Tag team wrestling is one of the most important parts of the indsutry, and wrestling has seen many the rise and fall of many different tag teams.
Some were small and didn’t have much effects in the long run, but some were game changing.
Following Bound For Glory and Rob Van Dam betraying Rhyno in their tag team title match, it brings to mind that although there have been many memorable alliances in wrestling in the past, but as is the rule, all things must come to an end.
You will find that even the greatest tag teams will have a member turn on another, effectively splitting the team for good. Sometimes it could mean great things for everyone involved, sometimes not. In this article we’ll take a look at five top tag team breakups.
5. The Bella Twins
Love them or hate them, The Bella Twins were a successful tag team that not only excelled in playing their characters well but also sold merch and were loved by their target demographic. They were the center of the women’s division, and both Nikki and Brie Bella held the DIvas Championship. This was before the introduction of the Women’s Tag Team Title unfortunately, or they would have held the titles multiple times.
The split happened at SummerSlam 2014 when Nikki turned on Brie to side with Stephanie McMahon. Not going into too many details here, as not only does it lack any substance but it’s just not really worth writing about, but the line “I wish you died in the womb” was uttered.
Yeah.
The Bella Twins didn’t deserve this angle, and the split was never needed.
4. The Hardy Boyz
Two best friends, tag team partners, and real-life brothers, Matt and Jeff Hardy were expected to be together forever. A lot of people liked Jeff over Matt though, and that didn’t sit well with Matt.
The team was separated in 2002 with a jealous brother story, as Jeff was getting a successful singles run while Matt was relegated to working on WWE Heat. The two would then feud again at Royal Rumble 2009, as Matt costed Jeff his WWE title, and the duo even had an Extreme Rules match against each other at WrestleMania XXV.
3. The Shield
The Shield was arguably one the biggest things that happened to the WWE in recent memory. Not only were they dominating the entire locker room, but Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose were very over with the fans.
While they reigned over the WWE for two years, member Rollins decided it was time for him to go solo, and turned on his members with a steel chair in a shocking twist. After the team’s fall, Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns would go on to become the biggest names in the WWE, and become essential names for the company.
2. Edge & Christian
Edge and Christian, much like the Hardy Boyz, were known to put on amazing TLC matches. Jealousy was the cause of the split here too, as Christian appeared to be jealous of Edge when he won the 2001 King of the Ring tournament.
The seven-time tag team champs were just broken apart with Christian turning on Edge with his “One-Man Con-Chair-To”, which nobody was prepared for. Both went their separate ways as singles wrestlers from there on, and saw success in their own right. However, Edge was clearly the main star here, and the Captain Charisma never reached the Rated R Superstar’s heights.
1. The Rockers
The Rockers were one of the biggest tag teams of their time, and were so popular that WWE decided to let them win over the Hart Foundation. However, what happened on December 2, 1991 changed everything. Shawn Michaels sending his former partner Marty Jannetty through a glass window of Brutus Beefcake’s Barber Shop is one of the most iconic tag team breakups in history. The breakup pretty much changed the history of not only both the wrestlers, but the company itself.
Michaels would be propelled into his solo journey in WWE where he would go on to become one of, if not the greatest wrestlers of all time. Jannetty, on the other hand, would struggle to make it for himself and would fade into obscurity.
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