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In WWE success is measured in a variety of ways. It could be a singular match with an incredible story that captivates the audience’s attention or having a successful run in the company spurred on by the adulation of fans. It could also be about how many championships one has captured in their career and what those championships represented. For the people listed below, they proved to be successful tag teams, and their prior success individually may be what led to them being part of a successful tag team as well.
The pairings listed below all have one commonality amongst them and that is that they won, and those wins as a team in most if not all cases led to championships. What is also remarkable is that some of these teams featured rivals that couldn’t get along and still walked away as champions. Though the pairings such as Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan are not listed, they deserve an honorable mention. Here are six WWE successful tag teams comprised of singles main eventers.
#6 Triple H and Stone Cold Steve Austin
A classic case of a duo that faced one another on countless occasions, only to eventually align successfully, was the tandem of the Texas Rattlesnake and the Cerebral Assassin. Steve Austin and Triple H were among the elite, perennial main event wrestlers who captured multiple singles championships can as individuals racked up win after win. However, for a period of time, they came together to form an alliance, and the result wasn’t just a systematic beat down of the Hardy Boyz, but an all too familiar result.
Known as ‘The Two Man Power Trip’, their coming together was as a result of Austin joining Mr. McMahon as part of the McMahon Alliance. During this shocking heel turn, Austin showcased a new and more vicious style, striking down opponents countless times in order to show that he was willing to do just about anything. At one point Austin and Triple H held all three major championships in the promotion: the WWE, Intercontinental, and Tag Team Championships.
#5 Triple H and Shawn Michaels
This pairing is a combination of two men that are best friends in and out of the ring, but though they were tag team partners off and on over the years, they weren’t always both main eventers. When they first teamed, there was a clear distinction between them, as Triple H was a mid-card talent while Shawn Michaels was a focal point as the WWE champion. After Michaels stepped away from the ring for a few years because of injury, Triple H became a focal point and the main event player.
However, when they teamed once again, they were both in pursuit of championships and seen as equals. They were both multiple-time champions and had many memorable moments as Degeneration X.
Yes, other members of the faction captured tag team championships, but most notably this combination captured the WWE tag team championships when they defeated the team of Chris Jericho and the Big Show.
#4 The Rock and Mankind
There could not have been two more different characters during WWE’s Attitude Era than The Rock and Mankind. Individually, they each held multiple World and Intercontinental Championships. However, what was remarkable about this duo was the chemistry that they had when they came together and formed one of the most memorable combinations in WWE’s history. As the Rock 'n' Sock Connection, they captured the WWE Tag Team Championships on three separate occasions.
Beyond that, they had some of the more memorable segments on WWE television, including the infamous ‘Rocky, this is your life’ segment. They had multiple reunions, usually when one came to the aid of the other, and it would ultimately result in a win. The last time they came together as a team was in 2004, at Wrestlemania XX, when they faced the combination of Randy Orton, Ric Flair and Batista in a 3 on 2 handicap match. Though not successful on that particular occasion, historically the tandem were perennial main eventers.
#3 Rated RKO
What happens when you combine one of the most successful Tag Team Champions with one of the most accomplished singles champions? The answer is a recipe for success. When Randy Orton and Edge came together so did their collective championship reigns holding either World, WWE, Intercontinental and Tag Team gold. When Edge approached Randy Orton to defeat Degeneration X what materialized was a tandem that was able to focus all their collective energy towards a tandem that could be considered 'power-hungry' themselves.
On November 13th, 2006, Randy Orton and Edge defeated Ric Flair and Roddy Piper to capture the World Tag Team Championship. They held the titles for 77 days. Edge and Randy Orton eventually captured the WWE Tag Team Championships themselves. Both men have main-evented as singles competitors themselves and this duo made for a formidable team.
ALSO READ: Why did Cain Velasquez come to WWE from the UFC?
#2 John Cena and Shawn Michaels
What happens when one of your rivals becomes your tag team partner? Fans were presented with this scenario when John Cena and Shawn Michaels teamed on an impromptu basis the night after the Royal Rumble in 2007.
On that night, they defeated the tandem of Edge and Randy Orton, Rated RKO, for the World Tag Team Championships. However, Michaels ultimately cost them the Tag Team Championships later, as he turned on his partner leading to The Hardy Boyz becoming champions once again.
Their rivalry was one which was between main event contenders, competitors that were capable of challenging for a championship. Together, they were a successful tandem, albeit for a short time. While there was animosity between them, which revolved around the WWE Championship, they were able to channel their energy in order to walk away as Champions. During their feud, they were not only great opponents but a great team as well.
#1 Edge and Hulk Hogan
While Edge wasn’t a main eventer at the time, and Hulk Hogan was on his way out as a talent and serving more in a role to aid younger stars in getting over, this pairing was quite unique. One reason for that is that one of them, Edge, had grown up looking up to the other, and then eventually became Tag Team Champions together with the man he had looked up to in 2002. The combination was a short-lived pairing that certainly captured the attention of the WWE fans at the time.
Edge often tells the story of how watching Hogan from ringside at Wrestlemania VI, in their home town of Toronto, was what inspired him and his friend Christian to pursue wrestling as a career. It wasn’t until a few years later that Edge became not only a prominent main event challenger but an eleven-time Tag Team Champion. It is a feat his hero Hulk Hogan couldn’t claim, but one that made Edge’s career stand out.
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