Comparing Paul London and Brian Kendrick
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On Monday Night Raw, Jim Ross compared the tag team of Paul London and Brian Kendrick to the Rock 'n Roll Express. It made a lot of old school wrestling fans scratch their heads.
Comparison
As Paul London and Brian Kendrick faced off against Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch on Monday Night Raw, Jim Ross compared the team to the Rock 'n Roll Express.
The comparison is absolutely unjustified.
Rock 'n Roll Express
A lot of tag teams should strive to be as good as the Rock 'n Roll Express. Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson formed one of the best tag teams of all time.
They had a dominant run during the 1980s.
The Rock 'n Roll Express won many tag team championships, including two NWA World Tag Team Championships. Though it was only two title reigns in the NWA, it is considered a bit more prestigious because tag team wrestling back then was a lot deeper.
They had legendary feuds against the likes of the Midnight Express and the Koloffs.
They already have a place in history by being so good at the art of tag team wrestling. In fact, when a good guy takes a beating only to make the hot tag to swing the momentum, it is called "playing Ricky Morton".
It's hard to debate the tag team's place in wrestling history.
Paul London & Brian Kendrick
The tag team of Paul London and Brian Kendrick have been around for a few years now.
The duo does have good chemistry, but to say that they're on the same level as a legendary team is a bit of a stretch. That's not so much a knock on Paul London and Brian Kendrick as it is a nod to the great tag teams of the past.
The WWE tag team division is at an all time low right now. Deuce & Domino, the Major Brothers, Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch, the Highlanders, and Cryme Tyme simply aren't good enough. It's not a coincidence that all of those teams lack quality experience.
To their credit, Paul London and Brian Kendrick are among the better tag teams in the WWE right now. They're right up there with Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas. They're not as good as Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy, but they can keep up.
As popular and talented as the Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy are, even they would have trouble shining in a really deep tag team division. Imagine if the Hardys had to compete with Demolition, Strike Force, the Hart Foundation, the Killer Bees, the British Bulldogs, and other teams from that era? Their popularity wouldn't be nearly as high as it is now.
The Difference
There's a lot of differences between tag team wrestling of today and tag team wrestling of a few decades ago.
One, tag teams back then really felt like tag teams. When you think of the Road Warriors, you think of them as a tag team. Same goes for the Midnight Express, the Samoan Swat Team, the Steiner brothers, the Fantastics, the Heavenly Bodies, Doom, and the Rock 'n Roll Express.
All of those teams worked together in matches. They double teamed an opponent. They both worked on a particular body part. They constantly tagged in and out of the ring.
Today, tag teams basically are two guys thrown together just for the sake of having a tag team. While Paul London and Brian Kendrick are superb athletes who can put on a good match, they don't really work that much as a tag team. You simply don't see the cohesiveness that legendary tag teams have.
Granted, some of that may not be their fault. The WWE's match format may prevent them from doing something old school like slapping their own hands to make the referee believe that a tag has happened.
Closing Thoughts
We all know Jim Ross is doing his job when he make comparisons like these. It's his job to sell the product. We also know Jim Ross knows about how great those older tag teams really are. He should know. He was there.
We also would like to repeat that Paul London and Brian Kendrick are gifted performers. When you write articles like these, people tend to get emotional and focus only on the negatives.
However, it is a bit of an insult to old school fans to hear comparisons like that because it simply is pure propaganda.
The WWE has the power to convince people to believe whatever they're saying. Younger fans who have never seen the old school tag teams will be led to believe that Paul London and Brian Kendrick are as good as those guys were.
That simply is not the case.
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