams Star with clotheslines in their corner. Goldust comes in and slugs on Kofi, but Kofi gets a back elbow for two and Xavier comes in with a flying clothesline for two. They all fight to the floor and the static camera doesn’t see what happens out there, but Stardust is in control when they come back into the ring so it must have been bad for Xavier. I assume he was beaten half to death with lead pipes, just as a start. Goldust gets two and goes to a chinlock, and then cuts off a comeback with a powerslam for two. Stardust chokes him out and puts the boots to him for two. I find it astonishing to think of that Shield v. Dust feud now, knowing that Roman Reigns v. STARDUST would eventually headline 2 Wrestlemanias in a row and kickstart the biggest money era for the company in their history. Kofi gets the hot tag and runs wild with Kofi stuff on Goldust, but Stardust breaks it up and they double-team him with a disaster kick combo for two. Back to Woods, and they hit Goldust with the Demolition kneedrop for the pin at 10:30. This was pretty uninspiring stuff during a very dead time for the promotion. **

Dynamite Kid & Davey Boy Smith v. Cuban Assassin & Ciclon Negro (07/11/83)

Off to Stampede in 83, although you’d think they would have teamed in England before this. Oddly, we’ve got Keith Hart on commentary because Ed Whalen is on assignment, and we’re joined with Kid getting the shit kicked out of him by the heels. Kid is already bleeding due to a previous attack by Bad News Allen, and Negro and Cuban trade off foreign objects and split him open further. Kid fights them off and makes the hot tag to Davey Boy, who weighs about 100 pounds soaking wet here, and he throws dropkicks on the heels and takes them both over with a flying headscissors. Also funny because Keith talks about Davey has “put on a lot of bulk”. 1990 Davey says HOLD MY BEER. Davey gets double-teamed in the corner, but dropkicks Negro and then makes another tag to Dynamite, who flies in with a missile dropkick and beats on both heels by himself. But then Cuban hits him from behind, only for Negro to collide with his partner and Kid hits a kneedrop for the upset pin at 5:51. Boy you could see there was something there. **1/4

The New Rockers v. Matt & Jeff Hardy (06/01/96)

I’m assuming this falls under “first televised WWF appearance together” for the Hardyz, because god knows they had a literal million tag team matches on the indies before they ever got to the WWF. From WWF Superstars, as the announcers aren’t sure whether to call them “The Hardy Boys” or the “Hardy Brothers”. Hopefully they figure it out someday. The Rockers double-team Matt in the corner and fling his beanpole brother into the ring before backdropping him to the floor and following with a stereo dive onto the Hardyz. Marty celebrates with some dancing and clowns on Jeff by pulling the bandana over his eyes before slingshotting Leif in with a legdrop. Leif with a belly to belly suplex and Marty adds a running kneelift for two. Double clothesline and they finish Jeff with an ugly reverse powerbomb / bulldog combo at 3:41. Well it was a cool idea I guess.

The Ebony Experience v. Brute Force (04/12/92)

We are back to the Global Wrestling Federation with the debut of young Booker T & Stevie Ray, and they chase the Brute Force guys, who are dressed like extras from The Warriors and don’t even have names. Booker and Stevie work the arm of a Brute Forcer and then Booker gets caught in their corner as we learn that in fact one is named “Slammer” and the other is “Jammer”, and I feel like I was better off not knowing it. Slammer lives up to his moniker with a slam on Booker for two, but Booker clotheslines him and makes the hot tag to Stevie. They all slug it out in the corners, and the ref gets thrown out by Whammer and Bammer for the DQ at 6:00. Holy hell this was terrible. DUD

The Smoking Guns v. Barry Horowitz & Reno Riggins (04/05/93)

