Since it’s beginnings as the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) under Vincent J. McMahon in the 1960’s, the WWE has been home to some of the industry’s greatest tag teams. Sure, lots were originally NWA or AWA creations (like Road Warriors, Steiner Brothers and The Rockers) or ECW stand-outs (The Dudley Boyz), they groomed some of the industry’s Legends too – the original Hart Foundation, The British Bulldogs, Demolition, New Age Outlaws, The Hardy Boyz, World’s Greatest Tag Team, were all created and became household names for most wrestling fans because of their early work with the WWE. They’ve also created some legendary tag team storylines, from The Bulldogs vs. Hart Foundation in the 1980’s to the wars between Edge & Christian, Hardy Boyz and Dudley Boyz, the WWE has shown that when creatively potent wrestlers are paired together with creative angles, they can become professional wrestling legend and lore. So why has tag team wrestling become the weakest link during a time where the WWE has been praised for pushing women’s wrestling, independent wrestlers and cruiserweights to prominence, yet continually treating the tag team division like a turd in the swimming pool.
There are various rumours and reports about Vince McMahon seemingly having a disdain for tag team wrestling. The most realistic of those is that’s it’s more of a business decision than anything more sinister – in Vince’s eyes it’s not good for either the company or the two members involved to keep permanent tag teams too long, as in, if one member is injured, the other usually suffers and struggles as a singles. Remember, for every Shawn Michaels there’s a Marty Jannetty. That’s why in the past decade or so, the WWE has gone more with temporary pairings like Triple H & ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin or Chris Jericho & Big Show or Sheamus & Cesaro. If one gets hurt, then the other is still a strong enough character to continue as a singles. But the problem with that is that without true tandems – teams that seem like they’re actually a team because they want to go for the tag team titles – then it makes the tag team division seem like an afterthought; like what two buddies who aren’t chasing a bigger title would do for shits and giggles. But back when the Road Warriors or Rock N’ Roll Express or Rockers or Dudley Boyz went after the tag team titles – which are also World titles as well – you knew they wanted to show they were the best at being a tag team, not just two guys looking for gold in their spare time.
Thankfully, thanks in large part to Triple H’s NXT brand as well as his encyclopedic and genuine love for old school and traditional wrestling, WWE has begun to introduce proper tag teams back into the WWE Universe. Unfortunately, Hunter’s brand is the only brand that has got a clue on how to build a solid cross section of tag teams – from main event level to mid-card to enhancement.
Here’s a look at the WWE’s current tag team divisions, from worst to best.
Disclaimer: The following rankings are the author’s own opinion based on watching each week since the Brand Draft. They do not reflect any win-loss records, inside knowledge, or WWE 2k17 simulations. Although the decisions may have been influenced by red gummy bears.
Ironically, in nearly every other facet – from storytelling, to in-ring performance, to handling the women’s division evenly – Smackdown Live is obliterating Raw. But their tag team division is the pits, and this falls entirely on creative. They floundered out of the gate and have really struggled for a way to make the tag team belts feel important, let alone the six tag teams they have chasing them. Which is doubly disappointing, considering that they have the stronger actual potential talent over Raw‘s.
Smackdown Tag Team Champions
AMERICAN ALPHA
Chad Gable & Jason Jordan
Combined Weight 447 lbs.
Perhaps the biggest mistake was putting all their eggs in the Alpha basket immediately after the draft. Despite being the feel good tag team story out of NXT in 2015, American Alpha has yet to capture that same charm and huge appeal they had in NXT on the main roster. The first month the reception was strikingly hollow – luckily for their own careers, the WWE went with Smackdown‘s own feel good story, Heath Slater‘s big build, and kayfabe wrote them off with an injury to Gable. They returned and scored some attention from the casual fans who are still new to them when they knocked off established stars Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton for the titles, but despite their obvious talent, they’re just not storyline established enough for the majority of the live audience to get behind 100%. Once the division does straighten out, these guys are going to be huge – especially if the much anticipated rub from Hall of Famer Kurt Angle actually happens.
