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| source// wwe.com |
What’s better than one highly entertaining WWE Superstar? Two highly entertaining WWE Superstars, of course!
And what’s better two highly entertaining WWE Superstars? Two pairs of highly entertaining WWE Superstars battling it out against each other! (See, math really can be fun.)
The tag team division in the WWE has certainly seen its fair share of ups and downs over the years, as the company has had to suffer through some massive lulls in the tandem talent pool before it could be stunningly revitalized by a new breed of wrestling duos.
And it’s sometimes been difficult for WWE brass to figure out which pairings will generate the desired reaction from the crowd, and which teams will have the kind of chemistry that turns them into long-term fan favorites. (Aside from a few obvious instances where two superstars were practically made to team up, it can be a surprisingly difficult endeavor.)
But when two of them do click on all cylinders, the fans will absolutely eat them up. Because, as previously explained, tag team competition is awesome (and often a welcome break from a tired and repetitive singles division).
10. APA (Acolyte Protection Agency)
aarooq and Bradshaw seemed like the kind of team that was destined to just phase itself out after The Ministry of Darkness splintered off. As the Acolytes, they simply weren’t that interesting. They were henchmen for a cult who rarely spoke, and whose move sets consisted of clotheslines and powerbombs.
But it’s funny how one little nugget of an idea can blossom into something wonderful, and when The Mean Street Posse offered the Acolytes a handsome reward in exchange for some protection from the other superstars, that bit of magic was in the air.
Suddenly, the stoic, silent minions were now beer-swilling, backwards hat-wearing hired guns who even had their own catchphrases! (Okay, so “DAMN!” probably isn’t the most creative motto, but hearing the usually over-serious Ron Simmons say it in that way of his was always good for a chuckle.)
This version lasted just as long as their stint as the Acolytes, but was much more satisfying for fans who wanted just a little more lighthearted banter between the two big men.
9. The Rockers
All the guys wanted to be them and all the girls wanted to be with them. Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty may not have been the stars of the WWE, but they no doubt injected some much-needed adrenaline into the stalwart tag division.
Their youthful energy and high-flying style helped them catch on immediately with younger fans, and their natural good looks made them a shoe-in with the ladies.
The Rockers had a series of highly successful feuds with The Brain Busters, The Hart Foundation, and The Orient Express, and even though they never captured the Tag Titles (an outright travesty, by the way), they usually ended up coming out on top in the fans’ eyes.
8. New Day
Voted Wrestler(s) of the Year by Rolling Stone magazine (because that’s apparently something they do), New Day is one of the most unique and consistently entertaining teams in the company.
New Day is unique, because they’re one of the only teams in the modern era to utilize the Freebird Rule, which allows the three of them to swap the belts around and choose whichever pair they went to defend the titles at any given moment. (The Spirit Squad did this as well but…you know…poorly.)
They also have a wide range of skill sets, with each member bringing something entirely different into the ring. But more importantly, they have endless charm and a knack for reinvention that has kept their oddly specific, dorky evangelists schtick from wearing thin.
Crowds still go nuts for Kofi, Xavier, and Big E because they give them every reason to tune into the show, even if the rest of the program takes a swan dive into tedium.
7. The Dudley Boyz
What was it exactly about the Dudleys that made them such an appealing fit for the WWE? Was it the fact that they’d already earned their stripes several times over in ECW, becoming some of the biggest fan favorites that company had ever seen? (A company which literally survived on fanaticism.)
Or was it that they seemed tailor-made for WWE’s Attitude Era, a no-nonsense duo who would prefer to let their demolition in the ring speak for itself? Or, maybe it was that they were the only team since The New Age Outlaws who could truly hold their own on the microphone?
Obviously, it was all of the above, coupled with the fact that they, along with Edge & Christian and Hardy Boyz, helped launch the new era of tag team wrestling at WrestleMania 16 with an outrageous triangle tag team ladder match… which would become more affectionally known as TLC for its sequels.
Or was it just those damn tables?
6. The Hardy Boyz
Though it’s not always the high-flyers that get over in the tag team division, possessing the ability (and balls) to launch yourself through the air at breakneck speeds certainly never hurts your chances of being embraced by the masses.
Just ask Matt and Jeff Hardy, who became instant superstars after proving they could do things with steel ladders that would intimidate even the most competent of handymen. Initially trotted out as colorful, happy-go-lucky high-flyers in the mold of The Rockers, the Hardys didn’t really catch on until they were rebranded as the emo-ish extreme daredevils who were taken under the wing of Michael Hayes.
It was their ladder match against Edge & Christian at No Mercy 1999 that officially put them on everybody’s radar, and their ensuing TLC matches that also incorporated The Dudley Boyz that catapulted them into the hearts of fans around the world.
