JBL Calls These WWE Hall Of Famers The Greatest Tag Team In Wrestling History

WWE Hall of Famer John Bradshaw Layfield got inducted back in 2021 not just for his work as a singles star, but for being one of the most decorated tag team wrestlers in the history of the company. JBL won three WWE Tag Team Championships with Ron "Faarooq" Simmons as The Acolytes and then the APA, and were known as one of the hardest hitting duos in the business, but in the eyes of Layfield, they pale in comparison the original hard-hitters of tag team wrestling, Hawk and Animal, The Road Warriors. During a recent episode of "Something to Wrestle," JBL was asked if any team has ever gotten as over as Hawk and Animal, to which the WWE Hall of Famer said this:

"No, not even close, and I don't think there's a second place. I mean those guys, they set the tone for everything. You know, the people try to copy the Road Warriors; they were first. It's kind of like going back and saying, 'Hey, is Jesse Owens the greatest track guy of all time? Is Roger Banister is the greatest miler of all time.' It's kind of like going back and saying, 'Well, no, there are guys that have run a lot faster now. But their place in history is assured because they were first and they were historic.' The Road Warriors are historic and first. There was nothing like the Road Warriors. Everybody wanted to work with those guys. You know, they were stiff, they were big, and they didn't sell a lot. Who cared? You drew a ton of money with those guys."

JBL did get to share the ring with The Road Warriors in WWE during the 1990s, but a tag team match between the APA and The Road Warriors unfortunately never materialised.

Has a business, professional wrestling has evolved so much that some newer fans might look at the work Hawk and Animal did during their prime and be a little underwhelmed, especially considering what some wrestlers are capable of doing today. However, JBL is still of the impression that no matter how many big moves a tag team can perform, the fact that The Road Warriors could make a sold out arena come unglued with their "What a Rush" catchphrase should be enough to put them at the top of the greatest tag teams of all time list.

"There was nothing, and I don't think there's anybody that will dispute it, that will say that wasn't the greatest tag team of all time. Guys that will dispute it will tell you somebody else had better matches. Yeah, did they draw more money? Look, you can have your matches. Go to your little gym, film it, put it on your little YouTube channel and say, 'Hey, look at this. I used double triple-decker powerbombs on somebody.' Or you can say, 'I said, 'What a rush' and an entire arena was sold out because of it, and everybody made a ton of money. That's the difference between a normal tag team that rode worse."

It wasn't just their catchphrase that makes them popular as their list of accolades includes multiple reigns as Tag Team Champions in places like WWE, WCW, AWA, and the NWA, while also becoming hugely successful in Japan thanks to their work in All Japan Pro Wrestling during the 1980s. All of these accolades would see them be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011.

Please credit "Something To Wrestle" when using quote from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.