The Smackdown Contenders
#1. THE USOS, Jimmy & Jey Uso, combined weight 479 lbs.
The Usos were going the way of Roman Reigns – due to the forced family connection in 2015 – but a heel turn following their draft to Smackdown Live actually garnered them new fans, especially on the fickle interwebs. But an injury to Jimmy Uso sidelined the tandem as they were building some good heat and they fell out of the picture. They recently returned to television on January 10th’s episode, and last week on Smackdown Live, they pledged to continue what they started in their fight against American Alpha before the injury.
#2. BEAUTY & THE MAN BEAST, Rhyno & Heath Slater, combined weight 512 lbs.
Heath Slater’s seeming demotion (not being drafted in the July Brand Draft last year) turned into a Pee Wee Herman/Forrest Gump-esque trek of redemption that captured the WWE Universe’s attention, capped off with an unlikely tag team pairing with former ECW World Champion Rhyno, who scored the Smackdown Tag Team Championship to secure Slater a contract. Since losing those titles to the Wyatt Family, the team has gone back and forth whether they’re splitting or not and these teases seem to be cooling off the audience rather than intriguing them. They’ve seemingly been on the same page of late, so perhaps there’s a little more wind left in this team’s sails.
#3. THE ASCENSION, Konnor & Viktor, combined weight 487 lbs.
Another solid tag team that has been mishandled tremendously since making the main roster. In NXT, they were bad-ass thugs who held the NXT Tag Team Championship for a record 364 days (that still stands). The NXT faithful were ecstatic when they got the call-up. But they immediately became the best dressed jobbers in the tag team division. They stabilized briefly as the bodyguards for Cody Rhodes‘ Stardust, but when he left, they were returned to their previous stature. They’ve shown glimpses of their NXT bravado of late, but they’ve still got a ways to go to win over any real attention from the WWE Universe. But they got the surprise win on last week’s Smackdown Live huge tag team match-up and for the first time ever, more people than just their parents thought they may actually win the titles at a WWE PPV this past Sunday.
#4. BREEZANGO, Fandango & Tyler Breeze, combined weight 456 lbs.
Frustratingly booked duo No. 2 on Smackdown Live, Breezango emerged the real stars from the entire angle with The Golden Truth last year and then promptly became jokes. Both men have shone in bursts and the crowd seems willing to finally go along with their humour and get behind them, but for whatever reason, Creative just seems to cut them short. Part of it is the terrible team name – the need to create tag team names with the same originality that tabloids name celebrity couples like Brangelina or Bennifer is nauseating. Hell, I’d take the Fashion Police over Breezango. But these guys developed a great chemistry quickly, both in the ring and out, and they’ve both got the skills to be the top tag team on the brand. There’s no reason they can’t be a successful athletic team of pretty boys like The Rockers, MNM, or Billy & Chuck.
#5. THE VAUDEVILLAINS, Simon Gotch & Aiden English, combined weight 435 lbs.
Seriously. WHAT DID THESE GUYS DO? I’ve read the rumours that Vince McMahon just doesn’t get nor like their retro carny early 20th century shtick, but I’m not quite buying it. If Vince truly is the final say on every move, why would he bring them up in the first place? Why would he keep them the same gimmick he reportedly doesn’t like? After all, he had no qualms changing Leo Kruger to Adam Rose or NXT Bo Dallas into neutered WWE Bo Dallas. These guys went from a moderate push out of the gates to being the guys to be beat or thrown out of every competition in under two minutes. Realistically, they could do with returning to NXT where they were well loved to regain some confidence and then try again on the main roster down the road. Or maybe, perhaps, Creative could actually give them something to do except inspect the lights of the arena’s ceilings?