This is a tryout match for “Kip Winchester” and “Brett Colt”, who had been toiling around southern indies as The Long Riders for a bit. So this would again fall under “First WWF appearance” and definitely not first time as a team. It’s a dark match from a Wrestling Challenge taping, and those are certainly cowboy names. Aside from being Billy & Bart Gunn, everything else with the gimmick is there already, from the gear to the ”Yippie Kay Yay” stuff to the pop-guns. Kip starts with Barry and gets a rollup for two before taking him down with an armbar. Reno comes in, but Brett Colt hits him with a hiptoss and also takes him down and works the arm. Gunns with a double legsweep and Kip drops an elbow, but Colt misses a bodypress and clotheslines himself on the top rope like a goober. Reno and Barry double-team in the corner and choke him out in various ways, and Barry catapults him under the bottom rope and follows with a northern lights suplex for two. Reno with a back elbow for two. He goes to an abdominal stretch and Horowitz adds a jawbreaker for two. Colt somehow fights off this devastating arsenal and makes the tag to Winchester, who runs wild with slams, and then Colt gets a spinning sideslam before Winchester comes off the top with a flying something for the pin at 9:00. Couldn’t really see it very well on the hard cam. Whatever, it was Billy Gunn, it probably sucked. *

Rick & Scott Steiner v. The Raider & Snake Brown (06/10/89)

This is from a World Championship Wrestling taping, just in advance of Clash VII, which was the REAL coming out party for the Steiners as a team. Also I imagine the heel team here is high up on Not That Tom Green’s list of awesome jobber teams. Personally I wish they had used the squash win over Mike Awesome & Rock Hard Rick from the week after because it’s an early Awesome appearance and also ROCK HARD RICK. Notable here as well is nerdy super fan Robin Green hitting on Rick on the way to the ring, before she was revealed to be a gold-digging devilish Woman. Scott hits the Raider with a powerslam and Rick clotheslines him out of the ring. Over to Snake Brown, who is From Outta Town, where they apparently don’t have barbers, and Scott hits him with a belly to belly before Rick adds an overhead suplex for the pin at 1:45. And then the Varsity Club hits the ring and they all have a wild brawl as the show ends.

Matt Capotelli & Maven v. Johnny Nitro & Joey Matthews (04/17/04)

I really like Maven’s YouTube channel. He’s a natural at it and his “Secrets of Pro Wrestling moves” series is charming stuff. It’s the debut of MNM from OVW, as Maven hits Joey with a powerslam for two, and Capotelli drops a leg for two. MNM double-teams Capotelli, but Matt fights back on Nitro with chops and chases him out of the ring. Nitro shoves Melina into Capotelli and that allows Matthews to get a cheapshot to take over, and Nitro elbows him down in the ring. Joey with a kneedrop for two, but he accidentally monkey flips his own partner and Maven gets the hot tag and goes up with a missile dropkick for two. This brings Melina in behind the ref’s back and she scratches Maven’s eyes, allowing Nitro to finish with a spinning fisherman’s suplex at 5:37. Fun little match with the rookies. **

Humberto Carillo & Angel Garza v. Lucha House Party (09/16/21)

We’re on the Main Event and I’m not sure which debut this is supposed to be. I guess the Garzas? I wasn’t watching the weekly TV at this point so I just assume. Dorado and Metallik clear the ring and hit stereo dives and we take a break as the announcers clarify that this is the first teaming for Carillo & Garza. Are we really going with “iconic tag team” for them? Have they even been tag team champions? I legit don’t know. Los Garzas double-team Metallik in the corner and Carillo gets a slam and snap suplex for two. Lince Dorado with the hot tag and he superkicks both Garzas and hits Garza with a stunner. The LHP hit three moonsaults in a row on Garza for two, but he finally rips off his pants and hits the Wing Clipper on Dorado for the pin at 6:00. Fast paced action, nothing notable. **

The Nasty Boys v. Curt Hennig & Greg Gagne (04/19/87)

