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When it comes to rating pro wrestling Superstars, the task can be difficult to do objectively. This is because there are so many facets that go into creating a perfect sports entertainer that being good at just one aspect of the game isn't enough anymore.
Dean Malenko, for example, was perhaps the most technically gifted American wrestler of his day, but did not excel at cutting promos or doing interviews. Nor was his character fully developed, which limited the types of storylines he could be involved in.
At the other extreme is The Rock. Dwayne Johnson was able to achieve great things based upon his ability to resonate with the WWE Universe.
This charisma has translated over to his film career. But from a technical wrestling perspective, The Rock was a limited worker at best. In today's modern pro wrestling market place, The Brahma Bull might struggle more before finding success.
The question of who is the greatest tag team becomes even murkier. Now two Superstars must be considered. But it is possible to use precise criteria to rate the currently active tag teams, as follows.
Technical Wrestling Ability: Tag team matches, with their convoluted structure, require both participants in the team to have some measure of skill between the ropes. This isn't just a measure of move set, but also of how well the team can enhance the image of their opponents.
Interview/Promo Ability: Pro Wrestling always has a healthy dose of smack talking, and being able to get your character over with the wrestling fans is crucial for a tag team just as it is for singles stars.
Win/Loss Record: Wins and losses are an important tool in both crafting wrestling's dramatic storylines and establishing which teams are to be taken the most seriously as contenders. The teams will be rated on their win-loss record from the last six months.
Championships: While winning a championship is a management decision and not up to the individual wrestler's whims, being crowned with a title belt does carry a certain amount of prestige, which is why it's important for our ratings.
Industry Influence: Does the team influence the wrestling game today? If so, how much, and how long is it likely to continue?
Mainstream Media Appeal: Lastly, how likely are non-wrestling fans to recognize the tag team?
Since the tag team champions are supposed to be the best that a brand and/or promotion has to offer, we will rate each major promotion's champions-- except AEW, who does not have any as of yet. Here are the top tag teams in the business today, rated on these criteria. The final slide will reveal who is the best active tag team today.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article belong to the writer and doesn't necessarily represent Sportskeeda's stand.
#1 Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson (The OC)
Karl Anderson was a founding member of the New Japan Pro Wrestling stable, Bullet Club. He teamed up with new recruit Luke Gallows for the first time in the 2013 World Tag League tournament. The newly minted duo wound up winning the tournament, earning them a title shot at the Killer Elite Squad's IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.
Gallows and Anderson reigned for over a year as champions and continued to be a dominant force in international wrestling until they signed with WWE in 2016. The duo has had their ups and downs on the WWE roster, but have managed to rack up title reigns, and are the current RAW Tag team champions.
Here are the grades for Gallows and Anderson.
Technical Wrestling Ability: Neither man is a master ring technician, but they are well above average for a team featuring a big man. Their ability to mesh well with other teams and help improve their image bumps them almost to the highest grade. B+
Interview/Promo Ability: Gallows and Anderson are more versatile on the microphone than many give them credit for. They can do both comedy and more serious roles with equal aplomb. B
Win/Loss Record: With seven losses and two wins, the duo doesn't grade well in this category. D
Championships: Gallows and Anderson are the current RAW Tag Team champions, which accounts for the best grade possible. A+
Industry Influence: When Gallows and Anderson were with Bullet Club, they enjoyed a great deal of influence on pro wrestling. However, their stock has fallen somewhat since they joined WWE. A run with AJ Styles as the newly-christened OC could change this up a bit. C
Overall Grade: B+ Gallows and Anderson are one of the best tag teams in wrestling today, and their grade reflects this.
#2 Big E and Xavier Woods (The New Day)
The New Day was put together in 2014 as a mid-card heel team, meant to make use of three Superstars who, while quite talented, seemed to be floundering on the roster.
Big E, Xavier Woods, and long-tenured WWE Superstar Kofi Kingston comprised the group. However, fans soon warmed to their over the top antics and colorful ring garb, and the New Day were repackaged as babyfaces.
Over that time, they have enjoyed a great deal of success, from breaking Demolition's record as the longest reigning tag team in WWE history to Kofi finally winning the WWE Championship.
Big E and Xavier Woods are the current Tag Team Champions on SmackDown Live, which is interesting because the Freebird Rule seems to have been suspended with Kofi as WWE Champion.
