Who
broke up the tag team of
Tom
Zenk and Flyin'Brian?
Part 2
From previous article-
One of the many intriguing, and so far unanswered,
riddles of Tom Zenk's time with NWA - WCW is, why the team of Tom Zenk
and Flyin' Brian was split up, after little more than 6 months together?
This team electrified
the NWA with a series of brilliantly worked matches in which Zenk and Pillman
took turns to suffer or clean house in classic tag team style.
Then, at the very
height of their popularity, the team was broken up - with both men returning
to singles wrestling. On a number
of occasions the team was reformed but never long enough to recapture its
original momentum.
The article presented
last week, set out some of the themes of what would become the storyline
of the split.
It establishes
an artificial distinction between Pillman, characterized as 'the little
guy' punching above his weight, ["Setbacks have never kept this good man
down"], helped along by "others [who] take an interest" like Ric
Flair and Sting - and, on the other hand Zenk the, supposedly, privileged
and gifted athlete, for whom things happened (apparently) naturally and
without much effort.
This artificial
distinction is developed fully - and somewhat wildly - in an article
which appears here next week.
Meanwhile, the following article is
one of several which appeared closely after the team's split, suggesting
that Pillman's 'natural ambition' was driving him more exclusively into
singles competitions - in particular against Luger and Flair for the World
Championship.
The split of Z-Man and Flyin' Brian
was to reach its physical climax two years later in the 5 star match between
Tom Zenk and Brian Pillman at Wrestle War '92 - our Classic
Match #5.
|
Brian Pillman and
Tom Zenk are great U.S. tag team champions, but their partnership is on
shaky ground. Each man has his own individual goals that involve singles
matches.
by Andy Rodriguez - Inside Wrestling
August, 1990
Brian Pillman and Tom Zenk have each
spent their careers as half of a greater whole.
In the Stampede area, Pillman teamed
with Bruce Hart and won several tag team titles. Because of this relationship,
Pillman was known primarily for his tag team abilities and the world was
left wondering "What can he do on his own?"
The same was true of Tom Zenk. Say the
name "Zenk" and most wrestling fans will reply "Rick Martel" the name of
Zenk's most famous ex-partner in the WWF tandem known as the Can-Am connection.
But it hasn't always been this way.
Zenk, for example, left the WWF for the AWA, where he almost won the World
Title in the battle royal that saw Larry Zbyszko claim the belt.
Pillman, of course, made his impact
as a singles wrestler upon entering the NWA. He took U.S. champ Lex Luger
to the limit on several occasions, but ultimately fell short of the title.
So now they are together: Pillman and
Zenk, two outstanding young wrestlers well versed in the ways of tag team
competition.
But will their individual dreams of
a heavyweight title tear them apart? More to the point, can Pillman and
Zenk satisfy their personal ambitions and still keep their successful tag
team intact? It's a question that will be answered very shortly ... and
fans of the Pillman-Zenk pairing may not like the answer.
On April 20, at Cincinnati Gardens,
Pillman again wrestled Luger for the U.S. title. Luger escaped with his
title after Pillman supplexed him to the mat. Both men had their shoulders
on the canvas but Luger lifted his at the last possible second. 
"It was a great match and Brian's a
great wrestler" said Luger, who embraced Pillman in a fine display of sportsmanship
after the match. "There's no doubt in my mind that when I'm world champion,
he's the next in line for the U.S. title. Heck, he's got world-title blood
in him."
We should find out about that very soon.
Shortly before press time, Pillman signed to wrestle Flair as part of a
May 5 AWA card in St.Paul, Minnesota, a bout that may be just the first
of many for "Flyin'" Brian. Zenk
hasn't pursued a singles championship with the same zeal as Pillman, but
his ambitions are very much there. He knows what he can do on his own,
and he'd like the chance to prove it to the world.
"Nobody wants to be known as strictly
a tag team wrestler," Zenk says. "I know I can do both, and that's the
ultimate test. Sure, there are a lot of wrestlers who have spent their
careers as part of a tag team, but look at Hawk and Animal of the Road
Warriors. They occasionally get title shots. I want the same treatment.
If I can have both, I want both; a tag team career and a singles career."
The problem here is that Zenk's mind
should always be on defending the U.S. tag title. The same is true of Pillman.
This is no time for a slip. There are plenty of teams in the NWA that want
the U.S. tag belts. If Pillman and Zenk are too busy with their singles
lives, they'll pay for their ambitions with their tag title.
"One might attempt to do both, but its
an eminently difficult prospect," The Road Warriors manager, Paul Ellering,
said. "You'll notice that when Animal and Hawk were World tag team champions,
they virtually never wrestled in singles matches. There was never time.
Even now, I always make sure to keep their singles matches to a minimum.
That's the only way to do it."
Pillman, who is admittedly less experienced
than Ellering, disagreed with this philosophy.
"A complete wrestler can do it all,
there's no reason why he can't," Pillman says. "Sure, its tough, but anything
worth doing is difficult. Look, I admit that at some point Tom and I will
have to make a decision. Listen I love Tom like a brother, " Pillman continued.
"He's meant a lot to me. He's a person I can trust, especially since we
came to the federation at the same time. But I think we both have
it in us to be great singles wrestlers. You know, there's nothing like
the camaraderie of tag team wrestling but there's also nothing like that
special feeling of getting in the ring, going all-out with someone like
Flair or Luger, and knowing that there is no way out. It's you against
him with no partners, no nothing. Then, when the match is over, win or
lose, it's an exhilarating feeling." 
It certainly sounds as if Pillman has
more than the U.S. tag title on his mind. And Zenk doesn't blame him.
"We're young and talented, both of
us, and we have to pursue our goals" he said. Being U.S. tag champs is
something to be proud of, and that's not about to change. The thing is,
we both want to branch out."
The NWA is giving them that opportunity.
Singles matches have been sprinkled liberally among their tag team title
defenses. The questions, of course, remain:
Will their championship ambitions cause
a rift? Can a man hold one title and successfully go after another at the
same time? Are Pillman and Zenk both ignoring their tag team strengths?
Pillman vs Flair and Zenk vs Luger are
outstanding match ups. But are they really worth the sacrifice of a great
championship tag team?
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