elliott

The dirty secret of the Hart Foundation is that Bret sucks as a tag worker. He's doing the same moves with the same execution for the most part that he'd always do so it's easy to miss unless you end up watching a ton of the HF & have an interest in tag wrestling. Building heat through hope spots & cut offs leading to a hot tag, working the apron, well timed misdirection spots all the things that make tag wrestling stand out are just kind of eschewed. It's not a "Oh that's just WWF tags" problem either as I don't think other teams had these same issues crop up over years. It takes a lonnnnnng time for them to become an interesting heel team & then right as they (Bret) figure it out, they turn face & it's like starting over from scratch. Anyway, in spite of my HF criticisms, they are in a lot of good matches especially with the Rougeaus. They have a bunch of matches together & they're all at least good & worth watching. The ones to really get excited about are: 8/13/88 10/9/88 10/10/88 10/24/88 2/9/89 SNME

I would only put Demolition & the Rockers above them & it's solely because they have a few extra years on Adonis & Murdoch. Really one more year in the promotion at the level they were at & I'd put them at #1. They're an amazing team. My top WWF tag teams of the 80s & early 90s was: 1. Rockers 2. Demolition 3. Adonis & Murdoch 4. Islanders 5. Dream Team 6. Rougeaus 7. Piper & Bob Orton Jr (teamed enough to make the list but not enough to contend for the top 3. 8. Brainbusters 9. Sheik & Volkoff 10. Strike Force. (Killer Bees & Marel/Garea would be honorable mentions).

Make sure to watch Adonis & Murdoch: vs Tony Atlas & Rocky Johnson 2/10/84 & 3/23/84 vs Slaughter & Terry Daniels 7/23/84 w/ Big John Studd vs Wild Samoans & Samula 8/10/84

THe only reason I didn't pick them as my #1 WWF tag team was longevity. They're awesome. I also think they're the last WWF team that has a real main event & the teams that followed had a more secondary feeling closer to how WCW used the Cruiserweights.

Check out Killer Bees vs Demolition 2/3 Falls 10/9/87 when you get the chance. One of the best WWF tag matches of the 80s. If you haven't seen my giant list of WWF tag matches to watch here you go: https://x.com/elliottswrstlin/status/1791979048991703214

Mad Dog Connelly It takes a lot to live up to the Mad Dog nickname in pro-wrestling but Connelly managed to earn the moniker before their 30th birthday. Connelly is a tremendous brawler who brings a genuine aura, authenticity, naturalism & sense of ferociousness to his matches. He has the timeless ability to make a 10 minute match feel like an epic war. A strong grappler on the mat & an ability to bump & sell while maintaining a dangerous aura makes Mad Dog a more well rounded performer than just a typical crazed brawler. The sky is the limit for this guy. vs Gary Jay 5/7/22 vs Manders Dog Collar Match 1/26/24 vs Demus Dog Collar Match 4/4/24

Congratulations to Mr & Mrs Sleeze! Wishing you all the best!

Oh man, if we're doing Andre in WWF recommendations I've got some recs - Andre the Giant & Chief Jay Strongbow vs Ken Patera & Nikolai Volkoff (WWWF - 6/27/77) Andre the Giant & Ted Dibiase vs Jerry Valiant & Baron Mikel Scicluna (WWF - 7/26/79) Andre the Giant vs Hulk Hogan (WWF - 3/21/81) (agreed with @Chess Knight this match is awesome) Andre the Giant & Jimmy Snuka vs Wild Samoans (WWF - 2/18/83) Andre the Giant & Jimmy Snuka vs Roddy Piper & Dave Schultz (WWF – 3/25/84) (The best Andre performance you probably haven't seen yet, Piper too for that matter. anyone that reads this you should watch this match next) Andre the Giant vs Ken Patera (WWF – 1/21/85) Andre the Giant & Paul Orndorff vs Roddy Piper & Bob Orton Jr (WWF - 8/10/85) Andre the Giant vs King Kong Bundy (The Colossal Jostle - WWF - 9/23/85)

I've thought so much about these two in regards to rating them for GWE in general and against each other. To save myself from accidentally writing 5,000 words on this, I'll just say 70s Superstar.

