Grading the 10 best tag teams of 2017

2017 is the year tag team wrestling made a comeback, with fans thrilling to the exploits of such stars as the New Day and the Young Bucks. We grade ten of the top tag teams on the following scales to see who comes out on top.

#1 Win/Loss record: Wins matter and a dominant team should be expected to at least have as many victories as defeats.

#2 Championships: Holding a title belt comes with a measure of prestige and certainly counts toward the overall grade.

#3 Cross-Media appeal: How many outlets cover the team? Are they likely to be known on sight by non-wrestling fans? This measure should never be taken lightly. Arn Anderson may have been a hundred times the technical wrestler Hulk Hogan was, but ask any non-wrestling fan who the greatest wrestler of all time was and they'll name the Hulkster over Arn every time.

Without further ado, let's look at the teams:

The Bar

Wrestling's odd couple emerged as internet darlings and champions in 2017

The odd pairing of the Irishman and the Swede has led to an astonishing amount of success, being as the gimmick was never meant to carry the duo as far as it has.

Looking at IWD, as a duo, they have 51 losses and 38 wins. Ouch! It's not the worst record in the world, but far from the best. Grade: D

Now let's look at their championship statistic. As a duo, the Bar entered 2017 as WWE Raw tag champs, then quickly dropped the belts. They regained them in November and look to close out the year as the champions. Not bad, but not a long title reign in either case. Grade: C

Factoring in their cross-media appeal, we note that the duo is well-loved by the internet, who often complain that the team isn't pushed hard enough. There's no doubting that a lot of wrestling fans have their eyes on Sheamus and Ceasaro. However, no one outside of wrestling is likely to recognise them on sight. Grade: C

The New Day

The Booty-hawking triple threat has provided solid entertainment for the fans, but what kind of year did they have by the numbers?

Looking at their win/loss record, we see that -- under the freebird rule -- they have 23 wins and 47 losses. Ouch! Win/Loss Grade: D

When we talk about championships, The New Day fares much better. Not only did they cap off the longest tag title reign in history, they also became the first ever Smackdown brand champions. Excellent work all around. Championship Grade: A

When it comes to Cross Media appeal, The New Day are the stars of thousands of memes, faux breakfast cereal ads, and let's not forget Xavier Woods's podcast. There are a lot of people who might recognise The New Day on sight even if they don't watch wrestling, but they're not at a Hogan/Undertaker level yet. Cross Media Appeal Grade: B

War Machine

The mighty duo of Hanson and Rowe appear at times to be unstoppable. How did they fare in 2017?

In terms of wins and losses, Hanson and Rowe break about even with 52 wins and 53 losses as a unit. Win/Loss Grade: C

When it comes to title reigns, War Machine held both the IWGP Tag championship AND the WCPW tag belts. Top of the class. Championship Grade: A

Sadly, no one outside the wrestling fandom is likely to recognise either of these men. They are also curiously under-represented by the internet wrestling community, and aren't the stars of memes or jokes. Cross Media Appeal Grade: F

The Young Bucks

The hard-working Bucks proved in 2017 that it doesn't take the WWE to be a financial or critical success. How do they stack up compared to the other teams?

Considering their win-loss record, the Bucks had 45 wins and only 23 losses. Not bad at all. Win/Loss Grade: B

The Bucks were literally draped with gold in 2017. They had reigns as the IWGP Junior tag champs, the ROH tag champs, the PWG tag champs, and to cap it all off, they hold the ROH six-man tag titles with Hangman Page as the Hung Bucks. Championship Grade: A+

The Young Bucks are internet darlings, the star of numerous 'superkick' videos and gifs, and move truckloads of merchandise all on their own merits. While the average non-wrestling fan will likely not recognise the Bucks on sight, they are one of the most talked about duos in the business. Cross Media Appeal Grade: C

The Hardys

It was a DE-LIGHTFUL year for the Hardys. They held titles in different promotions and made their long-awaited return to the WWE at this year's Wrestlemania.