Jeff Hardy was certainly the more popular of the pair, mostly because he had a better look (Matt always had the face of a pug) and was the bigger risk-taker of the two, but together, he and his brother had crowds eating out of the palms of their hands.
5. Edge & Christian
It’s tempting to list these guys with The Hardyz as 5 and 5a, because for the longest time it was almost impossible to have one without the other, and fans relished the chance to see these two teams go at it inside the ring. But when it came to sheer entertainment value, the edge has to be given to the not-really brothers.
There may not be a heel tag team that had the crowd behind them as much as Edge & Christian did during their whole “reeking of awesomeness” phase, and the more over-the-top they went with their antics, the more the fans responded.
Edge & Christian portrayed just the right balance of dorkiness and menace to make us all connect with them while still respecting their ability to deliver the goods inside the ring. And while they weren’t quite as daring as The Hardys or as intimidating as The Dudleys, Edge & Christian never failed to get a huge response while cutting a promo.
And for that, we’d take another 5-second pose any day.
4. New Age Outlaws
For the short time, the Outlaws benefitted from being the only game in town. After the Legion of Doom left town, Road Dogg and Billy Gunn were the only constant pairing in WWE, competing against a handful of thrown-together teams like Cactus Jack & Chainsaw Charlie or Owen Hart & Jeff Jarrett.
They double-handedly kept the tag division afloat during its waining years until the high-flyers could come and pull the boat to shore a little while later.
Fans got behind the Outlaws for the same reason they got behind the rest of D-Generation X: They were cool as s–t and rebelled against “the system” at every opportunity. When their music kicked in and Road Dogg queried “Oh you didn’t know?”, fans knew they were in for a treat and responded with deafening roars.
Even as heels, they got huge pops from the crowd, and it only got louder once they got involved with DX shenanigans that found them at WCW’s front door, dressed in army fatigues and wielding a tank.
3. The Road Warriors/Legion Of Doom
It was risky introducing The Road Warriors into the WWE Universe in 1992, especially since they already had a tag team inspired by Mad Max villains, Demolition, which were pretty over with the fans.
But even though Demolition was a more decorated team, there’s no doubt that fans seemed to much prefer Hawk and Animals’ version of the gimmick. And based entirely on longevity, Legion of Doom certainly gets the win here, becoming huge draws regardless of which company they worked for (no one bounced around more than them) or where they were in the hierarchy.
The fans never seemed to give up their love affair with the tough-as-nails powerhouses, with the lone exception being the awkward inclusion of Droz as a third member. It was a classic example of WWE’s creative team not having enough faith in two guys – who did nothing but win over audiences – remaining fan favorites in the Attitude Era, despite the fact that LOD basically invented the Attitude Era several years before that.
The Road Warriors were obvious inclusions in the WWE Hall of Fame, as they left a lasting impression on the company and influenced everyone from The Dudleys to the Acolytes.
2. The Rock N’ Sock Connection
They didn’t wrestle many matches together, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t chomp their way through an incredible amount of airtime. But once The Rock and Mankind performed their first tandem People’s Elbow, they were off to the races, and the fans couldn’t have been more behind this odd couple pairing.
This was one of the least cohesive tag teams when it came to their actual in-ring abilities, but no one else had their insane level of chemistry on the mic. They benefitted greatly from their varying levels of commitment to the team (with Mick being the cheerleader and Rock begrudgingly going along with it), and the tension between them always provided some solid laughs.
If you doubt just how over these two were in 1999, look no further than the brilliant, inimitable This Is Your Life segment, which became one of the highest-rated segments in Raw history. For an unheard of 25 minutes, the crowd hung on every word, eating the absurdity up with a spoon.
You’ll never see such a slapped-together team do anything that comes even remotely close to this level of fanfare again. The Rock N’ Sock Connection was truly one-of-a-kind.
1. The Mega Powers
It would be nice to say that there was any real contention for who could be considered the most over tag team in the history of the WWE, but that’s just not true. No pairing could ever compare to that of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage in the late 80s.
Although their official tenure as partners was relatively short-lived both superstars were at the apex of their popularity. (Imagine the Stone Cold of ’98 joining forces with The Rock of 2000).
Savage had just completed a carefully-constructed face turn in a quest to win the Intercontinental Championship from The Honky Tonk Man, and Hogan was deep into his first reign as WWE Champion.
From the very first moment witnessed these two titans shake hands (after Miss Elizabeth requested Hogan’s help in saving her husband from an ass-kicking at the hands of the then-villainous Hart Foundation), they went absolutely ballistic in the most positive of ways.
If you thought audiences couldn’t pop any louder than they did for Hulk Hogan’s solo music, you were dead wrong, because it’s quite possible that most people in attendance for a Mega Powers match permanently lost their voices when the two came out together with a mash-up of their theme songs.
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