Don’t get too smug, Mr. Raw, you’re only a sliver better than your Smackdown Live counterparts. If Smackdown Live was a C- then Raw would be a C- with a slightly shorter minus sign. It’s a C-minuser if you will. Raw gets the edge simply because they’ve at least had a few different storylines centered around their tag division. It’s not just been a case of five weeks of no tag matches followed by a 6-team free-for-all for the Tag Team of the Month.
Raw Tag Team Champions
Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
aka ‘The Good Brothers’, aka ‘The Club’
Combined weight 505 lbs.
While it’s nice to finally see the Bullet Club‘s “Good Brothers” finally get tag team gold in the WWE after dominating in Japan (3-time IWGP Tag Team Champions), their booking has been nothing short of atrocious. They started off strong, when The Club was a three man unit with AJ Styles, but once they split at the Brand Draft, Gallows and Anderson became a joke. They refocused a few months back and finally won tag team gold, but now the WWE Universe isn’t sure why they should be so afraid of these guys. They need stronger competition to make them (and the rest of the division) look strong in the process.
The Raw Contenders
#1. Cesaro & Sheamus, combined weight 499 lbs.
The former Tag Team Champions ended New Day’s record 483 day reign as Champions and in the process became a formidable tag team combination, despite initial raised eyebrows by fans following their Best-of-Seven series against one another. The real question is if this duo remains a relevant tag team and continues to go after the gold or if they now begin a storyline of dissension leading to another feud between the two.
#2. Enzo & Big Cass, combined weight 476 lbs
Despite their overwhelming popularity in NXT and numerous attempts, the Certified G’s never tasted tag team championship gold there prior to their call-up to the main roster last year. Their run on Raw has been entertaining (in parts), but they’ve never really entertained the notion of going for the tag team belts in WWE either. While one would assume that Big Cass is poised for a singles run within the next year, their comments of late seem to indicate that they’re finally turning their sights on the Tag Team titles. Let’s just hope it’s not at the comedic expense of Gallows and Anderson.
#3. The New Day, Big, E, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods, combined weight 702 lbs.
The three members of New Day – Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods – used the old Freebird Rule for their entire 483 reign as Tag Team champions, whereby any pairing of two of the three men were legally allowed to defend the titles. Now that they’ve lost the titles, they seem to distance themselves from the title hunt more and more each week (they’re back to tag team matches on Main Event) and recent matches have shown them going for more singles opportunities for the members than refocusing on recapturing their belts. While there’s no argument that New Day are a merchandise juggernaut, their once MegaOver gimmick is starting to grow stale and perhaps the best route long term would be a turn from one of the members.
#4. The Shining Stars, Epico & Primo, combined weight 432 lbs.
Another example of exceedingly talented performers being drastically underbooked, Primo Colon (son of WWC founder Carlos Colon and brother of former WWE Superstar Carlito) and Orlando ‘Epico’ Colon (Primo’s real life cousin), have been enhancement talent for years now. They even suffered a brief repackage as Los Matadores from 2013 through 2015. While they’re former WWE Tag Team Champions themselves (they beat Air Boom, Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston, for the titles in 2012), they’ve never had a gimmick that resonated with the WWE Universe. But being a bottom feeding comedic duo is clearly not helping either the Colons or the division.
#5. The Golden Truth, Goldust & R-Truth, combined weight 452 lbs.
When the vignettes and backstage comedy pieces that created the Golden Truth began in early 2016, it was met with a resounding applause. Goldust was at his comedic best, and the pairing of two veterans without direction showed real promise. But as the storyline played out, it really got played out. They briefly elevated Breezango (who soon got deflated on Smackdown Live) and have since been sporadically appearing enhancement without any lustre or logic. Hopefully this isn’t the way either veteran Superstar’s careers end.
Which leads us to WWE’s strongest tag team division of the three. And ironically, it’s the brand that most still equate with “developmental”. They’ve brought in some outstanding tandems from the indie circuit, either established or NXT created, and they’ve made the division feel important. And much of the big moment vibe comes from the simplest of places – that the talent themselves are treating the NXT Tag Team titles like coveted accomplishments, akin to the NXT Championship for a male Superstar or the NXT Women’s title for the female ones. And while there’s only five contenders listed for NXT’s Champions, they’ve actually got even more circling the waters or ready to emerge, such as The Bollywood Boyz, Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford and a reunion of former NXT Tag Team Champions, Blake & Murphy.
