In the late 1980s Pat Tanaka and Paul Diamond teamed together as Badd Company while wrestling in the Memphis based Championship Wrestling Association. After a year and a few title reigns they moved to the fading but still well known AWA. There they took on Diamond Dallas Page as a manager and were given the theme song Bad Company by the group Bad Company which I guess you could say was fitting for the team called Badd Company. There they worked with future WWF rivals The Midnight Rockers and had a one year reign as tag team champions. The team split up in 1989 and left the AWA in early 1990.
Shortly before WrestleMania VI Tanaka showed up in the WWF with a new partner in Sato and Mr. Fuji as his manager. The new team was named the Orient Express despite Tanaka being from Hawaii. Besides a win at WM6 against the Rockers the Orient Express didn't have much success in the WWF. At the end of 1990 Sato left the company and Tanaka was reunited with Diamond. However, Diamond was now wrestling under a mask and was renamed Kato. The team was still called the Orient Express even though neither Tanaka or Kato (or Fuji for that matter) were from the Orient. Right away Tanaka and Diamond were paired up against their old AWA rivals and had an outstanding match in a losing effort against the Rockers at the 1991 Royal Rumble. Despite the great performance The Orient Express were left off WrestleMania VII and didn't really do anything of note for the next year before quietly going their separate ways in 1992.
Since Tanaka and Sato didn't have much impact as the Orient Express I think the transition from Sato to Kato could have been done differently. Instead of putting a mask on the Croatian and pretending he was Japanese I would have liked to have seen Tanaka and Diamond reunite as Badd Company. Maybe put them with Jimmy Hart instead of Mr. Fuji. That would have been a good fit and Hart would have made a good mouthpiece.
The WWF usually (not always) gave talent from other promotions new gimmicks, personalities, or names so it's not at all surprising they did not use Badd Company. They certainly weren't going to use the Bad Company theme song. Let's just use a little imagination. What if in January 1991 the WWF took the opportunity with Sato's departure and Kato's arrival to repackage the Orient Express as Badd Company? Sure, they were the same people, but as we all know a gimmick can make all the difference. Hell, I don't remember the Orient Express speaking much at all so just being allowed to talk would have helped them. I think the Badd Company gimmick with Jimmy Hart as the manager could have been much better than The Orient Express. Maybe they could have even gotten the tag titles from the Hart Foundation at WM7 instead of The Nasty Boys. Do you think Badd Company would have been better than The Orient Express in the WWF?
Shortly before WrestleMania VI Tanaka showed up in the WWF with a new partner in Sato and Mr. Fuji as his manager. The new team was named the Orient Express despite Tanaka being from Hawaii. Besides a win at WM6 against the Rockers the Orient Express didn't have much success in the WWF. At the end of 1990 Sato left the company and Tanaka was reunited with Diamond. However, Diamond was now wrestling under a mask and was renamed Kato. The team was still called the Orient Express even though neither Tanaka or Kato (or Fuji for that matter) were from the Orient. Right away Tanaka and Diamond were paired up against their old AWA rivals and had an outstanding match in a losing effort against the Rockers at the 1991 Royal Rumble. Despite the great performance The Orient Express were left off WrestleMania VII and didn't really do anything of note for the next year before quietly going their separate ways in 1992.
Since Tanaka and Sato didn't have much impact as the Orient Express I think the transition from Sato to Kato could have been done differently. Instead of putting a mask on the Croatian and pretending he was Japanese I would have liked to have seen Tanaka and Diamond reunite as Badd Company. Maybe put them with Jimmy Hart instead of Mr. Fuji. That would have been a good fit and Hart would have made a good mouthpiece.
The WWF usually (not always) gave talent from other promotions new gimmicks, personalities, or names so it's not at all surprising they did not use Badd Company. They certainly weren't going to use the Bad Company theme song. Let's just use a little imagination. What if in January 1991 the WWF took the opportunity with Sato's departure and Kato's arrival to repackage the Orient Express as Badd Company? Sure, they were the same people, but as we all know a gimmick can make all the difference. Hell, I don't remember the Orient Express speaking much at all so just being allowed to talk would have helped them. I think the Badd Company gimmick with Jimmy Hart as the manager could have been much better than The Orient Express. Maybe they could have even gotten the tag titles from the Hart Foundation at WM7 instead of The Nasty Boys. Do you think Badd Company would have been better than The Orient Express in the WWF?
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