Mid 20th Century
18-546: The OVW Tag Team Championship formerly known as the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles of Ohio Valley Wrestling . Created in 1997, the first champions were Nick Dinsmore and Flash Flanagan . There have been 190 reigns shared between 116 different teams consisting of 159 distinctive champions and 15 vacancies . The current champions are Beaches and Cream (Luscious Lawrence and Omar Amir), who are in their third reign as
36-483: A championship division for tag teams. The first "World" tag team championship was promoted in San Francisco in the early 1950s. Tag matches with three-man teams were developed, and in some territories, a championship division was instituted for these teams, but the concept failed to become widely popular; outside Mexico , multi-man tag matches are seen as a special attraction. Typically, a tag team championship
54-433: A legal tag: As the ultimate authority over the match, a referee may overlook any of these at his discretion, and during the frenzied action, often will be more lenient with them. In some multi-man tag matches in lucha libre , a wrestler can make himself the team's legal man simply by setting foot in the ring, and his partner then leaves. This allows for action to become nearly continuous. Two referees, one stationed inside
72-465: A tag is made, the wrestler tagging out has a grace period (typically five to ten seconds) to leave the ring before risking disqualification. Offensive cooperation from a team member is allowed during this time window; thus it is rather commonplace for both members of a team, especially heel teams, to milk this grace period and have two men in the ring simultaneously with only one member of an opposing team The following are standard requisites for making
90-431: A tag. The tension builds as the legal man is unable to tag out until something happens (a second wind, miscommunication between the opponents or another stroke of luck) that allows the first team to tag and reverse the momentum of the match in their favor. When done well, this results in a large audience reaction, and was the typical climax of tag matches for decades. WWE employs this tactic in nearly every tag team match to
108-533: A team match. However, only one wrestler from each team, called the "legal man" is allowed in the ring at a time (although heels will often flout this rule in an attempt to gang up on a single opponent). All other members of the team wait outside the ropes (on the ring apron or the floor) in the team's specified corner. Only an active/legal wrestler is allowed to score a fall or have a fall scored against him/her. But any wrestler, legal or outside, may face disqualification for himself or his team for violating rules. Once
126-465: A team, but in their third and fourth reigns respectively. As of November 27, 2024. Tag team 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as
144-414: A unit and have a team name and identity. In most team matches, only one competitor per team is allowed in the ring at a time. This status as the active or legal wrestler may be transferred by physical contact, most commonly a palm-to-palm tag which resembles a high five . The team-based match has been a mainstay of professional wrestling since the mid-twentieth century, and most promotions have sanctioned
162-493: Is awarded to and defended by a team of two. However, during the 1970s and 1980s, a dominant trio in the NWA known as The Fabulous Freebirds won several regional tag team championships and were allowed to employ any combination of the group's members in their title defenses. In kayfabe , this made it difficult for challengers to prepare for their upcoming title fights since the challengers did not know exactly whom they were facing. This
180-722: The basic tag team match is referred to as Lucha de Parejas (Doubles Fight), a six-man match as a Lucha de Trios , and an eight-man match as a Lucha Atómica (Atomic Fight). A "bookend" tag team is a (sometimes derogatory) term for a tag team where the members look and/or dress alike (e.g., The Killer Bees , the British Bulldogs , Los Conquistadores , the Hart Foundation , etc.). Bookends are common in North America , Europe and Mexico , but not in Japan as
198-544: The days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence of fans so as not to reveal the worked nature of the business. Into the 21st century, widespread discussion on the Internet has popularized these terms. Many of the terms refer to the financial aspects of professional wrestling in addition to in-ring terms. Also road agent , producer and coach . Also juicing , gigging , getting color , and running
SECTION 10
#1732783911030216-406: The point that they fired a referee in 2008 after a botched finish that, while the match produced the intended finish, did not feature a hot tag . A common variation on the hot tag sees both wrestlers from the heel team attacking a face, while his partner protests to the referee about this bending of the rules (and therefore, unintentionally "distracting" the referee away from the heels). Eventually
234-424: The promotion of wrestlers to singles championships in that country is based in part on their work in tag team matches. Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Spot Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in
252-439: The razor . Also booker and booking . Also going broadway . Also bury and buried . Also championship advantage . Also forbidden door . Also getting the heat . Also lackey or heavy Also babyface , blue-eye (England), or técnico (Mexico). Also playing Ricky Morton . Also hope spot . Also cross-promotion . Also persona . Also jobber to
270-488: The ring and one on the floor, are employed to maintain order for this type of match. In independent discussion and analysis of matches, certain terms are used to describe specific scenarios involving tag team matches. These are planned and timed to inject drama into a match. One spot common to many tag team match is the hot tag . One member of one team is in the ring, too weakened to move or otherwise impaired, while his partner watches helplessly, struggling to reach him for
288-399: The true legal man, often from behind. A tag team match involving more than two wrestlers per team is often referred to by the total number of people involved (e.g. a six-man tag team match involves two teams of three), while a tag team match involving more than two teams is referred to by normal qualifiers (e.g. a triple threat tag team match involves three teams of two). In lucha libre ,
306-407: The weakened face wrestler does make the tag to his partner, who comes in as the fresh man and is able to take on both opponents quite easily. A blind tag is a legal tag made without the legal opponent's knowledge, usually while his back is turned. This allows the team who uses it an opportunity to confuse the legal opponent, who turns to face what he assumes to be his opponent only to be attacked by
324-544: Was an effective gimmick and is still utilized by other wrestling companies. The stipulation has become traditionally known as the "Freebird Rule". A common storyline is former tag team partners turning on each other with one member usually turning heel or babyface in the process, which will invariably ignite a feud . This can be used when one member is being called on to develop a new gimmick . The basic tag team match has two teams of two wrestlers facing off against each other. All standard rules for singles wrestling apply to
#29970