Aller au contenu principal

Tag team championships in WWE


Tag team championships in WWE


The American professional wrestling promotion WWE has maintained several men's and women's tag team championships (except for a two-year interim between 1967 and 1969) since Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in 1963 to become the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), which was later subjected to various name changes, including World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)—in April 2011, the company ceased using its full name and has since just been referred to as WWE. The first men's tag team title, the Northeast version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship, preceded the company's creation, as it was established in 1957 for CWC as a version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship, while the first women's tag team title, the WWF Women's Tag Team Championship, was established in 1983. Whenever the WWE brand extension has been implemented (2002–2011; 2016–present), separate tag team championships have been created or allocated for each brand.

As of 2024, WWE promotes three men's and one women's tag team championships. Two of the men's titles, the World Tag Team Championship on Raw and the WWE Tag Team Championship on SmackDown, are regarded as world tag team championships, while the third men's title is for WWE's developmental brand, NXT, the NXT Tag Team Championship. The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship is the only women's tag team championship in WWE and is defended across Raw, SmackDown, and NXT.

Overview of titles

Male

Female

Summary of championships

Male

WWWF United States Tag Team Championship (1958–1967)

The WWWF United States Tag Team Championship was the second men's tag team championship to be contested for in WWE, at the time known as the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). It was originally established in 1958 for Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) as a version of the NWA United States Tag Team Championship and the inaugural champions were Mark Lewin and Don Curtis. When CWC seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in 1963 and became the WWWF, the championship subsequently became the WWWF United States Tag Team Championship. In 1967, WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino teamed with Spiros Arion to win the belts. Due to Sammartino being the world champion, the team vacated the tag titles which were then abandoned.

WWF International Tag Team Championship (1969–1971, 1985)

The WWF International Tag Team Championship was the third men's tag team title to be contested in the company. For the two years following the abandonment of the WWWF United States Tag Team Championship, the WWWF had no tag team title until The Rising Suns (Toru Tanaka and Mitsu Arakawa) arrived in the promotion in September 1969 with the WWWF International Tag Team Championship, which they claimed to have won in a tournament in Tokyo, Japan in June of that year. This became the WWWF's tag team title until 1971, mostly being held by The Mongols (Bepo Mongol and Geeto Mongol). When they left the WWWF in 1971, they took the titles with them. In May 1985, six years after the company was renamed World Wrestling Federation (WWF), Tatsumi Fujinami and Kengo Kimura beat Dick Murdoch and Adrian Adonis in a tournament final in Japan for a revival of the rebranded WWF International Tag Team Championship only for the title to be abandoned again when relations between New Japan Pro-Wrestling and the WWF fell out in October that year.

World Tag Team Championship (1971–2010)

The original World Tag Team Championship was the fourth men's tag team title to be contested in WWE, however, it was the first world tag team championship to be established by the company. After the company lost the WWWF International Tag Team Championship, the WWWF established the WWWF World Tag Team Championship in 1971 and the inaugural champions were the team of Luke Graham and Tarzan Tyler. In 1979, the promotion became the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and the tag titles were renamed the WWF Tag Team Championship until 1983 when they became the WWF World Tag Team Championship.

After WWF's initial brand extension in the spring of 2002 and the renaming of the company as World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), the tag titles became the WWE Tag Team Championship and champions Billy and Chuck were drafted to the SmackDown brand. That summer, however, The Un-Americans (Christian and Lance Storm) would win the championship and shortly thereafter transfer it to the Raw brand where it was later renamed the World Tag Team Championship. SmackDown subsequently established their own WWE Tag Team Championship. After several years, in April 2009, the titles would be unified as the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship, but both titles remained independently active. The champions defended the unified title across all brands until the World Tag Team Championship was formally decommissioned in August 2010 in favor of continuing the lineage of the WWE Tag Team Championship, which dropped the "unified" moniker. The final World Tag Team Champions were The Hart Dynasty (Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith), who continued on as the WWE Tag Team Champions.

WWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (1991)

The WWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship was the fifth men's tag team title under the company's banner, but it was contested in the WWF-affiliated promotion UWF Japan. By 1988, wrestling magazine Pro Wrestling Illustrated was calling for the establishment of a secondary tag team championship (modelled on the WCW United States Tag Team Championship) due to the glut of tag team competition in the promotion. This never took place, but in 1991, UWF Japan introduced the WWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship, claimed by the team of Perro Aguayo and Gran Hamada. This title was abandoned when the affiliation ended later that same year, with Aguayo and Hamada as the only title holders.

WCW World Tag Team Championship (1975–2001)

The WCW World Tag Team Championship was established in 1975, originally contested under the NWA banner, then later, World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and finally, the WWF. The title was originally a version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship for Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, run by Jim Crockett Promotions of the NWA. The Minnesota Wrecking Crew (Gene Anderson and Ole Anderson) were the inaugural champions. It then became the world tag team championship of WCW when the promotion seceded from the NWA in 1991. In March 2001, the WWF bought rival company WCW, acquiring the WCW World Tag Team Championship, among other titles. It was subsequently defended on WWF programming—the fifth overall men's tag team title contested in the company—until Survivor Series in November that year. At the event, reigning WCW Tag Team Champions The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) defeated reigning WWF Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz (Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy) to unify the titles, retiring WCW's title in the process.

