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As any long-term WWE viewers will know, it takes a lot of work for a WWE tag team to become successful.
The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods), for example, initially debuted as a babyface trio who received overwhelmingly negative reactions from the WWE Universe.
On an episode of their Feel The Power podcast, the three WWE Superstars reeled off a list of 52 names that they could have been called instead of The New Day, including The Tribe, Perfect Harmony, and House of Positive Energy (HOPE).
While those names almost certainly would not have worked out for The New Day, several Superstars on the WWE roster were given even more questionable tag team names earlier in their careers.
In this article, let’s take a look at five famous WWE Superstars’ original tag team partners and names.
#5 Sheamus & Yoshi Tatsu (The Movers and Shakers - WWE developmental)
Sheamus has formed alliances with Alberto Del Rio, Rusev, and Wade Barrett (The League of Nations) and Cesaro (The Bar) in recent years on WWE television, but did you know that his first WWE tag team partner was actually Yoshi Tatsu?
During their time in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), Sheamus joined forces with Tatsu (then known as Mr. Yamamoto) to form The Movers and Shakers.
According to wrestling stats database Cagematch.net, the unlikely duo’s only match together ended in defeat against two up-and-coming Superstars at the time, Jake & Jesse (The Gymini).
It has been speculated for a long time that Tatsu once won a fight against Sheamus during their days in WWE’s developmental system.
Speaking on Corey Graves’ After The Bell podcast in 2020, Sheamus explained that he used to live in an apartment with Tatsu and Ted DiBiase Jr.
The Irishman once called out Tatsu for not paying his share of the bills, leading to a brief physical altercation between the two men.
“So we had a couple of constant conflicts whatever, and then it kind of boiled over one time. It was a bit of a shoving thing, and he took slap at me. I took a slap at him, and that was it. It was like two handbags, me and him fighting at each other.” [H/T Wrestling Inc.]
Sheamus clarified that the dispute only lasted around a minute and, contrary to what people might have heard, Tatsu did not knock him out.
#4 Drew McIntyre & Wade Barrett (Brit Pack/The Empire - WWE developmental)
Drew McIntyre has established himself as one of the top babyface singles Superstars on the WWE roster, but he has also had his fair share of WWE tag team partners over the years.
When the Scot joined WWE in 2007, he quickly burst onto the scene on WWE SmackDown alongside another British Superstar, Dave Taylor.
Although the two men joined forces in a tag team Battle Royal in November 2007, McIntyre was also involved in a tag team with Wade Barrett in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) and Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) around that time.
The WWE newcomers, originally known as Brit Pack (later changed to The Empire), won the FCW Florida Tag Team titles on two occasions during their nine-month alliance.
As you can see above, Barrett spoke to BT Sport in October 2020 about his time working with McIntyre in the early stages of their WWE careers.
The WWE NXT commentator teased that he would still put up a good fight if he faced the Scot in 2020, even though the former Nexus leader has not wrestled since his WWE in-ring contract expired in 2016.
#3 Kofi Kingston & Harry Smith (Commonwealth Connection - WWE developmental)
Before forming tag teams with CM Punk, Evan Bourne, R-Truth, and Big E and Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston originally joined forces with Harry Smith (aka Davey Boy Smith Jr., the son of The British Bulldog) in WWE’s Ohio Valley Wrestling developmental system.
The duo’s first televised match ended in a victory over Nick Sinn (aka Kizarny) and The Belgium Brawler on a February 2007 episode of OVW’s weekly show.
One week later, Kingston and Smith were defeated by former WWE Tag Team Champions Rene Dupree and Sylvan Grenier (aka La Resistance).
Kingston told the Daily Mirror in 2018 that he enjoyed his brief alliance with Smith, even though his tag team partner was reluctant to team with him at first.
“Tagging with Harry was one of the coolest parts of my career before getting signed, it was like, 'This is the British Bulldog's son!' I got to be on the same team with him in the Commonwealth Connection, and the funny part is that, when we first teamed up, he didn't wanna team with me, because he was Harry Smith! But we teamed together and it was this random match up of a team, and Harry is a real good dude.”
Asked if the tag team could reunite one day, Kingston simply said, “Like I’ve said before, with WWE you never say never!”
#2 The Undertaker & Dan Spivey (The Skyscrapers - WCW)
In November 1990, The Undertaker made his memorable WWE debut as a member of Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Team at the WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view.
Earlier that year, the man behind the ‘Taker character, Mark Calaway, became part of The Skyscrapers tag team in WCW.
The Skyscrapers, managed by 2017 WWE Hall of Fame inductee Teddy Long, originally consisted of two six-foot-eight wrestlers, Dan Spivey and Sid Vicious (aka Sycho Sid).
When Sid sustained an injury, Long replaced him in the team with six-foot-10 rookie Calaway, who was known at the time as “Mean” Mark Callous.
The Undertaker's WCW exit and WWE arrival
Calaway and Spivey were involved in a rivalry with The Road Warriors in the first two months of 1990. However, the feud came to an abrupt end when Spivey suddenly left WCW.
As Calaway revealed on Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions show on the WWE Network in 2019, he asked WCW’s higher-ups during contract negotiations if he could have a pay raise. When they refused, he decided to leave the company and join Vince McMahon’s WWE.
#1 Brock Lesnar & Shelton Benjamin (The Minnesota Stretching Crew - WWE developmental)
The majority of WWE’s marquee names have held a WWE Tag Team Championship on at least one occasion, but not Brock Lesnar.
During The Next Big Thing’s first year in WWE, he achieved the following goals as a singles competitor: WWE King of the Ring winner, WWE Undisputed Champion, WWE Royal Rumble winner, WrestleMania main-eventer.
Overall, taking both of Lesnar’s WWE runs into account (2002-2004 and 2012-2020), he has never even challenged for a Tag Team Championship on WWE television.
It was a very different story when Lesnar competed in Ohio Valley Wrestling. Not only did he form a tag team with his real-life friend, Shelton Benjamin, but the two men won the OVW Southern Tag Team titles on three occasions in 2001.
Known as The Minnesota Stretching Crew, Lesnar and Benjamin held the titles for a combined 135 days.
Benjamin suffered an injury during their second reign as Tag Team Champions, forcing The Minnesota Stretching Crew to relinquish their titles.
The tag team separated in October 2001 after losing the titles to The Prototype (aka John Cena) and Rico Constantino.
