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The storylines in the wrestling business have the power to make or break a Superstar. Since the performers dedicate decades of their life to this craft, they are bound to be tied in a few memorable alliances. With great chemistry and well-planned narrations, some of these friendships turn immortal. It’s the shared history and intensity of these alliances that end up making their eventual breakup seem all the more hurtful. This story is no different in WWE.
Over the last decade, the WWE Universe has witnessed friendships succumb to jealousy, stories of brotherhood turn into baffling tales of betrayal, and packs break up into lone wolves. Some of these Superstars who raise a toast to each other’s failure once sat on the same table. But such is the ritual that friendships and betrayals remain a part of the same cycle.
In this article, we will take a look at the biggest tag team breakups in WWE over the last decade. Some of these were a result of devious intentions while others fell prey to unfortunate timings. So, without further ado, let’s dive right in.
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#5 The New Day (WWE Draft, 2020)
The split of New Day turned out to be one of the greatest stories from the 2020 WWE Draft. We saw Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods make their return to SmackDown from their respective injuries. Following that, they both teamed up and went on to beat Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro for the tag team championships of the Blue brand.
The most decorated tag team in the history of WWE was reminiscing in the joy of getting their hands back on the gold. But their celebrations were cut short because of the announcement that followed immediately afterwards. Moments after Woods and Kingston picked the tag team gold, Stephanie McMahon announced that they have been drafted to RAW. Big E was shockingly retained by SmackDown, and thus the popular stable was forced to split up.
It is evident that WWE are now working towards giving Big E a huge singles push. If he stayed with Kingston and Woods, there would always be speculation surrounding a plausible heel turn. It might be the kind of risk that WWE didn’t want to take altogether. Thus, the shocking breakup of New Day makes more sense.
That being said, this is the first time since the formation of The New Day that the stable won’t be together on the same WWE brand. With the Survivor Series coming up and the inevitable brand invasions, it will be interesting to see what the creative have in store for these three members of New Day in the coming weeks.
#4 Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano (WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago, 2017)
Long before the infamous rivalry between WWE NXT Superstars Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano, the two competed together as a tag team known as DIY. They had a great two-year run as a team and also went on to become the tag team champions on NXT. But things took a drastic turn in 2017.
At WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago, DIY were booked to face Authors of Pain in the first-ever ladder match for the NXT Tag Team Championships. Gargano and Ciampa lost that match following which the latter attacked his partner. He then had to undergo a surgery, and following his return, Ciampa and Gargano were engaged in a two-year-long epic rivalry on WWE NXT.
From grudge matches to battling it out for the WWE NXT Championship, both these friend-turned-foes had a lot to do in keeping the Black and Gold brand interesting for a very long period of time. Both Superstars eventually reconciled their relationship, but they broke up again after Gargano turned heel and attacked Ciampa earlier this year.
#3 Rusev and Aiden English (WWE SmackDown, 2018)
Former WWE Superstar Rusev was one of those rare talents who got over with the crowd without relying on any sort of out-of-the-world booking. The biggest reason behind his popularity was none other than his spokesperson, Aiden English. The latter used his unique, mesmerising style to get the entire arena excited for Rusev’s entry every single time.
Unfortunately for Rusev, he was never booked in feuds that would capitalise on his popularity or would justify his presence on the roster. Following that, WWE also took away the one thing that kept the fans invested in Rusev’s storyline when they decided to separate him from English. After citing Lana as his reason, English attacked Rusev, and the two were engaged in a short feud.
A month later, English and Rusev locked horns in a singles match on WWE SmackDown. The latter picked a victory and ended their feud, but nothing was left for either of the two Superstars. This split benefitted none, and it was clear that the creative didn’t think this one through. Rusev would then be engaged in a controversial storyline featuring Lana and Bobby Lashley following which he left the promotion.
#2 Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho (WWE RAW, 2017)
The alliance between Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho gave us some of the most hilarious WWE moments over the last decade. But the break-up of this team featured one of the most heartbreaking betrayals in recent history. The two WWE Superstars first teamed up at SummerSlam 2016 that marked the beginning of a very entertaining run of them as a tag team.
The following year, Owens and Jericho quickly became the hottest entity in the entire wrestling business. At this point, KO also had the WWE Universal Championship to his name, and he was challenged for the title by Goldberg. Jericho accepted this challenge on behalf of KO, and the latter was not happy with that decision.
In February 2017, Jericho hosted ‘Festival of Friendship’ and received a gift from KO. The entire arena let out a collective sigh when it was revealed that the gift was ‘List of KO’ and it only had Jericho’s name on it. Owens then attacked Jericho, and the alliance between both these Superstars came to an end following one of the cruellest splits in the last decade of WWE.
#1 The Shield (WWE RAW, June 2014)
Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose kickstarted their iconic main roster career when they debuted as The Shield. Initially, they worked as mercenaries for CM Punk before they developed into a huge entity of their own. Following that, The Shield maintained a popular winning streak on WWE RAW and established Reigns, Rollins, and Ambrose as fan favourites.
In 2014, Shield were feuding with Evolution, and the two groups were set to continue their rivalry. To everyone’s shock, Triple H had an infamous ‘Plan B’ which eventually saw Seth Rollins turn on his Shield brethren and lay a vicious attack on them inside the ring. Rollins was the first to leave the group following his heel turn whereas Reigns and Ambrose went their separate ways.
Years later, The Shield reunited and broke up one again after Ambrose refused to renew his WWE contract. Once Reigns was forced to take a break from in-ring action due to the unfortunate return of his leukaemia, this popular WWE stable bid adieu to the promotion at The Shield's Final Chapter live event. Today, Rollins and Reigns are the biggest Superstars in WWE whereas Dean Ambrose performs in AEW where he is known as Jon Moxley.
