The Fabulous Freebirds were a wrestling stable that operated during the territory era of wrestling from 1979 to 1994. Michael "P.S" Hayes led the group, which also included "Bam Bam" Terry Gordy, Buddy Roberts, Jimmy Garvin, and Badstreet Brad Armstong. The group wrestled for Bill Watts in Mid-South Wrestling, before heading to Memphis to work for Jerry Jarrett in the Continental Wrestling Association, followed by the NWA.

RELATED: 10 Tag Teams That Wrestled Under The Freebird Rule, Ranked Worst To Best

The Freebirds' most popular work was arguably in World Class Championship Wrestling, owned and booked by Fritz Von Erich. The group held the Tag Team Championships across several promotions and created the "Freebird Rule", which states that if the Tag Team titles are controlled by a stable, the titles can be defended by any two members. Various groups have used the rule including The New Day, The Spirit Squad, and The Heavenly Bodies.

8 The Fantastics

Fantastics-1

The Fantastics were a tag team made up of Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers that wrestled for a variety of promotions from 1984 until Tommy Rogers officially retired from professional wrestling in 2007. The Fantastics would hold tag team titles for the Continental Wrestling Association, Jim Crockett Promotions, Pro Wrestling America, World Class Wrestling Association, and the Universal Wrestling Federation.

It was in the UWF where the Fantastics faced off against the Freebirds in 1986. Their first meeting, in Shreveport, saw the Fantastics retain the UWF Tag Team Titles against the Freebirds. A few months after the first match, the Freebirds defeated the Fantastics in their second encounter, this time in Houston, Texas. After their third battle was ruled a no-contest, The Fantastics would emerge victorious in their final match against the Freebirds, this time in Alexandria, Louisiana.

7 Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta

Giant Baba with Hulk Hogan

In 1984, the Fabulous Freebirds traveled to Japan to wrestle for All-Japan Pro Wrestling. While in Japan, the Freebirds wrestled against several legendary Japanese wrestlers including Genichiro Tenryu and The Great Kabuki. The Fabulous Freebirds also faced off against AJPW co-founder Giant Baba and his frequent tag team partner Jumbo Tsuruta. During the tour, Baba and Tsuruta successfully defended their NWA International Tag Team Titles against the Freebirds, albeit winning via count-out.

6 The Southern Boys

Midnight-Express-Southern-Boys-wcw-confederate-flag-wwe-wrestling

From 1987 to 1991, Steve Armstrong and Tracy Smothers were billed together as a southern tag team called the Southern Boys. The duo originally wrestled under the gimmick in Championship Wrestling from Florida before taking it to the Continental Wrestling Association, New Japan Pro Wrestling, the United States Wrestling Association, and World Championship Wrestling. The team would wear wrestling gear clad with the confederate flags and claimed to represent the south.

RELATED: 10 Things Wrestling Fans Should Know About The Armstrong Family

The Southern Boys would first face off against the Fabulous Freebirds in June 1990 at the Clash of the Champions 11 event. The two teams would then swap wins before the Southern Boys defeated the Fabulous Freebirds two-to-one in a best-of-three series for the Southern Tag Team Trophy, which culminated in August 1990. The two groups continued to face off, with the Southern Boys usually emerging as the winners. In their final two encounters at WCW's Thanksgiving Thunder and at the 1991 Great American Bash tour, the Freebirds would emerge victorious.

5 Junkyard Dog

Junkyard Dog makes his WWE entrance.

Unlike the other groups on this list, the Junkyard Dog was a very popular wrestler that frequently faced off against the Fabulous Freebirds with several different partners. Despite being African American, the Junkyard Dog was incredibly popular in the NWA territories, which were mainly based in the Southern states of the United States. The Junkyard Dog would then work for WWE from 1984 to 1988, before returning to the NWA territory scene and WCW until his retirement in 1993.

