(Technos, Japan) - The feud between The Strong Bads and The Ricky Fighters, which has been raging for decades, finally came to a head tonight in front of a capacity crowd of thousands of near-identical looking fans.

 

When the smoke cleared, the masked Strong Bads (Robert Strong and Trevor Bad) were victorious. Afterwards, the longtime tandem celebrated with a showy victory dance that has become their trademark, as their legs moved spastically while their upper torsos stood perfectly still.

 

Yet, The Ricky Fighters (storyline brothers Clovis and Stan Ricky) left the ring to a standing ovation, even though it was clearly "game over" for their lengthy pursuit.

 

"We have nothing to be ashamed of," claimed Clovis Ricky, who joined the team in 1994 after original member Bill "Billy Ricky" Paltoon passed away. "We kept up with The Strong Bads the whole match. I really thought that we were always just one B.Atac away from victory."

 

While historians disagree on precisely when the rivalry began, many fans cite point to when The Ricky Fighters first captured the American tag team championship from The Strong Bads in the mid-1980's.

 

From the territories, to the AWA, to a brief run with World Championship Wrestling in 1993, the two teams traded belts such as the European, World and Super tag team championships. And in Japan, The Ricky Fighters would often play heel in what would be a rare role-reversal for the veteran tag teams.

 

"Their matches always stuck to a routine and were terribly overrated," Wrestling Flame Newsletter editor Kincaid Thornbury huffed in his latest issue. "The Strong Bads would never sell once they started turning red, for pete's sake!"

 

Despite the dirtsheet criticism, both duos felt that their work was over enough not to worry about claims of repetition in their 426-month program.

 

"People who criticize us like to say that The Strong Bads only know three moves -- the B.Brik, F.Hbat and B.Drop," Strong Bad Bob "Robert Strong" Mellertan said recently in an interview. "But if F.Hbat worked all these years, why stray from F.Hbat?"

 

As far as future plans, rumors persist that The Strong Bads have signed on with the Video Wrestling Federation to take on Starman and The Great Puma, while The Ricky Fighters may turn their attention to singles matches against the dreaded WCW Master.

 

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