One of the great tragedies of modern-day wrestling is that tag teams are such an obvious afterthought. In the ’80s and ’90s especially you couldn’t help but see Hall of Fame teams in feuds with each other.

I was midway through my AWA Top 5 list when I realized it was skewing a little tag-team heavy. And rather than cheating my own list, I figured there was more than enough stellar tag teams that they could get their just due on my Top 5 wrestling feature.

So this time, we’re looking at the Top 5 AWA Tag Teams, some of which may not actually be that big a stretch to get in some form. I easily could have gone with a Top 10, considering the quality teams that competed in the AWA, but here are the 5 must-have teams for an ideal Mattel figure collection.

The Midnight Rockers

Before they started rocking the full-on mullets, they were rocking until midnight as arguably the most dynamic tag team in AWA history. Their bloody wars with Doug Summers and Buddy Rose, The Nasty Boys, and Badd Company were legendary. Of all the other options on this list, this might be the one with an actual chance since Mattel might be looking for ways to get different Shawn Michaels figures out there.

Jerry Blackwell and Ken Patera

The Sheiks were a powerhouse tag team with Olympic strongman Patera dominating foes, and Blackwell crushing them with his massive girth. Patera was a great heel before his two-year prison sentence in ’84 while Blackwell was easily the best monster heel Hogan didn’t get a chance to destroy in the WWF. Give them their sheik robes and headgear and let them run loose on our tag-team ranks. Patera has a slim chance of getting made from his 1987 WWF stint, but I’d rather get him from his prime. It’s a moot point though, since Blackwell has virtually no chance of getting a figure.

The Destruction Crew

Wayne “The Train” Bloom and “Mean” Mike Enos were the last great AWA team, but with their demolition gimmick and impressive tag-team moves, they’d be another fun pairing to add. WWF dulled some of their nasty edge down by making them the Beverly Brothers, but this vicious, brawling team dominated the AWA tag team scene like few before them. Our best bet is a Beverly Brothers set, but even that seems unlikely unless Mattel really starts getting into the tag team ranks.

The High Flyers

Long before Jim Brunzell was stinging opponents as one half of The Killer Bees with B. Brian Blair in the WWF, he was launching dropkicks with his partner Greg Gagne from the ’70s to the mid-’80s battling teams like the Shieks, the East West Connection, and the Blackjacks.

Tag team titles are an even bigger pipe dream than actually getting these guys, but if any team should come with a pair of AWA tag titles, it’s the former two-time champs.

Badd Company

Paul Diamond and Pat Tanaka may have achieved a higher profile as The Orient Express in the WWF, but in the AWA, they were one of the cooler late ’80s teams in the vein of the Rock n Roll Express. Orient Express figures are a longshot, but getting them in their ’80s glam-band attire would be amazing. And for good measure add in Diamond Dallas Page and a pair of Diamond Dolls.