It's been a while since tag teams took center stage in sports entertainment. A cornerstone of the industry for generations past, professional wrestling all but scrapped the art in recent years. Now, though, teams like Total Nonstop Action World tag team champs The Wolves are leading a revival.
"Our goal is to prove tag team wrestling is not dead, and never will it die as long as we are around," said Eddie Edwards, who with partner Davey Richards comprises the team.
TNA World Tag Team Champs Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards, The Wolves.
"We want to show the art and beauty of tag team wrestling every time we go out there," continued Edwards during a recent telephone interview with the champs. "That's our main goal as a team, and that's all it's going to be in the foreseeable future."
During the 80s, pro wrestling was rich with recognizable teams. The Hart Foundation, Brainbusters and Rockers ruled World Wrestling Entertainment (nee, Federation). In rival National Wrestling Alliance, The Rock 'n Roll Express vs. Midnight Express feud and The Road Warriors (later the Legion of Doom in WWE) headlined. The Fabulous Freebirds owned the independent circuit.
In the 90s, Harlem Heat, The Steiner Brothers, Outsiders and Nasty Boys rose to prominence. Iconic teams like The Hardy Boyz, Edge and Christian and The Dudley Boys followed in the early 2000s.
Since that time, though, legitimate tag teams -- two grapplers dedicated to a common, cohesive identity and in-ring style -- seemed near extinction. Make-shift pairings of solo superstars became the norm. Now, slowly, one after another, teams cut from that classic mold are popping up around the globe.
"[Tag team wrestling] is experiencing a mass resurgence both here and overseas," acknowledged Richard, "All companies have great tag teams putting on terrific matches, and TNA is no different. Eddie and I are happy to represent that."
"It's a great time for tag team wrestling," agreed Edwards. "As long as [The Wolves] are at the helm of it in TNA, we will gladly carry it on. Our goal is always to be the best."
Thus far, the duo has proven itself repeatedly. Influenced heavily by the legendary teams above -- primarily former WWF tag team champs The British Bulldogs, says Richards -- The Wolves first joined forces in 2008 in Ring of Honor.
Two ROH World Tag Team title reigns later, they hit the independent circuit. After coming up short of gold in Germany's Westside Xtreme Wrestling and WWE's NXT, they jumped to TNA in 2014.
A month later, they captured the company's tag championships for the first time. Though up-ended by teams like The BroMans, The Revolution and interloping Global Force Wrestling stars Brian Myers and Trevor Lee, The Wolves continue to reign atop TNA's tag division.
Watch: The Wolves vs. The Hardy Boyz vs. Team 3D
Earlier this year, The Wolves faced not one but two of pro wrestling's most legendary teams. They squared off against The Hardy Boyz and Team 3D (now The Dudley Boys again in WWE) in a stellar series of matches.
"Credit needs to be given to The Hardyz and Team 3D," said Richards of the teams Edwards and he grew up watching on television. "They're rich. They're famous. They don't need any more feathers in their cap, but they respected me and Eddie enough to go out and do that."
"Professionally, it was a great opportunity to prove not only to the fans but ourselves that we belong in the same breath as not only The Hardyz but Team 3D," Edwards continued. "For a long time, I think maybe nobody thought we belonged there, but we went out and proved it."
The Wolves are now enjoying a history-making fifth run as TNA tag champs. Though seemingly lacking strong contenders -- "We're kind of sitting back, waiting to see which team steps up next," Edwards stated -- Richards says various pairings are "toying with" the idea of a run for the gold. Equally importantly, he says, deserving teams outside the company would enjoy nothing more than a shot at the belts.
"We're walking around with that target on our backs," Edwards concurs. "We're very comfortable with that. We want to go out there and face any team that's worthy of a match and show them what we can do."
Richards would love to defend against the best from around the world. Former IWGP and NWA tag champs the Killer Elite Squad (Lance Hoyt and Davey Boy Smith, Jr.), two-time WWE tag champs Jimmy and Jey Uso, three-time ROH tag title-holders Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish (ReDRagon) and reigning NWA champs The Heat Seekers top his wish list.
However, the team mirrors opinions on which team audiences most want them to wrestle. Said Edwards, "Fans would love to see us match up against The Young Bucks."
The reigning Pro Wrestling Guerrilla tag champs, Nick and Matt Jackson -- The Young Bucks -- previously competed in TNA as Generation Me. Edwards thinks a face-off with their one-time foes now would be spectacular.
"It would be something special," he said, "We've matched up before, but we've all stepped our games up. I would be very excited to do that."
Sadly, the Bucks' recently signed, semi-exclusive, one-year contract with ROH makes a renewal of that rivalry unlikely. However, Edwards and Richards will get to relive a different feud from their past this week on Destination America's weekly TNA's IMPACT Wrestling broadcast -- with each other!
Edwards and Richards are slated to go head-to-head in the first round of a 32-competitor tournament to crown a new TNA World champ. Pitting the tag champs against one-another, the World Title Series revisits a once-bitter battle for gold in ROH.
In 2010, Richards and Edwards met to crown the inaugural ROH World TV champion, a match Edwards won. A year later, Edwards captured the ROH World Heavyweight title, holding it just three months before losing it to his partner.
Though challenged by Edwards over the next several months, Richards retained for nearly a year before losing to Kevin Steen. Though they reunited and put the rivalry aside soon after, going one-on-one on IMPACT Weds., Oct. 4, is certain to bring up old feelings. This time, though, both say they are better equipped to deal with the challenge.
"Competition just breeds progression, and that's what we always want to do: Progress," shared Richards. "I can't progress if I can't beat Eddie Edwards, and I know he feels the same way."
"We always strive to show that not only are we the best tag team in professional wrestling, we're also great singles competitors," concluded Edwards. "What better way to show that than against each other?"