World Tag Team Championship (2002–present)

The current World Tag Team Championship was established in 2002 and is one of WWE's two currently active world tag team championships for the main roster, defended on the Raw brand. It was originally established as the WWE Tag Team Championship, being the sixth overall men's tag team title contested in the company, but the second world tag team championship established by WWE. As a result of the original World Tag Team Championship becoming exclusive to Raw in the 2002 brand extension, then-SmackDown general manager Stephanie McMahon introduced the WWE Tag Team Championship and commissioned it to be the tag team title for the SmackDown brand. The inaugural champions were Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit.

After several years, in April 2009, the WWE Tag Team Championship and World Tag Team Championship were unified as the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship, but both titles remained independently active. The champions defended the unified title across all brands until the World Tag Team Championship was formally decommissioned in August 2010 in favor of continuing the lineage of the WWE Tag Team Championship, which dropped the "unified" moniker. The first brand extension then ended in August 2011.

With the reintroduction of the brand extension in July 2016 and the subsequent draft that month, the championship became exclusive to Raw and was renamed the Raw Tag Team Championship, and SmackDown created the SmackDown Tag Team Championship as its counterpart title. From May 2022 to April 2024, the title was held and defended together with the SmackDown Tag Team Championship as the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship, and both titles remained independently active. With the separation of the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship, the Raw Tag Team Championship was renamed as the World Tag Team Championship on April 15, 2024, followed by the SmackDown title becoming the WWE Tag Team Championship.

Unified WWE Tag Team Championship (2009–2010)

The Unified WWE Tag Team Championship was the term used in WWE to refer to both the original World Tag Team Championship and previous WWE Tag Team Championship being held and defended together by the same team, but both titles were independently active. The titles were held together under the "unified" banner from April 2009 to August 2010, with a total of six teams holding the titles during this time, with one individual, Chris Jericho, holding them twice as he held the unified title with two different teams. The holders of the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship appeared and defended the titles across all three brands at the time: Raw, SmackDown, and ECW—the latter of which was established in May 2006 but disbanded in February 2010.

At WrestleMania 25 in April 2009, reigning WWE Tag Team Champions The Colóns (Carlito and Primo) defeated reigning World Tag Team Champions John Morrison and The Miz, and thus unified the titles into what became known as the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship, the umbrella term for what officially remained two active championships that were now collectively defended. The championships would be defended as the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship on any brand until August 2010. That month, the Anonymous Raw General Manager announced that the original World Tag Team Championship would be decommissioned in favor of continuing the WWE Tag Team Championship. The Hart Dynasty (Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith) were subsequently the final team recognized as the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions. The WWE Tag Team Championship, which dropped the "unified" moniker, subsequently became the sole tag team championship in WWE, available to any brand before the first brand extension ended in August 2011.

NXT Tag Team Championship (2013–present)

The NXT Tag Team Championship is the tag team championship of WWE's developmental territory, NXT. The title was established in January 2013 and the inaugural champions were British Ambition (Adrian Neville and Oliver Grey). It is the seventh overall men's tag team title to be contested in the company. In September 2019, it became regarded as one of WWE's main titles for male tag teams when NXT became recognized as WWE's third major brand. However, NXT reverted to being WWE's developmental brand in September 2021.

WWE Tag Team Championship (2016–present)

The WWE Tag Team Championship was established in 2016 and is one of WWE's two currently active world tag team championships for the main roster, representing the SmackDown brand. It is the eighth overall men's tag team title contested in the company, but the third world tag team championship established by WWE. Originally established as the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, its creation came as a result of the reintroduction of the brand extension in July 2016, when the previous WWE Tag Team Championship became exclusive to Raw and was renamed the Raw Tag Team Championship, thus SmackDown created the SmackDown Tag Team Championship as its counterpart title. Heath Slater and Rhyno were the inaugural champions. From May 2022 to April 2024, the title was held and defended together with the Raw Tag Team Championship as the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship, and both titles remained independently active. Shortly after the titles were split at WrestleMania XL, the Raw title became the World Tag Team Championship while the SmackDown title became the WWE Tag Team Championship.

NXT UK Tag Team Championship (2018–2022)

The NXT UK Tag Team Championship was the tag team championship for the NXT UK brand, a sister brand of NXT based in the United Kingdom. It was the ninth overall men's tag team title contested in the company, and the inaugural champions were James Drake and Zack Gibson. It was established in 2018, however, after the announcement of the closure of NXT UK, the title was retired when it was unified into the NXT Tag Team Championship at Worlds Collide in September 2022. At the event, Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince and Kit Wilson) defeated Gallus (Mark Coffey and Wolfgang), reigning NXT Tag Team Champions The Creed Brothers (Brutus Creed and Julius Creed), and reigning NXT UK Tag Team Champions Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs in a fatal four-way tag team elimination match to unify the tag team championships, with Jensen and Briggs recognized as the final NXT UK Tag Team Champions.

