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Tag team wrestling is one of the most alluring forms of professional wrestling as the diverse set of moves entertains the fans in an altogether distinct manner. Over the years, WWE has produced several great tag teams with the Dudley Boyz, the Hardy Boyz, Edge and Christian, The New Day and The Usos to name a few. These teams changed the landscape of tag team wrestling with their extraordinary class and talent.
While there have been so many successful tag teams in WWE history, there have also been tag teams that could not get going despite the best efforts of the Creative.
It is a joy to watch tag team wrestling but the Creative generally looks to spice up the things on TV by breaking up a well-oiled unit or the teams which do not live up to expectations. Some teams are fortuitous enough to get betrayal angles before their demise but a number of teams have also been split up off TV as well. Sometimes, it is the WWE Draft that has been the reason behind a tag team’s end.
Since 2016, WWE has broken up a lot of tag teams and in this article, we will have a look at 5 of those tag teams and the reasons why WWE disbanded them:
#5 The Hype Bros
Mojo Rawley received a surprise call-up to the main roster in the WWE Draft 2016 where Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan drafted him to SmackDown Live. Soon, it was learned that WWE had promoted him so that he can reunite with Zack Ryder to reform the Hype Bros.
As there was a shortage of tag teams on the Blue brand’s roster, WWE allowed The Hype Bros to stay in the upper half of the tag team division. They had even challenged for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships on multiple occasions but the Creative team never gave them the gold.
Eventually, WWE split the Hype Bros on November 28, 2017, after Zack and Mojo had lost their match against The Bludgeon Brothers. Mojo was the one who turned heel and as per the rumor mill, the backstage executives were going to push him in the singles division, as they were impressed with his promo skills.
But, as we all know, WWE has worked very hard to build Mojo Rawley as a credible character but their ideas have always fallen flat as Rawley continues to toil in the lower mid-card.
#4 Aleister Black and Ricochet
WWE had taken everyone aback when they declared the arrival of NXT stars Aleister Black and Ricochet on the main roster. The duo had made their main roster debut in February 2019 and even though they were a part of the singles division for a major part of their careers, they joined forces to create a tag team.
The team of Black and Ricochet gained great popularity with their outstanding performances on all the three brands. They had made history by challenging for the NXT Tag Team Championships, RAW Tag Team Championships and SmackDown Tag Team Championships in a week’s span.
Since they were a makeshift unit, WWE did not pull the trigger on them and split them up in April 2019. During the Superstar Shakeup, The Dutch Destroyer moved to SmackDown Live while his partner stayed on RAW.
It was later revealed that the FOX officials had demanded WWE to keep Andrade on SmackDown. As WWE tries to place married couples on the same brand, they had to move Black to SmackDown because his spouse Zelina Vega plays the role of Andrade’s on-screen business manager.
It is surprising that during the 2019 Draft, all the four Superstars were drafted to RAW. Hence, it made little sense to end the tag team run of Aleister Black and Ricochet.
#3 Titus Worldwide
Titus O’Neil is a pro wrestling veteran who has been a part of this industry since 2009. He was a part of Florida Championship Wrestling and NXT before he proceeded to the main roster of WWE in 2012. Titus has been a tag team specialist since 2012 hence, WWE tried to utilize his experience to catapult the career of the upcoming Superstar Apollo Crews.
Apollo had been booked strongly in the singles division but somehow, he could not garner the attention of the fans. Since WWE had intentions of pushing him, they aligned him with Titus O’Neil in 2017-18 and the pair later recruited Dana Brooke and Akira Tozawa in their group.
Though this team had the power to boost the careers of the under-card Superstars, it could not serve its purpose. Thus, WWE ended the run of Titus Worldwide on the RAW episode dated 15th October 2018. The writers did not book a betrayal angle but they sent Apollo to the ring without O’Neil in his corner.
The rumor mill soon broke the news that WWE Creative was plotting a singles push for Crews which is why they split Titus Worldwide.
#2 Enzo and Cass
Enzo and Cass had exceeded all the limits of being popular as the Certified Gs had grown into one of the most over tag teams in WWE history during its brief run. The WWE Universe loved each and everything that the duo did. Be it Enzo’s crazy punchlines or Big Cass’ strength, this tag team was destined to be one of the greatest tag teams ever. However, WWE messed up their momentum by not allowing them to win the gold.
Still, the fans were behind the NXT graduates, however, Vince McMahon and co. then booked a betrayal storyline to end the alliance. Cass turned heel on Enzo in what was one of the most perfectly written exposes of the decade. The two Superstars feuded for a while before they picked up their own routes.
Enzo moved to the Cruiserweight division while Big Cass sustained an injury that kept him out of action. Ultimately, both the Superstars were unceremoniously ousted from the company.
Although WWE had broken up the tag team in 2017, the fans came to know about the reason behind it in 2019. In June 2019, Enzo spilled the beans on the Keeping 100 with Konnan podcast and disclosed that the ‘scary’ popularity of the tag team did not sit well with some top officials. He blamed the backstage crew for the tag team’s demise claiming that some people did not like the pair’s presence at the top.
#1 The Riott Squad
The Riott Squad debuted on the main roster after Survivor Series 2017 as the trio of Liv Morgan, Ruby Riott and Sarah Logan decimated Naomi and Becky Lynch backstage. They instantly rose to the top of the SmackDown Live women’s division as Ruby earned herself a shot at the SmackDown Women’s Championship at Fastlane 2018. Though she could not win the title, the Riott Squad had established themselves as a force to reckon with.
WWE had always kept the Riott Squad engaged on WWE TV but their run concluded earlier this year when WWE separated Liv Morgan from the team during the Superstar Shakeup. Liv moved to the Blue brand while her associates stayed on the ‘A’ show. The fans expected that Morgan would receive a massive push in the singles division and perhaps, that was the reason behind the split.
However, the rumor mill stated that the Creative team split up the Riott Squad because Liv Morgan was going to be a part of Total Divas.
So far, it seems like the rumor is true because Morgan has not been showcased as a singles competitor on SmackDown whereas she has taken part in the Total Divas show.