This is part of a tag team tournament, and it’s definitely the debut of the Nasty Boys as a team because Sags was working as a referee and doing TV jobs up until then. The Nasties don’t have the gear yet, just working in standard tights that look like they were borrowed from Jerry Lawler’s hand-me-downs, and it really wasn’t until they started touring Memphis and territories that they really honed the gimmick. Hennig was about to turn heel and win the World title at this point, and I think this tournament is where he finally has enough of Groovy Greg and turns on him. Knobbs works a headlock on Hennig, but Hennig dropkicks him to the floor and takes him down in the ring. Knobbs hits Curt with knees in the corner and follows with a clothesline, and it’s over to Jerry Saganowich, and god knows that name change improved his chances of getting over by 100%. Over to the power of GREG GAGNE and he takes Sags down and works the leg, with Hennig adding a spinning toehold. But Knobbs breaks it up and sends Hennig to the floor to take over. Back in, the Nasties work Hennig over in the corner and put the boots to him while distracting the ref. Knobbs and Hennig collide for the double down and it’s HOT TAG GREG GAGNE BY GOD. He slugs away and runs Sags into the turnbuckle and follows with a backdrop. Hennig comes in with a missile dropkick to finish at 10:55 and advance in the tournament. This was fine, although as an AWA viewer at the time I was like “Why is that Knobbs guy who loses every week on TV supposed to be a dangerous threat now?” But hey, Knobbs and Sags certainly looked like ugly bruising heels and they were able to fake until they made it. **1/2

The Wild Samoans v. Miguel Ramos & Sabu (10/14/87)

I don’t actually recognize this footage, although the future SST were mostly kicking around Puerto Rico in 1987 so it’s probably from there given all the Spanish ring announcing. They’re doing more of the “Samoan Gangsta Party” cool street Samoan gimmick here, rather than the more familiar “Jungle Savages” gimmick they quickly shifted towards. Samu, working a karate gimmick at this point apparently, hits Sabu (definitely not Terry Bronk) with spinkicks and that brings Fatu in for a double-team clothesline that gets two. Fatu with chops on the ropes, but Sabu makes a comeback before getting run into Samu in the corner to cut him off. Over to Ramos, who quickly gets crushed by the Samoans and Fatu finishes with the flying splash at 4:10. Honestly they looked really good in this squash and it’s not surprising that they were able to quickly find a groove as a top team around the indies.

The Hart Foundation v. SD Jones & Mario Mancini (04/20/85)

From WWF Championship Wrestling, with Bret and Jim teamed up after Neidhart’s failed singles push with Mr. Fuji. SD works the arm on the Anvil, but Mancini tries it and Neidhart clobbers him to take over. Bret comes in with a dropkick and knee to the gut before putting the boots to him. And Anvil hoists up Mancini as Bret comes in for the debut of the Hart Attack at 2:40 to finish it off. Certainly took a while for the Harts to get rolling but the chemistry was certainly there.

JTG & Shad Gaspard v. KC James & Roadkill (05/24/06)

And back to OVW to finish things off, as JTG is “Neighbor-Hoodie” and gets some slams on James. But Roadkill comes in and misses a pump splash, and JTG gets a neckbreaker on him. Over to Gaspard, who boots Roadkill down for two, and he alley-oops JTG into Roadkill. Back to James, who I think got a cup of coffee on the main roster with Damian Sandow as “The Heartbreakers” or something? That whole period is a blur for me. He’s like a super generic Dolph Ziggler and he slugs away on the heels, but gets tossed into the post by Shad, allowing JTG to beat him down on the floor. Back in, that gets two for Shad. JTG tries another corner splash, but he misses and Roadkill gets the hot tag and runs wild. Roadkill with a spinning slam on JTG for two and it’s BREAKING LOOSE IN TULSA as the faces hit corner splashes and Roadkill goes up with a flying splash to flatten JTG. But Cherry runs in and takes the ref, allowing Deuce and Domino, another team I barely remember existing, to run in and lay out Roadkill with rollerstakes and put JTG on top for the pin at 6:00. Look, we all love Shad Gaspard and JTG’s books are a watershed of literary greatness and all, but I’d hardly call Cryme Tyme “an iconic tag team”. *1/2

This was an interestin cross-section of stuff that would certainly warrant a sequel, because I can name three or four teams off the top of my head where there’s definitely footage of their debut and would fall under “iconic”. Tully and Arn, The Dudley Boyz, FTR, just to name a few.

Still, this was very cool, I love you WWE Vault madmen and appreciate everything you do, keep pumping it out and I’ll keep watching it.