In the early 1990s, WCW was undergoing a bit of a transformation. Upper management was making decisions that were driving off established stars like Tully Blanchard, Dusty Rhodes, Lex Luger, The Midnight Express, and, most crippling, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair, who all left to join Vince McMahon’s WWF. As stars Sting, “Ravishing” Rick Rude, Cactus Jack, and Vader began to emerge as the dominant superstars for Ted Turner’s promotion, WCW fans could rely on one stable presence in the changing landscape of their favorite federation — the stellar tag team division. Long considered one of the strengths of the NWA/WCW, tag teams provided some of the best feuds and matches in wrestling history. WCW boasted some all-time legendary teams during the ’90s, and for our Mattel WWE collections to be complete, we’d need all of these teams.
5. The Nasty Boyz
This is a bit of a cheat as Jerry Saggs and Brian Knobbs could easily have been on a WWF list as they maintained their same look throughout their careers as they took on teams like The Steiners, Harlem Heat, The Road Warriors, and Hart Foundation. While Mattel has become fond of making plastic wrestling shirts, the Nasty Boys would be far better served with cloth shirts, and, since it’s the exact same look, costs don’t have to be a major issue for them. And if we can keep the costs down, it’d be great for Mattel to also add in their leather jackets to complete the “Nasty” look.
4. Doom
Ron Simmons and Butch Reed were floundering in the mid-card ranks in the latter days of the NWA, but their fortunes begin to change when Woman teamed them up to serve as her surrogates in a feud against Rick and Scott Steiner as a masked-wearing duo. It wasn’t until they lost the masks and brought on Teddy Long as their manager that Doom started becoming a significant threat in NWA/WCW. The duo upset The Steiner Brothers to win the world tag team titles and successfully defended them for nearly a year, withstanding challenges from The Road Warriors, The Rock-N-Roll Express, The Steiners, Sting and Lex Luger, and The Four Horsemen. Doom doesn’t need a lot, save a pair of WCW tag titles, but Mattel could also toss in a couple of masks to give us an early Doom as well.
3. The Hollywood Blondes
In the mid-’90s, “Stunning” Steve Austin and “Flyin” Brian Pillman found themselves stuck spinning their wheels in meaningless feuds. Deciding misery loved company, the two former single stars opted to combine their talents as a tag team. During a feud with Ric Flair and Arn Anderson, the two mocked the opulent lifestyles of their rivals and declared themselves stars in their own right as The Hollywood Blondes. Of all the teams I’ve listed so far, Mattel has to sign the legends to a contract, but in this case Pillman and Austin have already been made, seemingly reducing any roadblocks for their acclaimed team. The Blondes should have vests and any other Hollywood paraphernalia Mattel wants to include.
2. Harlem Heat
Brothers Booker T. and Stevie Ray arrived in WCW at the behest of Sid Vicious to help take on Sting, The British Bulldog, and Dustin Rhodes, and they never looked back. Harlem Heat soon became the dominant tag team in WCW, defeating teams like The Nasty Boys, Stars ‘n’ Stripes, The Filthy Animals, The American Males, The Stud Stable, The Steiner Brothers, The Public Enemy, and Sting and Lex Luger en route to becoming WCW’s most decorated tag team with 10 tag title reigns. Booker T has already received a Mattel figure from his King Booker days, but we definitely need one of his acclaimed tag team with Stevie Ray because “suckas gots to know!” For the sake of some much-needed attire diversity on our shelves, Mattel can go with pretty much any Harlem Heat attire except for red or black. Blue is my preference, but HH wore purple, white and gold that would look equally sharp in our collection.
1. The Steiner Brothers
From the moment they began teaming together regularly, Rick and Scott Steiner quickly became the measuring stick for any tag team in the last few months of the NWA and WCW. Armed with an array of suplexes and high-impact clotheslines, the brothers vanquished a who’s who of wrestling tag teams from The Dangerous Alliance, The Freebirds, The Road Warriors, The Wild Samoans and became the second team in WCW history to hold both the world tag team titles and the U.S. tag team titles when they defeated the first record holders The Midnight Express. Jakks was able to release a Rick Steiner figure with a pseudo Michigan letter, and that’s the main accessory either brother needs. Rick needs a Fandango-style colorful attire while Scott will be fine with a two-tone singlet. The Steiners are pretty much locks to be in every wrestling fans Top 5 tag teams of all-time so these guys are a must. And since the duo also competed in the WWF, there’s even more incentive for Mattel to make these guys one of its top priorities now that other legendary teams like The Road Warriors (with Legion of Doom variants on the way), The New Age Outlaws, Edge and Christian, Demolition, and The Brain Busters have already been released.
