WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
(formerly the WWF, the WWWF, and
Capitol Wrestling
Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. was an American sports promotion company. It was run by Vincent J. McMahon from 1953 to 1982. Operating as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing p ...
) has maintained at least one primary tag team championship for its male performers since 1958 (except for a two year interim between 1967 and 1969). During periods of
brand division, separate tag team titles have been used on each brand.
For their female performers, a tag team championship existed from 1983 to 1989. The title was abandoned in 1989 due to lack of depth in the division. In 2019, WWE introduced a new women's tag team championship, shared by
Raw
Raw is an adjective usually describing:
* Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made
* Raw food, uncooked food
Raw or RAW may also refer to:
Computing and electronics
* .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
and
SmackDown
''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...
, followed by one for the
NXT
NXT may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010
** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory
* ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...
brand in 2021.
Overview of titles
Male
Female
History
Male
Capitol Wrestling
Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. was an American sports promotion company. It was run by Vincent J. McMahon from 1953 to 1982. Operating as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing p ...
set up its first tag team championship, the
NWA United States Tag Team Championship
The NWA United States Tag Team Championship is a name used for several secondary tag team championship used by various National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) members since 1958. There are eleven different versions of the NWA United States Tag Team Champ ...
in 1958. When Capitol seceded from the
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc.
Founded in 1948, the NWA ...
in 1963 and became the
World Wide Wrestling Federation
Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. was an American sports promotion company. It was run by Vincent J. McMahon from 1953 to 1982. Operating as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing p ...
(WWWF), the championship became the WWWF United States Tag Team Championship. In 1967,
WWWF World Heavyweight Champion
The WWE Championship is a World championship (professional wrestling), world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand di ...
Bruno Sammartino
Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (October 6, 1935 – April 18, 2018) was an Italian-born American professional wrestler, best known for his work with the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, now WWE). There, he held the WWWF World Heavywei ...
teamed with
Spiros Arion
Spiros Arion ( el, Σπύρος Αρίων) born Spyridon Manousakis ( el, Σπυρίδων Μανουσάκης) (born September 1940) is an Egyptian-born Greek former professional wrestler who had an extensive and successful career, mainly in ...
to win the belts. Due to Sammartino being the world champion, the team vacated the tag titles which were then abandoned.
For two years, the WWWF had no tag team championship until The Rising Suns (
Toru Tanaka
Charles J. Kalani Jr. (January 6, 1930 – August 22, 2000) was an American professional wrestler, professional boxer, college football player, soldier, actor, and martial artist who, in fighting rings, was also known as Professor Toru Tanaka, o ...
and
Mitsu Arakawa
Mack Mitsukazu Arakawa (May 23, 1927 – April 17, 1997) was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the Minneapolis, Minnesota-based NWA Minneapolis Boxing & Wrestling Club/American Wrestling Association.
E ...
) 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
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
in June of that year. This became the WWWF's tag team title until 1971, mostly being held by
The Mongols
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
. When they left the WWWF, taking the titles with them, the promotion established their own original world tag team championship, the
WWWF World Tag Team Championship. In 1979, the promotion became the
World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
(WWF) and the tag titles were renamed the WWF Tag Team Championship until 1983 when they became the WWF World Tag Team Championship.
In May 1985,
Tatsumi Fujinami
(born December 28, 1953) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE on a legend's contract. Fujinami is most well known for his long tenure with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a six-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion. H ...
and
Kengo Kimura
is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, best known under the ring name and for his many years working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in Japan.
Professional wrestling career
Japan Wrestling Association (1972–1973)
Kimura made his pr ...
beat
Dick Murdoch
Hoyt Richard Murdoch (August 16, 1946 – June 15, 1996) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names "Dirty" Dick Murdoch and "Captain Redneck". He was best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation and New Jap ...
and
Adrian Adonis
Keith Adonis Franke (September 15, 1953 – July 4, 1988) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Adrian Adonis. He was best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association and World Wrestling Federati ...
in a tournament final in Japan for a revival of the old International Tag Team Title of 1969–1971, only for the title to be abandoned again when New Japan and the WWF fell out in October 1985. By 1988, wrestling magazine ''
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...
