Fantasizing about dream match ups is part of being a professional wrestling fan. For years I read magazines like Pro Wrestling Illustrated, Inside Wrestling, and The Wrestler, intrigued by their fantasy match ups. I would then grab my action figures and create my own fantasy tournaments, where I would decide who was the best of all time. It is in that spirit that I write my Fights of Fancy articles. A look inside the arena of imagination where we ask who would win in the match up of…Dash and Dawson vs The Brain Busters
Comparisons are inevitable in professional wrestling, especially when a young up start team decides to “pay homage” to their favorite superstar or tag team from another era. That could accurately describe the feeling many have towards NXT’s fastest rising duo, Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder. There was an instant chemistry between them that was oddly familiar. Something about their mixture of rough neck and technical offense made them very reminiscent of the Brainbusters, Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard. Once the sensational newcomers traded ripped up plaid for satin red ring jackets almost identical to those worn by Blanchard and Anderson in the 1980’s, and the comparison was undisputable. The only question left unanswered is who would win in a match of these tag team terrors?
Dash and Dawson
While tag team wrestling isn’t exactly what it was back in the 1980’s, there are still many great tag teams out there, with a handful of them being groomed at Full Sail University. Dash and Dawson are one such team, who happened to come together quite serendipitously. As with most members of the NXT roster, both Scott and Dash were trying to find their identities as singles competitors when they were innocently paired up together as enhancement talent for rising stars who had managed to come out of their shells and discover who they are.
What ended up being discovered by Dash, Dawson, and everyone else in NXT was that these two had a tremendous chemistry together, which is by far their greatest asset. They seemed to click almost instantaneously and despite having two very distinct styles, managed to complement each other very well. While this didn’t always lead to victory, it showed great promise. The more these two work together, the stronger their connection seems to be.
Of course, having a strong connection doesn’t mean anything if you can’t win matches. Dash and Dawson are well on their way to becoming champions someday, but their track record up to this point has been lackluster at best. This has less to do with their skills and more to do with their experience level. Sure, youth and exuberance can give you a distinctive edge over some opponents, but it also means you haven’t had the time to learn all the tricks of the trade just yet.
That isn’t to say that this duo hasn’t found success. They have managed to pull off some impressive victories in the last few months, besting not only NXT’s most popular duo in Enzo Amore & Big Cass, but also the current NXT Tag Team Champions the Vaudevillians. They even made it to the semi-finals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament, so there is no doubt that big things are waiting in the wings for these two.
The Brainbusters
There is no doubt that both Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard are closely linked to the National Wrestling Alliance, and even more so the Four Horsemen. In the 1980’s no group ran roughshod over their competition the way the Horsemen did. Despite their achievements inside the ring, things weren’t great behind the scenes. As it often is in professional wrestling, the straw that broke the camel’s back when it came to Blanchard, Anderson, and the NWA came down to money. In the Fall of 1988, these two former Horsemen packed their bags and headed North for the World Wrestling Federation, where they were rechristened the Brainbusters.
Arn and Tully didn’t just receive a new name however. They also received a new manager in Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, considered by many to be the greatest manager of all time. In fact, the name Brainbusters was given to Anderson and Blanchard as a way to further associate themselves with the weasely Heenan. There is very little doubt that Bobby added a missing piece of the puzzle for the Brainbusters, and often his underhanded tactics were the key to victory for the former Horsemen, as it was on July 18, 1989 when Arn and Tully defeated Demolition to win the WWF Tag Team Championship.
You would think that with so much talent in this trip that egos would end up getting the best of them. You would be right. As with many tag teams, the Brainbuster’s greatest asset was also their worst flaw. Arguments amongst each other were not uncommon within the Heenan Family and often the lack of cohesion would be the ultimate downfall of the dup and their nefarious manager. Things got to be so bad that Bobby would eventually fire Arn and Tully on live television during a series of matches against the Rockers!
There is no question that the Brainbusters are a tag team that seems like it would be unstoppable. Two of the most gifted wrestlers of the 1980’s, one of them a tag team specialist, teaming up with one of the best managers of any era. There is no doubt that their combined experience made them a dangerous duo for any team they faced, be it the Hart Foundation, Strike Force, or any other team that stood in their way. Of course, the way things ended for them had many wondering if their whole was equal to the sum of their parts.
The Match
If one looks back on the Brainbusters and their tenure with the WWF, it’s hard to overlook their series of classics against the Rockers. This is important because it gives them experience in facing a younger, faster team. While this may give them an edge upfront, let’s not forget how much Tully and Arn struggled in those matches against Marty Janetty and Shawn Michaels. While Dash and Dawson have faced teams bigger than them, they have never squared off against a team as large or as experienced as the Brainbusters, which is why I foresee the former Horsemen taking an early lead in the match.
Dash & Dawson come from a new school of wrestling, with ideas that the Brainbusters couldn’t even imagine. My best guess is that once Scott & Wilder found an opening, they would use a lot of tandem offense that would throw Tully and Arn off their game and maybe even lead to some miscommunication and bickering among the members.
In the end, I think it would come down to the Brain. More specifically I think it would come down to his mood that day. If Heenan was feeling pleased with how the Brainbusters were doing, he would help them by hooking a leg or providing a well-timed distraction, allowing Arn and Tully to win. If things were going sour between the three then Bobby might even try to help their opponents, just to show them who’s boss, and that’s what I believe would happen.
Bobby Heenan is known as the Brain for a reason. He has an eye for talent, and being sick of all the Brainbuster’s bickering, he would recognize the cohesiveness of Dash & Dawson as a breath of fresh air. Plus, with youth on their side, Bobby could mold these two into champions. Making an offer they couldn’t refuse, Heenan would turn on Arn and Tully, and welcome his new Brainbusters into the family by hooking Blanchard’s leg during a slingshot suplex, allowing his latest charges to pick up the victory
Winners: Dash and Dawson
Agree? Disagree? Think the match would go another way? Make your voice heard in the comments below and let me know what you think on twitter @AdamContant. Use the hashtag #FightsOfFancy.
