TSC: Power and Glory

Its time again, already?! I’m sat here as usual, typing this out on the day its due in, its like being back at school all over again. If there were a smaller kid I could push over and copy, I would!
Last time I talked about a guy who I always wanted to see get a run with the Intercontinental title, Rick Martel. This time I’m kinda sticking with the same deal because I want to talk about a tag team who, in my opinion, had everything and should have been pushed as WWF Tag Team champions, but it never happened. Not only did it never happen, but they were also very short lived and pretty much jobbed out.
Power and Glory
Paul ‘Romeo’ Roma and Hercules, managed by the Doctor of Stizzzzzyle, Slick! Here you had a trio or guys who, all together, had everything needed to become a huge team. You had the good looks and ability of Paul Roma, the power and strength of Hercules, and the mouth and heat of the Slickster.
So, why did Power and Glory not take off? Three words: Legion of Doom. When Vince signed Hawk and Animal in mid 1990, he finally had the team he always wanted, so he systematically disbanded his entire tag team division thinking as long as he had Hawk and Animal, it would be ok. Great mindset there, Vinnie!
Over the coming months, Demolition where jobbed out to the LOD and removed, the Hart Foundation dropped the straps to the Nasty Boys and were removed and the Rockers were split, gone. Teams that had become a staple of the WWF tag team scene for years, all gone in just over one year.
In their place were LOD, Nasty Boys, Natural Disasters and Power & Glory. Of those teams, Power & Glory stood out for the reasons I mentioned earlier.
Their push started strong, which makes it all the more confusing as to why they were destroyed soon after.
First we have to go back to their formation. You had Hercules languishing in midcard hell as a face, it wasn’t working, and the same went for Roma. Putting them together was a great move, Roma came into his own as a super arrogant heel, Herc was always better as a heel and adding Slick was a master stroke.
Over the next few weeks, they killed jobbers on weekly TV before attacking the much-loved Rockers team of Shawn Michaels and Marty Janetty. This led to their showdown at SummerSlam 1990 at the Spectrum in Philly. Their match opened the show, it was a slaughter. Before the future HBK could climb into the ring, Herc nailed him in the knee with a chain. Shawn sold it perfectly, clutching his knee in agony outside the ring on the floor which Janetty was left to fend off both members of Power & Glory alone.
The following 8 minutes saw Janetty enjoy a few small comebacks amongst a savage beating while Shawn lay on the floor outside the ring, attempting to get up only to be pummelled by Herc. In the end, Marty was hit by their finish which was a Herc superplex followed immediately by a Roma top rope splash. 1-2-3.
“Turn out the liiiiights, the party’s ovvvvvver!”
After putting Shawn out of action, it was onto the Survivor Series where P&G would team with the Warlord and Rick Martel as the Visionaries to oppose Jake Roberts Vipers, composed of Jake, Superfly Snuka and the Rockers with a returning Shawn Michaels.
It was a blowout as all four Visionaries survived making them the first team in Survivor Series history to all survive without losing one member. Not only was this a good sign for P&G, but their night wasn’t over. They were heading to the Grand Finale Match of Survival teaming with Ted DiBiase who had also survived earlier in the night to go against Tito Santana, WWF Champion Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan.
That P&G were chosen to rub shoulders in the main event against Hogan and WWF champ Warrior was a good sign, and that they hit their finish on Hogan was another! It took Hogan to eliminate Roma and Warrior to eliminate Hercules, it seemed their star was growing.
SEEMED. Apparently, it wasn’t.
From there on out, it was all down hill. Relegated back to the midcard on TV vs jobbers, P&G were not pushed again. They were a non factor in the Royal Rumble and the only meaningful thing they did on TV leading into WrestleMania VII was illegally eliminate LOD from a number one contenders Battle Royale. This set up the match which ended any hope of P&G ever becoming anything meaningful in the WWF.
At WMVII, the LOD took all of about 60 seconds to smash through Power & Glory, 1-2-3, it was over.
After this, Power & Glory were rarely seen on TV and soon after they split. Roma left the company after 4 years and Hercules was used to get other people over on TV before leaving himself.
What started so well, ended so poorly, and I always wished things could have been different for these guys. The team had everything to be huge in the WWF in 1990/1991, but Vince had the LOD, and he didn’t care about anything else. Such a shame. Such a waste.