Tag Team - History

History

In 1901 the first tag team match was held in the United States, in San Francisco. San Francisco promoters introduced tag team wrestling as a way of improving the sport’s entertainment value. While tag team wrestling is now almost traditional in American professional wrestling, the innovation didn't become especially popular outside San Francisco until the 1930s. The first "World" tag team championship was also crowned in San Francisco in the early 1950s. Tag matches with three-man teams were developed, and in some territories a championship division was instituted for these teams, but the concept failed to become widely popular; outside Mexico, multi-man tag matches are seen as a special attraction.

Typically, a tag team championship is awarded to and defended by team of two. However, during the 1970s and 1980s, a dominant trio in the NWA known as The Fabulous Freebirds won the World Tag Team championship and were allowed to employ any combination of the group's members in their title defenses. In kayfabe, this made it difficult for challengers to prepare for their upcoming title fights, since the challengers didn't know exactly who they were facing. This was an effective gimmick, and is still utilized by other wrestling companies. The stipulation has become traditionally known as the "freebird rule".

A common storyline is former tag team partners turning on each other, which will invariably ignite a feud. This can be used when one member is being called on to develop a new gimmick.