Top 10 Tag Teams Of The 2010s
Who was the greatest duo of the decade?
Tag team wrestling is alive and well, perhaps even going through another boom period in the latter half of the decade and beyond.
Before we get to the ranking, I’m nipping this in the bud: The Revival are a tremendous duo, but they don’t eek out any of the teams mentioned below. They were arguably the tag team of the year in 2016, but injuries and shoddy booking on the main roster derailed their momentum. They’ve certainly gained steam in 2019, winning the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Titles, so maybe they’ll crack the list next decade.
10. The Shield
Obviously they’re a trio, but each member has won the Tag Team Titles with a fellow brother in arms, so they make the list. Plus, you simply can’t deny The Shield’s impact on WWE – the group propelled three NXT members into internationally recognized superstars. What many people forget is how short their initial run actually was – they debuted at Survivor Series 2012 and split by June of 2014. In that time, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns held the championships for five months, and after reuniting in 2017 and 2018, Rollins and Dean Ambrose would win the titles twice. Of course, Ambrose immediately betrayed Rollins after they won the second time, not exactly the makings of a great partnership.
9. Motor City Machine Guns
With their high-octane style, it’s no wonder that Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley were sidelined with numerous injuries over the past 10 years. However, when they were well, they were hell – winning the Tag Team Titles in both Impact and Ring of Honor. Both reigns lasted half a year and included thrilling matches with The Young Bucks, Beer Money and Team 3D.
8. LAX
Bursting onto the scene in 2017, Santana and Ortiz not only resurrected LAX, but also breathed new life into Impact Wrestling. Over the next two years, they became four-time Impact Tag Team Champions, holding the record for most combined days (662) as champions. Their feuds with oVe, The OGz and the Lucha Bros were the hottest things going in the company and their matches were constantly show stealers. After achieving everything there was to do in Impact, they’ve jumped to AEW to undoubtedly add to their accolades.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpPP_V0GiOw
7. Daniels & Kazarian
Whether they’re Bad Influence, The Addiction or SoCal Uncensored, Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian remain a force to be reckoned with. They won the Tag Team Titles twice in Impact Wrestling and ROH before recruiting Scorpio Sky to win the ROH Six-Man Tag Team Championships. Every time they seem to be broken up, it’s revealed to be only a ruse to further their agenda. A couple of ring generals and renowned veterans, they’re looking to cement their legacy in AEW throughout the 2020s.
6. Hardy Boyz
Arguably the top tag team of the 2000s, the Hardy Boyz weren’t finished making history, reinventing themselves halfway through the 2010s. Reuniting after Final Deletion, Broken Matt and Brother Nero pretty much took over Impact Wrestling with their Broken Universe shenanigans. They won the Impact Tag Team Titles from Decay in The Great War at Bound For Glory, and then went on an expedition for gold, winning titles in various independent promotions around the world before declaring themselves the “greatest tag team in all of space and time.” They even beat The Young Bucks to win the ROH Tag Team Titles before losing them in a hellacious ladder match at Supercard of Honor XI. Then, they shocked the world by returning to WWE at WrestleMania 33, winning the Raw Tag Team Titles in a four-way ladder match. They would go on to defeat The Usos for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles in April of 2019, only to quickly vacate them after Lars Sullivan injured Jeff.
5. Usos
Since debuting on Raw in 2010, Jimmy and Jey Uso have been the top duo in WWE. For the first half of the decade, the twin brothers were primarily faces, winning the Tag Team Titles twice in a makeshift division. Their act grew stale by 2015, but the brand split and a heel turn on SmackDown totally reinvigorated them. They’ve since gone on to win the brand’s Tag Team Titles four times and battle The New Day in a red hot rivalry, which included an epic Hell in a Cell match.
4. ReDRagon
Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly are the first duo in history to have won tag team championships in NJPW, ROH and WWE. They straight up dominated the ROH tag team division for the first half of the decade, holding the belts three times for a combined 672 days – trailing behind only The Briscoes for most amount of days as champions. They’ve done the same in NXT as The Undisputed Era, holding the belts three times per the Freedbird Rule. Their matches are often considered the best of the night and aside from Fish tearing his ACL and MCL, their consistency has been remarkable.
3. New Day
The New Day has transcended tag team wrestling – they’ve become a staple of pop culture. Merchandising mavens, they’re known around the world for their unicorn horns, colorful T-shirts and of course, Booty-Os. With Kofi Kingston’s unlikely WWE Championship reign, Xavier Woods’ uber-popular UpUpDownDown video game channel on YouTube and Big E’s popcorn-gobbling meme, the trio has become the cornerstone of WWE and the finest sport-entertainment ambassadors. And that’s not to mention being the longest-reigning WWE Tag Team Champions in history!
2. Briscoe Brothers
Starting the decade as six-time ROH Tag Team Champions, the Briscoe Brothers have proven themselves as the most reliable stars in the company. They’ve weathered many high-profile departures, picking up the slack and constantly delivering in the ring. They’ve added another five title reigns to their resume, establishing a record that will surely never be broken. Plus, they defeated Guerrillas of Destiny to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship in 2016, and along with Toru Yano, became the inaugural NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions.
1. The Young Bucks
Everything said about the Briscoe Brothers and New Day, well, The Young Bucks have done it better.
Matt and Nick Jackson not only started the decade as PWG Tag Team Champions; they were a year and a half into their reign. They’d go on to win the titles three more times, setting the record for most combined days (2,053) as champions. They won gold pretty much everywhere they went and have been voted Tag Team of the Year for multiple years by multiple publications.
In terms of pop culture appeal, The Young Bucks have launched a movement. They’ve chronicled their journey through the industry via their YouTube series “Being The Elite,” which has endeared them to millennials and Gen Z all over the globe. Plus, they were a major factor in Bullet Club T-shirts and other merchandise being sold in Hot Topic, an unfathomable feat for a non-WWE entity. Now they’ve set voyage with AEW, serving as executive vice presidents and a couple of the top stars in the promotion.
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