Keeping in line with yesterday’s honorable mention of the best tag teams in WWE history in tribute to Shad Gaspard and Cryme Tyme, here’s the Overtimer’s unofficial official top ten.
With so many awesomely talented wrestlers that have worked in the WWE and brought us hours of enjoyment, it’s hard to limit the list to just ten. In fact, a top twenty may have been easier but it wouldn’t have been as much fun. To help trim the field down, we set up a series of prerequisites for each tag team, but even then it’s been difficult to put one team in the list over another.
The prerequisites
The prerequisites are meant to make it easier in selecting the top ten teams, but a lot of it simply comes down to personal opinion and viewpoint, so we’re going to differ on a few of these if not more. Nothing is ever set into stone.
The team’s impact (did they catch our eye, are they easily remembered), storytelling ability (how well and often did they pull us into their matches without having to rely mainly on attention getting moves), longevity (how long did they function as a team), competition (the quality of the tag division they competed in), and influence on tag teams (their ability to inspire fans to get into wrestling and so on).
Well, looks like it’s time to get down to the nitty gritty.
The teams
10. New Age Outlaws. Badass Billy Gunn and the Outlaw Jesse James were one of, if not the most charismatic tag team during the Attitude Era. As good as they were on the mic, they were even better in the ring, winning the tag team championship multiple times and helping to form the foundation of D-X.
9. The Rock ‘N’ Sock Connection. The Rock and Mankind were polar opposites character-wise, but they meshed perfectly in the ring winning the tag team championship and becoming the must see tag team through their short time together.
8. New Day. Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods have formed one of the most charismatic and in-ring gifted tag teams in the current era. The WWE is promoting them as possibly the best tag team in history, but it’s hard to ignore the dearth of quality tag teams during their runs, and that’s the lack of competition is the only thing holding them back from ranking higher.
7. Edge and Christian. This pairing carved out a comfortable section of the Attitude Era along with the Hardy Boyz and Dudley Boyz. The three teams competed in some of the greatest matches in WWE history and are ranked back to back to back here for that reason. They could easily swap position with either of the other two.
6. Hardy Boyz. Few tag teams embodied excitement and daredevil-minded determination. They raised the bar in the hardcore Attitude Era and complimented Edge and Christian and the Dudleys perfectly. TO this day, few things get a pop from the fans like their entrance music.
5. The Dudley Boyz. D-Von and Bubba Ray were two of the first wrestlers to successfully transition from ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling) to the WWE, and they brought some of their old habits such as table and chairs with them. Their mentality was shared by Edge and Christian and the Hardy’s in a way that made their matches and the Attitude Era so much fun.
4. The Soul Patrol. Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas were more than simply champions. They were the first African-American tag team champions and were an inspiration for generations to come. Each member was an enormous talent in their own right, but together they had the chance to be something special. While their run was short, the memory of their breaking barriers and influencing wrestling in general has helped to propel them into legendary status for many.
3. The Legion of Doom. Hawk and Animal are the best tag team in history to many, but their WWE runs aren’t as memorable as they runs throughout the rest of the world. There are plenty of reasons why, but they still managed to dominate during their WWE runs like few teams could.
2. The Hart Foundation. Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart and Bret “The Hitman” Hart formed one of the greatest tag teams in wrestling history for roughly five to six years in the WWE. They were one of the hardest working tag teams in history, and could match up with anyone in the ring. Between the Anvil’s power and Bret Hart’s technical skills, they could dominate like few others and they were never overmatched.
01. Demolition. From the moment they entered the WWE, Ax and Smash (and later Crush) took the WWE tag team division by storm and set a record for the length of holding a championship for over twenty years. There was something exciting and energetic when they entered the arena, and they never disappointed. They started as the WWE’s version of the Road Warriors, but quickly carved out their own book in the professional wrestling history before it closed once Vince McMahon signed the Road Warriors.
Well, there’s our list of top ten WWE tag teams. There’s plenty of room for teams to move up or down depending on our points of view and opinions, so let us know what your list looks like in the comments below. We’re looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
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