In the early days of American wrestling, there were no tag-teams. Hardcore didn't exist, TLC wasn't even a concept, and no one had ever stepped foot inside a steel cage. The first of these innovations to the spectacle of wrestling would not come to fruition the mid 20th century. To be considered the strongest wrestler you had to defeat the current champ yourself, having another guy get involved didn't make sense. This was in contrast to Mexico, they loved the idea! More guys in the ring meant more action, which brings in more people and most importantly more money. The states would only use tag teams for special promotions. Most wrestlers didn't want to share the ring, and this sentiment was nearly universal at that point in time. How did this change though? What or who made the idea of tag teams go from niche to necessary? Oddly enough, this major shift started on the west coast.
In 1901, San Francisco would be host to the first tag team match in the US. However, the dominance of one v one combat wouldn't be shaken up until these two men became a tag team in 1948.
The pairing of Black Shadow and Blue Demon were the first true test to see if tag team wrestling could work on a global scale. Both athletes worked together to defeat their opponents until Black Shadow lost his mask and turned heel in 1952. This would become a classic story line for almost every tag team, creating new sources of drama and tension for the audience. The pair worked matches together and Blue Demon became a household name. This was what wrestling needed at the time. A massive kick in the pants to the sport, which was felt all over.
These pictures illustrate how wrestling culture changed throughout the mid 20th century. The Lisowski Brothers we're tough, large, mean, and perfect for Detroit. The brothers would work together on rare occasions and because of this it was always big news when they teamed up.
The brothers both had single careers and for a time one of the brothers would be AWA Tag Team Champion with another wrestler under another name. Besides working together in Detroit, they worked all over the mid-northwest and also in Canada. They were a huge draw and a great tag team in their day.
As far as I can tell, The Kalmikoffs might be the first stable in the US. The two athletes you see in the picture are Ivan and Karol. They would later be joined by both Nikita and Igor, and the four would be a team up until '64 when Karol Kalmikoff tragically passed away due to a heart attack. The brothers would go on to hold gold in the in most of the top promotions, dominating the sport. AWA World Tag Team Champs, Three time NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Champs, NWA Texas Tag Team Champs, the list goes on and on. The four brothers had wrestling in their blood and it showed every time they stepped into the ring. A lot of teams today would be well served to look at the Klamikoffs and how this family of wrestler helped spread the word about tag team wrestling.
The fact is, all of these guys were constructing an important part of any modern wrestling promotion. We wouldn't have tag teams if it wasn't for the hard work they put in. Making a change to a sport and working out the rules takes time and effort. A lot of hard work had to happen for us to be able to enjoy it, and the idea of tag-teams is not and should not be a novelty. That companies like WWE use them as place-holder matches; and just throw them on RAW and SmackDown when they're running out of booking ideas is horrible and lazy. This happens way less in promotions outside of Connecticut, NJPW is a prime example. The new talent must go through the tag team division first, because Japan has realized and integrated something that the pioneers of tag-teaming knew a long time ago.
Tag teaming is really, really difficult.. It's not just you working by yourself in the ring, it's all about teamwork and synergy. You have to work more because you have three other guys who are in the ring with you. More guys should mean more action and that's the expectation. The teams have to look good while man handling their opponents, so simultaneous offense is something the fans look forward to. Just like a regular promo must make a single wrestler look good, a team needs to feed off one another and demonstrate that they truly function as a single unit. A ton of work goes into the art of being a great tag team it's certainly not done over-night!
That's what makes what these athletes accomplish so great. They wrote the blue-prints for a whole new style of wrestling. The sport evolved because of these guys and it cannot be emphasised enough. We're lucky to live in the age of the tag-team. The simplicity of one v one was fine back in the early days of wrestling, but like all good things evolution was needed. New wrestlers need to be properly shown off and given the chance to shine. Thanks to the tag team rules we got to see The Brothers of Destruction, The Rock and Sock Connection, Rock n Roll Express, and The Four Horsemen. The future of wrestling is anyone’s guess. However, I'm excited because I can feel change in the air. The unknown should be embraced and innovation is likely to bring us a new form of the sport we didn't even know we needed, and that future fans will view as a staple, just like tag-teaming. Whatever the future holds, I look forward to it and hope we accept it as we have accepted tag team wrestling.
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