VIDEO: Go Figure Friday: Tag team figures

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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In less than a week I'm stepping back into the ring. This time I'll be teaming up with Heath Hatton against the Stride Pro Wrestling tag team champions, Jay Spade and Tony Flood. That match is happening Thursday, Aug. 29 at Rent One Park in Marion, Illinois. BE THERE!

So to gear up for the match, I'm sharing a few of my favorite tag team action figures on this week's Go Figure Friday. Take a look! 

3 Tag team breakups I hated to see

Big Cass kicks Enzo
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Earlier this week, one of WWE's most popular tag teams came to an end. Big Cass put the big boot to Enzo and in an instant, the longtime partners were through. The action reminds me of when three of my favorite tag teams came to an end.

Sweet chin music
Courtesy: WWE

Perhaps the most famous tag team breakup is the Rockers. In 1992 it was clear Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty were not feeling it anymore. A split had been teased for months, and finally, Shawn had enough and threw Marty through the window on the Barbershop segment. I enjoyed the Rockers as a tag team, but allowing Shawn to launch a singles career is one of the best moves WWE ever made. Adopting the HBK persona and attitude has put Shawn Michaels near the top of many fans' lists of favorites.

Mega Powers explode!
Courtesy: WWE

The Mega Powers were destined to split up. The one time enemies became quick allies when "Macho Man" Randy Savage was being abused by The Honky Tonk Man and the Hart Foundation. Suddenly, with the urging of Elizabeth, Hulk Hogan made the save. The WWF's top two guys became fast friends and tag team partners. The relationship lasted roughly 18 months before the Mega Powers exploded. The buildup and breakup of these two will go down as one of the best angles devised by WWE.

Bulldogs end!
Stampede Wrestling 

Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid are still my favorite tag team of all time. The British Bulldogs teamed for a few years in WWF before heading back to the Stampede area. It was there that Kid turned his back on Davey Boy ending that duo. I never saw this play out on TV but read about it in the Apter mags as a teenager. In the long run, this too worked out well, at least for Davey Boy Smith. He would come back to the WWE a few times, winning the European, Intercontinental and Tag Team Championships. 

I love tag team wrestling. But I know there are times when it's necessary to split up teams and let the singles go on to bigger and better things. It's expected that Big Cass will be the big star of the most recently torn up tandem. Hopefully, Enzo finds success too, I really think he'd make a great manager/mouthpiece for someone.

Tag teams that should have won gold

Rockers, Stallions and Islanders
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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Many times we see on social media fans talking about wrestlers who should have been the World Heavyweight Champion. I've even written a blog or two about it myself. But tag teams are never really brought into the conversation. Here are three tag teams who should have won the WWF Tag Team Championship.

Tag team champs... NOT
Courtesy: WWE

The Rockers technically beat the Hart Foundation for the belts in the fall of 1990. However, there were issues with the ring that night and the footage never aired on TV. Back then there was a saying if it didn't happen on TV, it didn't happen, so Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty were never recognized as the champs. I always enjoyed the duo and was disappointed when they split them up. We all know Michaels went on to have an amazing solo career and also won the tag titles with various partners, including Diesel, Steve Austin and Triple H. Jannetty and The 1-2-3 Kid had a brief run as champions too. 

The Young Stallions vs. The Hart Foundation
Courtesy: WWE

Paul Roma and Jim Powers were both "enhancement talent" in the mid-1980s. But then in 1987, the two caught fire and The Young Stallions started climbing the tag team ranks. The two joined the Killer Bees as the survivors of the tag team match at the first Survivor Series. They seemed to be the perfect underdog duo and destined to eventually win the gold after years of toiling. Imagine had they beat the Hart Foundation for the belts in '87 instead of Strike Force. Not knocking Rick Martel or Tito Santana, but the angle could have gone very similarly with Roma turning heel and becoming the Model. Again, no knock to Martel who did extraordinary in that role. 

The Islanders vs. The Young Stallions
Courtesy: WWE

The Islanders were a solid babyface team in the 80s. Then one day they joined forces with Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. The trio worked well together as Haku and Tama put their years of experience to good work. Haku would eventually win the belts with Andre the Giant. The Islanders could have been The Brain's first champs, but it wasn't meant to be.

I realize putting the titles on any of these teams would have disrupted the history of the WWF. But it would have been nice to see these three hard working teams be rewarded for their skills.