'' was calling for the establishment of a secondary WWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (modelled on the
WCW United States Tag Team Championship
The NWA United States Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship contested for previously in the United States-based Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) promotions, with the title now i ...
) due to the glut of tag team competition in the promotion.
["Too much talent - It's Time For A WWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship" - ]Pro Wrestling Illustrated
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...
December 1988 This never took place, but in 1991, WWF-affiliated promotion
UWF Japan introduced the
WWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship
The WWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship was a championship in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) during 1991. The belts were abandoned later in July 1991 when the WWF severed ties with UWF Japan.
Reigns
See also
* List of f ...
, claimed by the team of
Perro Aguayo
Pedro Aguayo Damián (18 January 1946 — 3 July 2019) better known as "(El) Perro Aguayo" (Aguayo the dog) and El Can de Nochistlan (The Nochistlan Dog) was a Mexican wrestler through the 1970s to the 1990s.
Aguayo was the first person ever ...
and
Gran Hamada
, better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler, the first to adopt the high-flying Mexican lucha libre style. He has wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, the Universal Wrestling Federation, Michinoku Pro and All Japan Pro ...
. This title was abandoned when the affiliation ended later that same year.
In 2001, the
WWF bought rival company World Championship Wrestling (WCW), acquiring the
WCW World Tag Team Championship
The WCW World Tag Team Championship (previously NWA (Mid-Atlantic) World Tag Team Championship) was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). ...
, among other titles, which was defended on WWF programming until that year's
Survivor Series
Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the sec ...
, where the WCW World Tag Team Championship was unified into the WWF World Tag Team Championship.
After WWF's initial
brand extension
Brand extension or brand stretching is a marketing strategy in which a firm marketing a product with a well-developed image uses the same brand name in a different product category. The new product is called a spin-off.
Organizations use this ...
in the spring of 2002 and the renaming of the company as
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
(WWE), the tag titles became the WWE Tag Team Championship and champions
Billy and Chuck
Billy and Chuck were a professional wrestling tag team of Billy Gunn and Chuck Palumbo who performed in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 2001 to 2002. They were two-time WWE World Tag Team Champions. The two men were depicted as a same-sex ...
were drafted to the
SmackDown
''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...
brand. That summer, however,
The Un-Americans
The Un-Americans (originally known as The Anti-Americans) were a heel Canadian professional wrestling stable in World Wrestling Entertainment who were active from 2002 to 2003. The stable was originally composed of three Canadian wrestlers: La ...
(
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
and
Lance Storm
Lance Timothy Evers (; born April 3, 1969), known professionally by his ring name Lance Storm, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Extreme Championship Wrestling (EC ...
) would win the championship and shortly thereafter transfer it to the
Raw
Raw is an adjective usually describing:
* Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made
* Raw food, uncooked food
Raw or RAW may also refer to:
Computing and electronics
* .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
brand where it was later renamed the World Tag Team Championship, effectively leaving the SmackDown brand without a tag team title. As a result, then-
SmackDown general manager Stephanie McMahon
Stephanie McMahon Levesque (born Stephanie Marie McMahon; ; September 24, 1976) is an American businesswoman and retired professional wrestler. She is the current chairwoman and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the world's largest profe ...
introduced
a new WWE Tag Team Championship and commissioned it to be the tag team title for the SmackDown brand.
The two titles were
unified in 2009 and were collectively referred to as the "Unified WWE Tag Team Championship" while officially remaining independently active until the World Tag Team Championship was formally decommissioned in 2010,
leaving the newer title as WWE's only tag team championship. As a result of the
2016 draft, the championship became exclusive to Raw and was renamed the Raw Tag Team Championship, and SmackDown created the
SmackDown Tag Team Championship
The WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, representing the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two male tag team championships for WWE's ...
as a counterpart title. In addition, WWE's former
developmental territory
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...
NXT
NXT may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010
** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory
* ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...
established the
NXT Tag Team Championship
The NXT Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on January 23 ...
in January 2013, which became one of WWE's main titles for male tag teams in September 2019 when NXT became recognized as WWE's third major brand. Another title, the
NXT UK Tag Team Championship
The NXT UK Tag Team Championship was a men's professional wrestling tag team championship that was created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It was defended on the NXT UK brand division, a sister brand of WWE's developmental territory N ...
