It is not a surprise that some of the most innovative tag teams around in the days of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) never had titles to show for it. Talk of some indie talents and homegrown hardcore wrestlers who, along with a rabid fanbase, made ECW a memorable promotion for all of its revolutionary vision and long-lasting impact yet imminent in modern-day wrestling.
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These gritty, tough guys played a part, and it is just never enough to only spotlight the champions in our never-ending discourse about greatness. In light of fairness and true greatness, we present to you the ten best ECW tag teams never to win the titles.
10 PG-13
They were not that impressive to watch in World Wrestling Federation (WWF/WWE) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Still, JC Ice and Wolfie D had a decade-long career on the independent circuit in the south.
The duo successfully cut excellent promos, were skilled workers, and enjoyed a long career. PG-13 appeared in different fun matches with ECW in 1997, including a delightful bit of comedy against The Dudley Boyz at Hardcore Heaven 1997 pay per view.
9 The Steiner Brothers
They say all tag teams are created equal, but The Steiner Brothers were ahead of the curve back in the early '90s. They often were part of 6-man tag teams during their short run in ECW. How Paul Heyman managed to keep the titles away from the siblings is still unbelievable.
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They were fantastic competitors who could work and adapt to different styles. The charismatic Michigan natives won titles in promotions (NWA/WCW, PWA, IWGP, WWF) all around the world. They were the epitome of communication and teamwork, always entertaining, electric, and forever a treat.
8 The Bad Breed
Axl Rotten and Ian Rotten had several tag team runs in ECW between 1993 and 1995. They also fought against each other after an unsuccessful run teaming together.
Several ill-fated challenges for the tag team title, often fuelled by bad blood between them and The Public Enemy, ended without the prestigious belt. They rolled on their quest for glory against The Pitbulls, culminating in a "Losing Team Must Split" match at November to Remember. The siblings lost and fell out after playing the blame game.
7 The Bad Street Boys
Christian York and Joey Matthews were genuine singles wrestlers. They had such great chemistry and innovative moves as a team, which leaves us bewildered as to why they could not go up the hierarchy.
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Apart from The Rockers and the likes, they were such a fan favorite during the good old days of tag team prominence.
6 Badd Company
Call them Badd Company or the Orient Express, Paul Diamond and Pat Tanaka had a six-and-half month run with ECW. The pair struggled to realize their potential in the latter stages of their career after a glamorous journeyman run in the Midwest and faraway Austria and Germany.
They got worse with age as with all wrestlers but still were tremendous with their in-ring shenanigans and catapult Death Drop Technique (DDT).
5 Simon and Swinger
Simon Diamond ran this tag team with his charisma and talent for steaming up heats with promos. What Johnny Swinger lacked in strong personality, he made up for in a solid body frame and an almost spectacular in-ring skillset.
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They had good chemistry and resonated well with each other during fights. Simon was a reliable mid-carder in ECW used ineffectively in Total Nonstop Action (TNA) wrestling. Swinger was just "the other guy" who will get the crowd booing with his "It ain't easy, being Johnny Parisi!" catchphrase. How about that for a magical moment?
4 Gedo & Jado
Jado and Gedo are friends off-camera. The buddies have been together since the early '90s and have seen lots of accolades. Though not the quintessential tag team, you have to give them credit for sticking up for each other for so long. Their loss to Chris Chetti & Super Nova at Living Dangerously was part of a trifecta of matches in the ECW in March 2000.
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Gedo, on his part, is one of the best bookers in wrestling today. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is one of the best promotions in the world right now, thanks to his great attention to long-term storytelling and character development. From Okada's WK9 loss, Omega's 2016 G1 win, to Tanahashi's 2018 G1, WK13 wins, and Naito's WK12 loss, Gedo has managed to craft suitable storylines that are shocking at best.
3 The Miracle Violence Connection (MVC)
Their time with the WCW might be the highlight of their tag team run. The fact that they had the nerves to team up one more time in ECW, four years after breaking up, is a mark of greatness.
MVC, one of the top foreign tag teams in Japanese wrestling, lost to The Eliminators at High Incident in October 1996. Steve Williams and Terry Gordy both had great runs in the singles nonetheless.
2 ECW Originals
The ECW Originals were a stellar stable of pros, including Rob Van Dam, Sabu, The Sandman, Tommy Dreamer, and Balls Mahoney. These were wrestlers who gained prominence during the original ECW run.
They featured in WWE's watered-down version of ECW, which sucked right from the beginning. Efforts to separate a roster of originals from newbies did not do the revived promotion any good, with the former losing to their New Breed opponents more often than not. Furthermore, ECW originals struggled to wow the crowd despite their impressive teamwork.
1 Blue World Order
Their gimmick began as a ludicrous offshoot of the New World Order. Beyond their antics, Stevie Richards, Super Nova, and Blue Meanie had enough in-ring skill set to put up great matches for the audience. Yet they opted to amass a cult following by the guise of entertainment.
Almost a decade and a half later, you can still spot the bWo tees among the most unlikely crowds across venues, but with nothing substantial (in the way of trophies) to show for it. They lost the ECW World Tag Team title to The Dudley Boyz in 1998.
NEXT: 5 Alliance Members Who Didn't Win A Title During The Invasion (& 5 Who Did)