Here are Big E and Xavier's grades.
Technical Wrestling Ability: Both Big E and Xavier Woods are masters of their craft. Woods mixes high flying and striking based attacks into a deadly ballet, while Big E has both strength and speed, a rare combination for a heavyweight. They excel at making their opponents look good and telling stories in the ring. A+
Interview/Prom Ability: Big E's raspy voice can be heard before every New Day entrance, and Xavier Wood's eloquence could only come from his Ivy League education. Their ability to resonate with the fans literally turned their careers around. A+
Win/Loss Record: With fourteen wins and only four losses, the New Day scores high on this category. A
Championships: Big E and Woods recently captured the SmackDown tag team championships. A
Industry Influence: From their bright, anime-inspired garb and entrances, to Xavier Woods' use of social media, to the resurrection of the Freebird Rule, the New Day have massive influence on tag team wrestling. A
Mainstream Media Appeal: The New Day are well known to all wrestling fans, and have a smattering of recognition outside of wrestling due to Xavier Woods's video game podcast. A
Overall Grade: A Woods and Big E are near the top of the wrestling game today.
#3 Street Profits
The Street Profits have been in NXT ever since 2016, slowly climbing their way up the roster to the championship scene.
They defeated Heavy Machinery in the Dusty Rhodes Classic, setting the stage for later greatness. Though they fell to the Authors of Pain, they slowly worked their way to the top and are the current NXT Tag Team Champions. They also wrestled for Evolve and wore the tag team titles for a time.
Technical Wrestling Ability: Both Ford and Dawkins are skilled and athletic, but at times they can be a bit green and get lost in the ring. B-
Interview/Promo Ability: The Street Profits are so skilled on the mike, that they have been appearing on RAW to help promote the NXT brand. That should speak for itself. A+
Win/Loss Record: The Street Profits racked up 38 wins and only 13 losses during their busy NXT schedule, which is simply outstanding. A+
Championships: The Street Profits are the current NXT Tag Team champions and also reigned as the Evolve tag champs for a time, giving them the highest mark possible: A+
Mainstream Media appeal: The Street Profits are well known to many wrestling fans, but they have next to zero cross-media representation at the moment. D-
Industry Influence: The Street Profits's lightning-fast delivery and streetwise lingo make them on the cutting edge of pro wrestling talkers. B
Overall Grade: B+ The Street Profits are on their way to greatness but haven't quite achieved it yet. But if their antics on RAW in recent weeks are to go by, expect this duo to make some big splashes in WWE very soon.
#4 The North (Ethan Page and Josh Alexander)
Ethan Page and Josh Alexander have been fixtures on the indie scene as both singles stars and a tag team since the mid 2000s.
The duo has wrestled for Ring of Honor, and Ethan Page had been working for Impact/TNA for years until his long-time partner Alexander was brought in. The duo has been teaming as the North in Impact ever since April, and are that promotion's World Tag Team champions.
Here are the grades for the North.
Technical Wrestling Ability: The duo is as sound as you would expect from a pair of journeymen who can survive the grueling indie circuit. B+
Interview/Promo Ability: Ethan Page is a little better on the mic than his partner, but he's no Dwayne Johnson. C+
Win/Loss Record: As a duo, the North has seven wins and three losses. Not a lot of data to go on but an above-average record none the less. B
Championships: The North unseated perennial favorites LAX to capture the Impact tag team championships. A
Mainstream Media Appeal: The North isn't even that well known among wrestling fans, let alone the mainstream media. D
Industry Influence: The North don't particularly influence the sport overly much. D
Overall Grade: B- The North's limited time as a team in Impact and their lack of a strong social media footprint keep their overall grade low in spite of their ability.
#5 The Briscoes
Mark and Jay Briscoe are the long-time Ring of Honor performers who can take a licking and keep on kicking--butt, that is.
Every time a rumor starts to circulate that the Briscoes are going to leave Ring of Honor, they sign new contracts with the company. The duo is now a record-setting eleven-time world tag team champions with the company, which is a record that will probably never be broken.
How do the veteran duo fare on our grading scale?