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship (2022–2024)

The Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship was the term used in WWE to refer to both the Raw Tag Team Championship and SmackDown Tag Team Championship being held and defended together by the same team. From May 2022 to April 2024, the holders of the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship could appear and defend the titles on both the Raw and SmackDown brands.

On the May 20, 2022, episode of SmackDown, reigning SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) defeated reigning Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro (Randy Orton and Riddle) in a Winners Take All match to become recognized as the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions. Although WWE billed the match as a unification match, both titles remained independently active. For the vast majority of title defenses between May 2022 and April 2024, the titles were defended together, but there were a couple of occasions in early 2023 where the titles were defended separately.

There were four teams that were recognized as the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions, with one team and three individuals recognized twice. Jey Uso held the undisputed title with two different partners, while The Judgment Day (Finn Bálor and Damian Priest) were the only team to hold the undisputed title twice. They were also the final team recognized as Undisputed Champions as at WrestleMania XL Night 1 on April 6, 2024, they defended the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship in a Six-Pack Tag Team Ladder match in which both sets of titles had to be retrieved to win. The titles were subsequently split as A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory and Grayson Waller) retrieved the SmackDown titles while Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) retrieved the Raw titles.

Female

WWF Women's Tag Team Championship (1983–1989)

The WWF Women's Tag Team Championship was the company's first women's tag team championship, established in 1983. In 1983, reigning NWA Women's World Tag Team Champions Velvet McIntyre and Princess Victoria joined the WWF. As the WWF had withdrawn from the NWA, which owned the championship, McIntyre and Victoria were recognized as the first WWF Women's Tag Team Champions. The championship continued until 1989, when the promotion abandoned it due to lack of performers in the division. The Glamour Girls (Leilani Kai and Judy Martin) were the final champions.

WWE Women's Tag Team Championship (2018–present)

The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship was introduced on the December 24, 2018, episode of Raw and is the only women's tag team championship in WWE, shared by the Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brands. After three decades of not having a women's tag team championship and with large support from fans and female wrestlers alike, the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship was established and then debuted in 2019. The Boss 'n' Hug Connection (Bayley and Sasha Banks) became the inaugural champions at Elimination Chamber in February. The title was originally established to be defended across the Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brands. However, in March 2021, after a dispute over the title, the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship was established, thus the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship became no longer available to NXT. On the June 23, 2023, episode of SmackDown, reigning WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler defeated the reigning NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn in a unification match where the NXT title was unified into the WWE title, retiring the NXT title and subsequently making the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship available to NXT again.

NXT Women's Tag Team Championship (2021–2023)

The NXT Women's Tag Team Championship was the women's tag team championship of WWE's developmental brand NXT. The title was established on the March 10, 2021, episode of NXT, where NXT General Manager William Regal unveiled the championship, naming Dakota Kai and Raquel González as the first champions, due to the controversial ending of their match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship the week prior and their having won the first Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. It would be a short-lived championship, as two years later on the June 23, 2023, episode of SmackDown, reigning WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler defeated reigning NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn in a unification match where the NXT title was unified into the WWE title, subsequently retiring the NXT title with Fyre and Dawn recognized as the final champions.

Champions

Current champions

The following list shows the wrestlers that are currently holding all active tag team championships in WWE.

Retired championships

The following list shows retired tag team championships and the final title holders before the belts were deactivated in WWE.

Inaugural championship holders

The following lists shows the inaugural holders for each tag championship created and/or promoted by WWE.

Longest championship reigns

Male

Top 10 tag team championship reigns

The following list shows the top 10 tag team championship reigns in WWE history.

Specific record for each championship

The following list shows the longest reigning champion for each tag team championship created and/or promoted by WWE, with the exception of the WWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship. The team of Perro Aguayo and Gran Hamada won the inaugural championship on January 7, 1991. The title was abandoned at an unknown date, without ever being lost to another team. The length of their reign can thus not be determined.

Titles are listed in order of creation.

Female

Top 10 tag team championship reigns

The following list shows the top 10 tag team championship reigns in WWE history.

Specific record for each championship

The following list shows the longest reigning champion for each tag team championship created and/or promoted by WWE.

Titles are listed in order of creation.

Most championship reigns

Male

The following lists shows the wrestlers with the most reigns for each tag team championship created and/or promoted by WWE.

By team

By wrestler

Female

The following lists shows the wrestlers with the most reigns for each tag team championship created and/or promoted by WWE.

By team

By wrestler

Most total reigns

Male

The following list shows the male wrestlers who have the most tag team championship reigns in total as individuals, combining all titles they have held as recognized by WWE. This list also shows the titles that they won to achieve this record.

Female

The following list shows the female wrestlers who have the most reigns in total for women's tag team championships, combining all titles they have held as recognized by WWE. This list also shows the titles that they won to achieve this record (minimum of three reigns).

See also

  • Secondary championships in WWE
  • Women's championships in WWE
  • World championships in WWE

Notes

References


Text submitted to CC-BY-SA license. Source: Tag team championships in WWE by Wikipedia (Historical)