I would go the other way & just say that he did more than bump & sell for me. He is great working & milking strong man holds like bear hugs, full nelsons, things like that. He'd even come off the top rope. He's not 70s Jumbo out there offensively but hes also not Mr Perfect I think he strikes a great balance of maintaining his credibility as a power wrestler while bumping & stooging like crazy for opponents.

Same. I ranked this 19th when we did Greatest Match Ever voting a few months ago. Gonna keep banging this drum: Superstar was AMAZING.

It's an INCREDIBLE run.

Glad you're enjoying this feud. Graham in 1977 is amazing. Bruno too but my goodness the Superstar title run is just out of this world.

I appreciate you for doing this! Thank you!

That could be like a ten part series.

Results for the 2023 Greatest Match Ever are coming in for those interested. https://gweproject.freeforums.net/thread/2834/receiving-votes-2023-results We have Greatest Tag Teams Ever up next for 2024 for anyone interested.

I didn't say he was in the top 5. "With more footage, it seems like Heenan would be a no-brainer top 5 all time candidate. He is incredible."

Bumping this because Greatest Matches Ever 2023 is right around the corner. Ballots are due on June 30th. https://gweproject.freeforums.net/thread/2728/2023-rules-ballot

I have him penciled in at 4. The Andre vs Lawler for #3 is something i'll think a lot about over the course of this project.

This is a tremendous match. Andre has the range, variety, peak, & longevity of a bonafide #1 candidate

You're welcome! Hope you enjoy! I couldn't have been more surprised by how good he was in the 70s.

20 Superstar Graham matches to watch: Bruno Sammartino vs Superstar Graham (JIP - WWWF - 2/2/76) Superstar Graham & Ivan Koloff vs Louis Cerdan & Tony Parisi (WWWF - 3/1/76) Antonio Inoki vs Superstar Graham (NJPW - 9/10/76) Bruno Sammartino vs Superstar Graham (WWWF - 4/30/77) Superstar Graham vs Gorilla Monsoon (WWWF - 5/16/77) Bruno Sammartino vs Superstar Graham (WWWF - 6/27/77) Bruno Sammartino vs Superstar Graham (WWWF – 8/1/77) Superstar Graham vs Ivan Putski (WWWF - 8/29/77) Bruno Sammartino vs Superstar Graham (WWWF - 9/17/77) Superstar Graham vs Dusty Rhodes (WWWF - 9/26/77) Superstar Graham vs Dusty Rhodes (Texas Death Match - 10/24/77) Superstar Graham vs Mil Mascaras (WWWF - 12/19/77) Bruno Sammartino vs Superstar Graham (Steel Cage Match - WWWF - 2/18/78) Bob Backlund vs Superstar Graham (Sicilian Stretcher Match - WWWF - 9/16/78) Bruno Sammartino vs Superstar Graham (WWWF - 10/23/78) Superstar Graham vs Higo Hamaguchi (IWE - 4/18/79) Superstar Graham vs Great Kusatsu (IWE - 4/19/79) Superstar Graham vs Mighty Inoue (IWE - 4/20/79) Superstar Graham vs Rusher Kimura (Cage Match - IWE - 4/21/79) Dusty Rhodes vs Superstar Graham (Houston - 1/4/80 The matchup with Bruno is one of the great US rivalries of all time. They're perfect opponents for each other. That Putski match that Ricky linked to is great. I love the matches with Monsoon & Mascaras. His 1977 is amazing.

Hell yeah. I'm a high voter on the Nakano match from 93. I think it's a masterpiece. My under the radar favorite is vs Mayumi Ozaki from 12/93. One of the more harrowing matches with an insane finish. I have Devil locked in the top 10.

Satanico is the definite winner here. Runner Up - Randy Savage has singles matches with Lawler, Idol, & Rude, tags with Lanny vs RnR Express & with Lawler vs Rude & Bundy. He looks like the GOAT in the first tag against Rude & Bundy. Good enough that I actually thought about putting him #1 before I settled down.

Terry Funk has a fucking awesome year with fantastic matches against Lawler, Corino, Homicide etc. Runner Up - UStyle had started so Kiyoshi Tamura. I'll punish him for only 4 matches by putting him 2nd but he looked like he didn't miss a beat from 96-99 when he was head & shoulders above everyone else.