Technical Wrestling Ability: From Redneck Kung Fu to Jay Briscoe's precise technical execution, the duo compliments each other quite well and are among the most outstanding performers working in pro wrestling today. A+
Promo/Interview Ability: The Briscoes can cut a promo with the best of them, without the need of glitzy stages or pyrotechnics or theme music. Their family's chicken ranch in Sandy Fork Delaware does just fine as a backdrop. A+
Win/Loss Record: With eight wins and five losses, the Briscoes still failed to achieve an impressive ratio for such a veteran team. B-
Championships: The Briscoes are eleven time Ring of Honor tag team champions, a rare feat. A
Mainstream Media Appeal: The Briscoes are somewhat known outside of wrestling, but unfortunately for all the wrong reasons. Jay in particular has said some things on social media that are out of touch with modern sensibilities. D
Industry Influence: The Briscoes revitalized tag team wrestling on the indie scene and their style has become the standard for the industry. B
Overall Grade: A- The Briscoes are a top tag team, but their poor record in recent months have hurt their stock somewhat.
#6 The Guerrillas of Destiny (GOD)
Formerly known as the Sons of Tonga, the Guerrillas of Destiny are members of the proud Samoan pro wrestling tradition. Their father is none other than King Haku/Meng, a fixture in both WWE and WCW.
Tama Tonga was a founding member of Bullet Club but was later joined by his brother. The two have steadily worked their way to the top of the NJPW tag team division, and have captured the IWGP Heavyweight tag team championship.
Here are the grades for G.O.D.
Technical Wrestling Ability: As expected from a team that works primarily in Japan, GOD is top tier performers, if still a bit green. B
Interview/Promo Ability: The due is somewhat polarizing. Either you love their miic work or you hate it. C+
Win/Loss Record: With 22 wins and 27 losses in the last six months, the GOD has a worse record than one might expect from tag team champions. D
Championships: The Duo not only hold the IWGP Tag titles, but they also reigned in the last six months as ROH Tag Team champions: A+
Mainstream media appeal: Tama Tonga has a strong social media presence, but people outside of wrestling fandom are unlikely to have heard of GOD. C
Industry Influence: The GOD are influencers when it comes to their use of social media to promote themselves, but in-ring their work is pretty standard. B-
Overall Grade: B- The Sons of Tonga have just ascended to the upper level of tag team wrestling, but they haven't made a huge impact on the sport as of yet.
#7 The Young Bucks
Our final team on the list represents All Elite Wrestling, but are not the champions as the promotion has yet to crown anyone with that honor.
But even though AEW doesn't yet have world tag team champions, the Young Bucks are the obvious choice to represent them for our competition. They are co-founders of AEW and have revolutionized the way indie wrestlers both perform and market themselves.
Here are the grades for the Young Bucks.
Technical Wrestling Ability: The Young Bucks are possibly the most skilled in-ring competitors in all of tag team wrestling today. They can strike, they can fly, and they can wrestle. A+
Interview/Promo Ability: Matt and Nick Jackson are good on the mic, and their ability to promote match cards and their own brand is second to none. A+
Win/Loss Record: In AEW, the Bucks have three wins and zero losses. This would normally result in an A, but with such a sparse amount of matches, their grade is lowered by one letter. B
Championships: There are no tag team championships in AEW as of yet, so the Bucks get a pass on this grade: NA
Industry Influence: As executives of the most talked-about upstart wrestling promotion in the world, AEW, the Young Bucks exert great influence. They have also normalized the practice of indie stars maintaining and owning their brand. A+
Mainstream Media Appeal: Despite a strong social media presence and their being the Elite podcast, few people outside of pro wrestling fandom would recognize the Bucks. C
Overall Grade: B+ The Bucks are at the top of their game but a small number of matches wrestled and a lack of any titles hurt their overall grade.
On our final slide, we'll tally the results and crown the best tag team in wrestling today.
The Top Active Tag Team in Wrestling: Xavier Woods and Big E
After crunching the numbers, the team that wins our competition is The New Day duo of Xavier Woods and Big E.
Though the competition was a close one, the New Day stand out for their total package. They can wrestle, talk, have cross media appeal, and their win/loss record and championship runs are impressive.
Rounding out the rest of our list, the Briscoes are in second place. The Young Bucks, Gallows and Anderson, and The Street Profits are tied for third. The G.O.D. and the North round out the rest of the list.
Gallows and Anderson: B+
Big E and Xavier Woods: A
Street Profits: B+
The North: B-
The Briscoes: A-
G.O.D.: B-
The Young Bucks: B+
Questions or comments? Please leave them after the article, and as always thanks for reading!