RELATED: 9 Things WWE Fans Should Know About Junkyard Dog

In the early '80s, the Junkyard Dog would feud with the Fabulous Freebirds in Mid-South Wrestling under lead booker Bill Watts. During the feud, Michael Hayes and the Freebirds would blind Junkyard Dog, causing widespread outrage among fans. In 1991, the Freebirds reignited their feud with the Junkyard Dog in WCW, defeating him for the short-lived WCW Six Man Tag Team titles in June in a three-on-two handicap match.

4 The Four Horsemen

Four Horsemen

Just like the Fabulous Freebirds, the Four Horsemen were a famous stable in the NWA circuit in the 1980s. The first iteration of the Four Horsemen included NWA World Champion Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, and Ole Anderson. Unlike the Freebirds, the Horsemen each had their division, with Flair battling for World Championships, Tully with the mid-card title, and the Andersons chasing the tag titles.

RELATED: Every Version Of The Four Horsemen, Ranked From Worst To Best

The Fabulous Freebirds never faced off against the original Four Horsemen group, instead going up against the Horsemen after Lex Luger had replaced Ole Anderson. In June 1987, at the Omni Coliseum, Luger, Flair, and Blanchard defeated the Fabulous Freebirds in the semi-main event. Later in 1987, The Fabulous Freebirds challenged Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard for the NWA World Tag Team Titles, winning both matches via disqualification, allowing the Horsemen to retain the titles.

3 Midnight Express

The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane) with Jim Cornette

While the original Midnight Express was made up of Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose, the group would eventually expand to include the likes of Bobby Eaton, Stan Lane, and Norvell Austin. The group also had two of the best managers standing ringside for their matches, with Jim Cornette and Paul Heyman managing the group at different times. Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane would hold both the NWA United States and World Tag Team Titles while wrestling for Jim Crockett Promotions.

RELATED: 10 Things WCW Fans Should Know About The Midnight Express

The Midnight Express that frequently faced off against the Fabulous Freebirds was the group that consisted of Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane, with the two teams competing against each other for the NWA United States and World Titles at various times. In 1987, Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane successfully defended their United States Tag Team Championships against the Freebirds, and two years later the Freebirds would have a string of matches against the Midnight Express where they successfully defended the World Tag Team Titles.

2 The Road Warriors

The Road Warriors

The Road Warriors, like the Freebirds, were an influential tag team that wrestled on the NWA circuits. The Road Warriors had many iterations, but their most popular was by far Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal. The duo would come to the ring with their heads shaved, their faces painted, and shoulder pads with spikes attached. The Road Warriors held tag titles in several territories, including the NWA, AWA, and WWE.

RELATED: 10 Things Fans Should Know About The Road Warriors

The Road Warriors and the Fabulous Freebirds met on several occasions during their respective in-ring careers. The Warriors and the Freebirds were on opposite sides of the WarGames match at the 1989 Great American Bash pay-per-view. Their final match against each other came at the 1989 New York Clash of Champions event, where the Freebirds defeated the Road Warriors by disqualification.

1 The Von Erichs

The Von Erichs

A few months after the Fabulous Freebirds arrived in the Von Erich-run World Class Wrestling Association, they began feuding with the central family. In their first match-up, David Von Erich and Kevin Von Erich teamed up to defeat Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy via DQ at a WCWA event in Dallas, Texas in February 1983. Later that year, the Freebirds and the Von Erichs would have two memorable encounters, one a Tornado Tag Team match between the team of Hayes and Gordy going up against Kevin and Kerry Von Erich, and the second was a 6-man tag team lumberjack match, with Buddy Roberts and David Von Erich as the third member of the respective teams.

The two teams would also battle for the WCWA 6-Man Tag Team Titles, with the Von Erichs and the Fabulous Freebirds trading the title back and forth from its inception in 1982 until 1984, where it was won by Jake Roberts, Chris Adams, and Gino Hernandez. In 2009, when the Von Erichs were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, it was left to former Freebird Michael Hayes to induct the famous wrestling family.