Looking at wins and losses, the Hardys garnered 32 wins and 18 losses. Their lower number of matches overall due to Jeff's injury, forced Matt back into singles matches. Still, it's an impressive record. Win/Loss Grade: B

The Hardys held the tag team titles from all three major American promotions in 2017. They started as TNA champions, then won the ROH tag titles, and finally won the WWE tag team championships. Absolutely stellar. Championship Grade: A

The Hardys may not be household names in non-wrestling fandom, but they are icons in the business and the internet and social media follow their exploits closely. Their recently resolved lawsuit over the 'broken' gimmick is proof that where the Hardys go, the eyes of wrestling fans follow. Cross Media Appeal Grade: B

The Authors of Pain

Akem and Rezar are hulking behemoths who can move with alarming speed. How did they stack up against the other teams in 2017?

The Authors wrote up 45 victories and only 18 defeats in 2017. Excellent work. Win/Loss Grade: A

The Authors held the NXT tag titles for most of 2017, feuding with both DIY and Sanity. Again, high marks for the Authors. Championship Grade: A

Where the Authors of Pain falter is Cross Media appeal. Not only are they relatively unknown outside of the wrestling business, they don't have millions of followers on social media or much support from the IWC. Cross Media Appeal Grade: F

The Usos

The favourite sons of the Anoa'i wrestling family have emerged as a dominant force in the WWE tag team scene. How was their 2017?

The USOS raked up 50 wins as a unit, while only taking 30 losses, giving them a good grade in the win-loss department: Win/Loss Grade: B

When we look at Championships, we see that the USOS had three reigns with the Smackdown brand tag titles, mostly trading them back and forth with the New Day. Still, their reigns are longer than New Day's or Gable/Shelton, who have fizzled of late. Championship Grade: B

Now as far as cross-media appeal, Jimmy Uso's wife is Naomi, who is a regular on the E network show Total Divas. This will get the Usos on non-wrestling fans' radar. They are also well regarded as one of the most technically skilled tag teams working today by the internet wrestling community. Cross Media Appeal Grade: B

The Shield

The Shield got a late start as a unit, as the individual members spent the first third of the year on their own. For this list, we counted the Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins unnamed tag team as The Shield.

When it comes to wins and losses, the Shield picked up 35 wins and only 7 losses. Not bad for a late start. Win/Loss Grade: A

Rollins and Ambrose traded the tag titles back and forth with The Bar for much of their run, but they currently hold the belts. Championship Grade: B

In terms of cross-media appeal, The Shield are beloved by the IWC and wrestling fans in general, but aren't likely to be recognised outside of fandom. Cross Media Appeal Grade: C

Motor City Machine Guns

Detroit's favourite sons were back in rare form for 2017, wrestling as a unit for ROH. How did they fare?

Looking at wins and losses, the duo's light tag schedule had 16 wins and 12 losses. It's a good win percentage, but they weren't as active as other teams. Win/Loss Grade: C

The Guns took the belts off of the nigh-unbeatable Young Bucks, and have held the ROH tag titles ever since. That carries a lot of prestige. Championship Grade: A

Let's face the facts - The Guns used to be the talk of the wrestling town, but they're kind of old news in 2017. Factor in that most people outside of wrestling will never have heard of them, and you end up with a terrible grade. Cross Media Appeal Grade: F

Sanity

Sanity continued to turn heads in 2017, proving their dominance by winning tag gold and dominating opponents.

In terms of wins and losses, Sanity nearly broke even with 48 wins and 44 losses. Win/Loss Grade: C

Sanity captured the NXT tag titles from the Authors of Pain and held them for most of fourth quarter 2017. Championship Grade: B

Eric Young has starred in his own fishing show, and Alexander Wolfe is well known in his native Europe. Killian Dane is relatively new but caused a lot of buzz with his performance in Wargames. Some people outside of wrestling fandom will recognise Eric Young, at least, for his TV and stuntman work. Cross Media Appeal Grade: B

And The Tag Team of the year is... THE HARDYS!

In a close, close CLOSE race, the Hardys beat out both The Shield and the Young Bucks to capture the title of 2017's Tag Team of the year.

It was the Hardy's cross media appeal and three major title reigns that put them over the top. We salute the Hardys for a stellar 2017 and look forward to their exploits in 2018.

Here's how the grades broke down:

Bar: D+

The New Day: C+

War Machine: C

Young Bucks: B

Authors of Pain: B

The Usos

The Shield B

Motor City Machine Guns: C

Sanity: C+

The Hardys: B+

Thanks for reading and we'll see you next year!