Who is the best tag team of the 1980s? Still time to vote in first round of 16-team tournament

While there have been some great tag teams throughout professional wrestling history, perhaps the best era for tag teams was the 1980s.

This era featured trendy gimmicks and family factions from areas around the world.

With March being the month where everyone contracts the madness, it’s time for the third annual Tim Walters bracketology challenge.

In 2021, we took 16 heavy metal songs from the 1980s and held votes that whittled them down until Metallca’s “One” won Heavy Metal Song of the 1980s.

In 2022, “Jurassic Park” was crowned the best movie of the 1990s from among the 16 movies presented.

This year, we reach back into the 1980s to explore which wrestling tag team was the best.

I didn't include teams such as the Mega Powers — a teaming of Hulk Hogan and Randy "Macho Man" Savage — because they weren't a traditional tag team like the ones in this vote.

Here are the 16 teams and 8 votes. Voting will be open until Wednesday, March 15, at 11 p.m.

We’ll have the second round of voting next week, so stay tuned.

Quadrant 1

No. 1 Road Warriors vs. No. 4 The Islanders

The Road Warriors, later known as the Legion of Doom after they defected to the WWF (now-WWE), were comprised of Animal and Hawk, two beefy face-painted monsters that wore spikes to the ring. They were often imitated but never duplicated.

The Islanders were comprised of Haku and Tama. They were two wrestlers from a long line of South Pacific stars. Perhaps their most memorable moment came when they "kidnapped" the British Bulldogs’ mascot, a real bulldog named Matilda. They were managed by Bobby “The Brain” Heenan.

No. 2 Midnight Express vs. No. 3 Fabulous Freebirds

The Midnight Express featured several different lineups over time, but perhaps the most successful consisted of Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane. They had multiple titles and were managed by Jim Cornette.

The Freebirds mainly had three members — Michael Hayes, the constant, and Buddy Roberts and Teddy Gordy. A rule was instilled when they were champions that any two of those three could defend the titles on any given night.

Quadrant 2

No. 1. The Hart Foundation vs. No. 4 The Killer Bees

The unmistakable pink and black attack of Bret “The Hitman” Hart and Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart were one of the most dominant tag teams of the era. The Hitman became a breakout singles star in the 1990s, but not before being a mainstay of Wrestlemanias as part of this legendary tag team managed by Jimmy “Mouth of the South” Hart.

The Killer Bees of Jumping Jim Brunzell and B. Brian Blair had a memorable feud with the Hart Foundation in 1986, with the Bees defeating the Hart Foundation for the tag team titles. They wore black and yellow striped tights, feuding with many other topline tag teams of the era.

No. 2 The Rock N Roll Express vs. No. 3 The Steiner Bros.

The Rock N Roll Express' Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton held the NWA tag titles nine times. They played off the popular glam rock bands of the 1980s. They remained relevant into the early 1990s, but as wrestling transitioned to a new era, the Rock N Roll Express’ popular run ended.

Rick and Scott Steiner wore collegiate wrestling-style gear to the ring, with Rick wearing head gear. They really wrestled for the University of Michigan. They had runs in both WWF and WCW as tag team champions. You’d never recognize this version of Scott Steiner, with a long, dark mullet. The team broke up in the mid-1990s when Scott became the heel known as Big Poppa Pump. He cut his hair short, bleached it blond and showed off his cartoon-like muscular physique.

Quadrant 3

No. 1 Demolition vs. No. 4 The Bushwhackers

Perhaps one of the greatest ring entrance songs and visual intimidation. Ax and Smash won the WWF titles three times and still hold the record for the most combined days as reigning champions with that title. The wore outfits similar to Lord Humungus of the 1981 film Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, while their facepaint was reminiscent of hard rock band KISS. Demolition took on a third member, Crush, late in their run.

Woa! Yay!! Luke and Butch, the Bushwhackers, were one of the more unique tag teams of the 1980s. They started as a serious heel team known as the Sheepherders, but became lovable lunatics in the WWF. They’d lick each other — and fans — and they’d march to the ring with their arms swaying up and down. Perhaps their funniest moment came as singles participants in the 1991 Royal Rumble. Luke marched to the ring, was immediately thrown over the ropes by Earthquake and without missing stride, marched back to the locker room.

No. 2 Greg Valentine-Brutus Beefcake vs. No. 3 The Von Erich Brothers

The pairing of these two great singles wrestlers was known as the "Dream Team." Greg “The Hammer” Valentine and Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake had great singles careers, and this pairing might not have been meant to last, but it went on for three years and resulted in the tag team championship.

There were many Von Erichs through time, but this version had the physically impressive Kerry, and brothers Kevin and David. The father was Fritz Von Erich, and he had six sons, five of which became professional wrestlers. They had multiple titles but also the family was mired in tragedy.

Quadrant 4

No. 1 British Bulldogs vs. No. 4 Iron Shiek-Nikolai Volkoff

Cousins Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid were a great combination of speed and strength. They had memorable feuds with most of the WWF’s great teams of the time. One of their most memorable moments was at Wrestlemania II, where they had Ozzy Osbourne in their corner when they won the titles against the Dream Team.

The Iron Shiek and Nikolai Volkoff were another pairing of two great singles wrestlers, and these two were perhaps the most hated team of the 1980s, waving the Iranian and Russian flags. After the Shiek would spit at the idea of America, Volkoff would sing the Russian National Anthem. They won the tag team titles at the first Wrestlemania, defeating the U.S. Express.

No. 2 The Rockers vs. No. 3 Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard

Shawn Michael and Marty Jannetty teamed for seven years before the superkick heard round the world, when Michaels went from being a tag team wrestler to a singles superstar. As the Rockers, they never held the tag team titles, but they were memorable and launched one of the greatest careers in WWE history.

The enforcers of Ric Flair’s Four Horsemen, Blanchard and Anderson bullied opponents throughout the 80s. In the WWF, they were known as the Brain Busters and held the tag titles three times. They also held the NWA titles, having rivalries with most of the major teams of that promotion.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Vote for wrestling's best tag team of the 1980s. 16 teams are vying