, debuted for NXT's sister brand
NXT UK
''NXT UK'' is a professional wrestling television programme that was produced exclusively in the United Kingdom by the American promotion WWE. It aired on BT Sport and 5Action (previously known as Paramount Network). In the United States, the s ...
in 2019, but is recognized as being a step below the other three. The Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and NXT UK tag team titles are WWE's currently active tag team championships for its male performers.
Female
Prior to 1983, the WWF did not have a tag team championship for their women's division. In 1983, the reigning
NWA Women's World Tag Team Champions of
Velvet McIntyre
Velvet McIntyre (born November 24, 1962) is an Irish-Canadian retired professional wrestler. After beginning her career in 1980, she wrestled in American independent promotions before joining the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). She h ...
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
The Glamour Girls was a female professional wrestling tag team. The members were Judy Martin and Leilani Kai
History Early career and training
Leilani Kai was trained by The Fabulous Moolah in 1975 right after she finished high school at ' ...
(
Leilani Kai
Patty Seymour (born January 23, 1960) is a semi-retired professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Leilani Kai. She began training with The Fabulous Moolah right after finishing high school. In the 1980s, as part of the World Wrestling F ...
and
Judy Martin) were the final champions.
The promotion would go without a women's tag team championship for many years. Talk of reviving the titles began circulating in 2012, when a WWE.com article was posted in favor of resurrecting the titles. Female performers were also in favor of adding a women's tag team championship. Online speculation began when WWE announced their first all female event,
Evolution
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
, for October, but the titles did not appear. On the December 24 episode of ''
Monday Night Raw
''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show fe ...
'', WWE Chairman
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the w ...
officially announced that a new
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship
The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling women's tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is the only women's tag team championship for WWE's main roster, thus is defended across both ...
would debut in 2019 (and would not carry the lineage of the original title).
The Boss 'n' Hug Connection (
Bayley and
Sasha Banks
Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado (born January 26, 1992) is an American professional wrestler and actress. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sasha Banks.
Banks previously wrestled on ...
) became the inaugural champions at
Elimination Chamber
The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was founded by Chris Jericho , created and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel st ...
in February. It was also revealed that the titles would be defended across Raw, SmackDown, and NXT.
![Sasha Banks and Bayley](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Sasha_Banks_and_Bayley.jpg)
The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship would continue to be defended on NXT until March 2021. On the March 10, 2021 episode of ''
NXT
NXT may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010
** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory
* ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...
'', NXT General Manager
William Regal
Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is known for his over 20 years spent in WWE, as both a performer and an on-screen authority, and for his ti ...
established the
NXT Women's Tag Team Championship
The NXT Women's Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling women's tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. The current cha ...
, naming
Dakota Kai
Cheree Georgina Crowley (born 6 May 1988) is a New Zealand-born professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Dakota Kai. She is a member of Damage CTRL and is one half of the cur ...
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 The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is an annual professional wrestling tag team tournament held by the American promotion WWE, and is featured on its NXT brand, having first been established in 2015. In subsequent years, wrestlers from the NXT UK and ...
. The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship subsequently ceased being available to NXT.
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 WWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship was a championship in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) during 1991. The belts were abandoned later in July 1991 when the WWF severed ties with UWF Japan.
Reigns
See also
* List of f ...
. The team of
Perro Aguayo
Pedro Aguayo Damián (18 January 1946 — 3 July 2019) better known as "(El) Perro Aguayo" (Aguayo the dog) and El Can de Nochistlan (The Nochistlan Dog) was a Mexican wrestler through the 1970s to the 1990s.
Aguayo was the first person ever ...
and
Gran Hamada
, better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler, the first to adopt the high-flying Mexican lucha libre style. He has wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, the Universal Wrestling Federation, Michinoku Pro and All Japan Pro ...
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
The following list shows the 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.
Inaugural WWE Tag Team Championship holders
The following list shows the inaugural Male and Female WWE Tag Team Championship belt holders and the years that they were first ever won in WWE history.
Male
Female
See also
*
World championships in WWE
WWE has maintained several professional wrestling world championships since Capitol Wrestling Corporation seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance in 1963 to become the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), which was later subjected to vario ...
*
Women's championships in WWE
References
{{WWE
Tag team wrestling championships