{"id":12763,"date":"2018-01-20T15:37:15","date_gmt":"2018-01-20T20:37:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=12763"},"modified":"2019-03-21T15:43:00","modified_gmt":"2019-03-21T19:43:00","slug":"worlds-cutest-tag-team-and-the-rise-of-intergender-tag-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2018\/01\/20\/worlds-cutest-tag-team-and-the-rise-of-intergender-tag-teams\/","title":{"rendered":"World’s Cutest Tag Team and The Rise of Intergender Tag Teams"},"content":{"rendered":"

This past Thursday January 18, 2018 at Bar Wrestling 8: Happily Ever After<\/strong><\/em>, the tag team combination of Joey Ryan<\/strong> and Candice LeRae<\/strong>, collectively known as The World’s Cutest Tag Team<\/strong>, came to a close after a five year run that changed the landscape in terms of intergender tag teams. While men and women had teamed for years prior, it was always under the pretense of mixed tag team rules – whereby when women tagged in, the other team would have to substitute their own female representative to even the genders. But World’s Cutest Tag Team pushed the boundaries of what could work in intergender tag team wrestling, portraying Candice LeRae as not only Joey Ryan’s equal (and often superior), but as equal to their opponents as well.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gCH0Ng0N0PQ<\/p>\n

Since the arrival of the World’s Cutest Tag Team, intergender tag teams have been on the rise. Sometimes they are paired against each other, but more often than not the opponents are traditional male or female only tag teams, with a balance of equality in the ring and a believability of combat unseen on mainstream television – although many wrestling fans still seem opposed to the idea or it’s “believability”.<\/p>\n

With the World’s Cutest Tag Team now on indefinite hold now that Candice has officially signed with the WWE, here’s a look at several other intergender teams that are still tearing up the indie circuit, continuing the path blazed by Candice and Joey back in 2013, as well as some early pioneers who started the ball rolling.<\/p>\n

LUNA VACHON & TOMMY DREAMER<\/strong>,\u00a0ECW, 1995<\/em><\/h3>\n
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Photo: WWE Network<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While there had been mixed tag team matches prior to this, it was always under the rules that when the woman tagged in, the opposing woman had to as well. But in ECW, they changed all that, and of course it was Luna Vachon<\/strong> who started it. The hard hitting daughter of Paul Vachon<\/strong>, trained by her aunt Vivian Vachon<\/strong>, paired up with Tommy Dreamer<\/strong> in his feud against Raven<\/strong> and Stevie Richards<\/strong> and actually took the fight to the men rather than the women. Luna would go on to become the first woman since the carny days of Mildred Burke and Mae Young to face a man in singles competition, when she took on Stevie Richards later the same year.<\/p>\n

SHANE DOUGLAS & FRANCINE,\u00a0<\/strong>ECW, 1996-1997<\/em><\/h3>\n
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Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hard to think of “The Franchise” Shane Douglas<\/strong> in ECW without his valet\/partner Francine<\/strong>, “The Queen of Extreme”. While she was mostly used in a managerial position, she would occasionally take to the ring against other women on the roster. But during Douglas’ feud with Tommy Dreamer and his real life wife Beulah McGillicutty<\/strong> throughout 1996 and 1997, Francine often teamed up with Douglas and faced the other couple. While interaction with the males was limited in the matches, they never had to just face off against the women, and Francine often took bumps from Dreamer himself.<\/p>\n