How Do You Decide Who Starts Tag Team Matches?

[Rex Havoc]

For me its always been who has the better Pin Rating of the two starts first. I usually get good and long matches that way.

[Matt]

Almost always random. However, with Twin Blood I ALWAYS started Dreggs. Sleeze would only come in when they got on L3O.

[TTX]

Did that the same way and they dominated during their run.

[paul]

Apr 14, 2024 14:53:33 GMT -5 Rex Havoc said:

For me its always been who has the better Pin Rating of the two starts first. I usually get good and long matches that way.

I do the same thing. Great minds think alike!😁

[Count Necros]

I've always rolled who starts the match, unless there were storyline reasons. I never thought about using lower PIN, or better L1 offense/defense. Learn something new every day.

[Sinestro24]

I like to start with the man with the lower Agility or most defensive tags. If that is equal I go by pin lower pin rating.

Unless there is storyline reasons.

[TDalton]

If there was an obvious "Level 1 guy" for a team (2090 Brute) he starts.
If not, or if the better level 1 guy for Team A depends on who starts for Team B, I roll odd/even for both teams.
Also, I try to stay away from wrestlers with a high PIN (like Antimatter) just in case he winds up on Level 3 defense quickly.

[Vegas]

For me with tag team matches, playing my own fed results by myself and playing against somebody (for example we had a LOW tag team tournament at Galcticon 2018 and also an Indie tag team tournament online one year in which I had Alex Zayne and Blake Christian) are two very different mindsets.

For playing out my own fed results on which I am usually impartial, I roll the dice and the wrestler in the tag team with the highest roll starts the match and I figure the wrestlers basically decided for themselves who starts the match and that way I am consistent for both tag teams and I have fun booking around whatever results the dice give me.

Now in the very rare times I am playing against another promoter, I would prioritize Level 3 Offense as everybody wants to start on offense (otherwise why roll for initiative in the first place?) And since I can't control which member of the other tag team my opponent chooses to start with, I would probably choose a wrestler who has a 3 tag move (or a rare automatic 3 move on Level 1 Offense such as Davey Boy Smith Jr. of the Hart Foundation) that will automatically work against either opponent instead of somebody who has something like a 3 (pw,) 3 (ag,) 3 (ch E) etc unless that particular move is unfavorable to both members of the other tag team (i.e. a 3 (pw) and both opponents have worse power than my wrestler.)

For example, using the new Mongols LOW cards, I would probably start the match using Bepo Mongol as he has the only automatic 3 move on Level 1 Offense (double clothesline -3 tag) but when I got to Level 3 Offense I would probably go with Geeto Mongol as he has two finishers taking up 1/3 of his Level 3 Offense.

I personally would not go by Level 1 Defense. Level 1 Defense is important but going by the numbers it is generally not where you first roll as the odds are you start on Offense half the time and the other half of the time when you start on Defense the odds are you only first roll on Level 1 Defense one out of evry 3 times as most wrestlers only have 2 Level 1 moves of their 6 moves on Level 1 Offense which statistically puts you starting at Level 1 Defense a total of only 1 out of every 6 matches (based on the odds) before you roll for intiative. And that 1 out of 6 is without factoring in potential reversals on Level 1 Offense such as often both (ag) and (pw,) often charts, and possible chs but all of which also means you don't start on Level 1 Defense even if you lose initiative.

[graymar]

Apr 15, 2024 20:43:44 GMT -5 Vegas said:

For playing out my own fed results on which I am usually impartial, I roll the dice and the wrestler in the tag team with the highest roll starts the match and I figure the wrestlers basically decided for themselves who starts the match and that way I am consistent for both tag teams and I have fun booking around whatever results the dice give me.

This is basically what I do as well but I subtract agility from the roll giving the quicker guy a few more starts in the ring. I also compare the number between opposing teams/wrestlers to see who goes on offense first.

[victoryroll84]

I roll both dice and higher roll starts things off