6 Tag-Teams that hated each other in real life

Tag-team wrestling is an art. To reach the pinnacle, Superstars have to be in-sync with their partners at all times and this can often mean that tag-team partners are close in real life.

However, there have been cases in wrestling history, where despite finding success inside the squared circle, the Superstars in the tag-team just did not get along with each other in real life. We take a look at some such tag-teams today.

#6 The British Bulldogs - Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith Jr

We start our list with one of the most beloved tag-teams of all time, The British Bulldogs. They found success wherever they wrestled around the world including the WWE, where they are former Tag-Team Champions.

However, despite their success inside the ring, they eventually went on to dislike each other with a vengeance, and this led to a split in the Hart Family.

Tyson Kidd addressed this on Talk Is Jericho and spoke about what led to it. Kidd said that after the duo returned to Stampede Wrestling from WWE, Vince McMahon met with them and wanted to bring them back. Davey Boy was open to the return, seeing that it would be good for his family, but Dynamite Kid did not feel the same way.

This led to Davey Boy returning to WWE on his own which further added tension. When Smith’s wife, Diana, trademarked the name of the tag-team, that was seemingly the last straw and Dynamite Kid didn’t patch up his relationship with Davey Boy before the latter passed away in 2002.

Speaking in 2015, Diana Hart-Smith gave more details about the rift between her late husband and Dynamite Kid:

It had to do with Davey going back to WWF, and Dynamite didn't want to go back. Davey said 'I'm on the verge of losing my house' and Tom wasn't. I did have the wherewithal to trademark the British Bulldogs name and Dynamite didn't want anything to do with it. I told Tom we were doing this, and it would cost this much money. At the time it seemed like a lot, but in hindsight it was well worth it. We would own the name and he didn't want any part of it. As Dynamite said, I was the tail wagging the dog. If he thought of it, he would have just had to do it, but since it was Davey's wife who was trying to implement it, it wasn't good.

#5 Billy Kidman and Paul London

Billy Kidman and Paul London formed an exciting but short-lived tag-team during the Ruthless Aggression Era. Seemingly paired up because they had the same finisher, London and Kidman went on to win tag-team gold on the Blue brand.

However, the tension between the two behind the scenes would lead to an untimely split for the team. In interviews after his release from WWE, London accused Kidman of not showing him any respect. He also said that Kidman was jealous of his athleticism.

In an interview with the Inquisitr, here’s what London had to say:

He looked at me as a rookie, which in comparison to his tenure there I was. But when you’re saddled up with somebody, when you’re a team, you win together, you lose together, in my opinion you go to war together you don’t put your teammate under the bus to help keep you out of trouble.

Paul London went on to add:

Truth is it hurt, it hurt my feelings. This is somebody that I thought we really had a good thing going. I think I was just more a side dish to him

#4 The Rockers

Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty were one of the best tag-teams of their era. They officially never won the WWE Tag-Team Championships, but with their skill and athleticism, helped inspire an entire generation of wrestlers.

Behind the scenes, things weren’t so rosy. Michaels and Jannetty hated each other, as has been well documented.

After the two went their separate ways, Shawn Michaels went on to become one of the biggest stars in WWE history while Jannetty didn’t get anywhere as a singles star following his feud with Michaels, following the Barbershop incident.

#3 The Eliminators

Perry Saturn and John Kronus were one of the top tag-teams in ECW. They were booked to perfection by Paul Heyman and came across as a couple of destroyers.

However, even as they climbed the tag-team ladder in ECW, the two men just did not get along behind the scenes with several reports surfacing of the duo getting into scuffles in the locker room. Saturn later refused to reform the team at the request of Paul Heyman and went on to sign with WCW instead.

#2 Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas

Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas will always have a part in history as the first African-American tag-team to hold the WWE Tag-Team Championships. Even as the duo were portrayed as close friends on-screen, things were different in real life.

Johnson and Atlas’ personalities just never meshed together. Johnson was reportedly unhappy multiple times with Atlas, who showed up late for tapings. Johnson felt that Atlas’ nonchalance hurt his own future also. There have also been reports of the two trading blows in the locker room when things got too heated.

#1 The Mega Powers

Macho Man and Hulk Hogan with Miss Elizabeth

We end this list with The Mega Powers - Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage. Despite being the two biggest babyfaces in the company, things in the back were not friendly.

The duo were constantly in each others face backstage with Macho Man never really trusting Hogan. Macho Man accused Hogan of trying to steal his moment on several occasions.

In one interview, here’s what Macho Man had to say about Hogan:

Hogan will try to suck the blood from anyone to get himself over. Every time anyone did something good, you’d look over and there [Hogan’s] face was…

The duo did, however, patch things up before Macho Man’s death in 2011.