NXT Tag Team Champions
The Authors of Pain
Akam & Rezar
Combined weight 620 lbs.
WWE Hall of Fame manager Paul Ellering – who guided the legendary Road Warriors/Legion of Doom, Hawk and Animal, to tag team reigns across the world in the 1980’s and 90’s, unleashed the Authors of Pain in June of last year and the two have been on a two man wrecking mission ever since. Their powerful, brutal and deadly, and they’ve become unstoppable monster heels in a very short time. While they’re still a bit on the green side in comparison to most of the contenders, they are legitimate bad-asses – Akam is former Canadian Olympic hopeful (he actually turned down the Olympic team to pursue NXT) and Rezar is a former Albanian MMA fighter. With Ellering at their side, they will continue to dominate and a shot at the main roster by the end of 2017 isn’t out of reach.
The NXT Contenders
#1. #DIY, Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano, combined weight 400 lbs.
These two stole the show multiple times in NXT in 2016 and there’s no reason why they won’t do it again this year. They have unrivalled chemistry in the ring and they have the ability to make anyone look like superstars – their match against Authors of Pain was clear indication of that. They’re still in the hunt to reclaim their titles, but they’ve got the added bonus of a potential singles feud between each other (which will undoubtedly be an instant classic). They’ve still got plenty of steam left in their pairing though and they should continue to be a top contender until they either reclaim or get a call-up.
#2. The Revival, Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder, combined weight 446 lbs.
The only 2-time NXT Tag Team Champions in NXT’s short history (and fan voted NXT Best Tag Team of 2016), many assume that their slow retreat from the tag team titles scene of late is merely a formality and that they will be part of the next wave of NXT call ups to the main roster. Which is probably what should happen, as they’d probably instantly be the #1 contender on either Raw or Smackdown, simply because the other teams on the main roster have been so poorly booked. Smackdown Live would be the better situation, as they had great chemistry with current Smackdown Tag Team Champions American Alpha and a renewed rivalry could help the Blue Brand’s division immensely.
#3. Sanity, Killian Dain & Alexander Wolfe, combined weight 553 lbs.
While technically Sanity could use Freebird Rules and allow mastermind Eric Young to swap in, the group has been seemingly going with new behemoth Killian Dain (formerly Big Damo) and Alexander Wolfe as their specific tag team duo of late. While they haven’t set their sights on the titles as of yet, it won’t be long before NXT’s gaggle of anarchists turn their rabid teeth to the shiniest things in the division.
#4. TM61, Nick Miller & Shane Thorne, combined weight 450 lbs.
The NXT Universe still isn’t quite sure how to react to this tag team, who gained notoriety as part of the much larger faction The Mighty Don’t Kneel over in Japan with Pro Wrestling NOAH (where they were 2-time GHC Tag Team Champions). Sadly, just as they started to break out, following their matches in last year’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, they were hit with tragic injury news, as Shane Thorne was sidelined with a serious knee injury in January that is expected to keep him out until the fall. A few other members of TMDK had tryouts with the WWE recently in Australia (Jonah Rock and Slex to be exact), so there may be interest in bringing them out to reunite the full faction until Thorne can return and give Miller some TV time.
#5. Heavy Machinery, Tucker Knight & Otis Dozovic, combined weight 592 lbs.
These two debuted in last year’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and have been working NXT Live Events and television ever since. They’re slowly making strides and gaining a lot of great reaction from the live crowds, so it’s only a matter of time before they join the hunt in the tag title scene.
So what do you think WWE could do to spice up their tag team divisions? Who should they bring in or pair up? Let us know in the comments below!
Main Photo: all images from WWE
