Since launching in 2019, one aspect that AEW has tried to hammer into fans when compared to WWE is that the company cares about and will always have a strong emphasis on tag team wrestling. This was seen from 2019 through much of 2022, with a stacked division that saw match of the year candidates appear regularly.
With the tag team division in AEW in a weird place right now, and with The Gunns officially becoming the 10th pair of AEW World Tag Team Champions, now is a great time to look back on the first four years of AEW and the first 9 Tag Team Champions and how they rank among each other.
9 The Gunns
Despite being quite green, Tony Khan & AEW have taken a bet by ending the reign of The Acclaimed in favor of putting the titles on Austin and Colten Gunn. Shocking the world by becoming AEW World Tag Team Champions, The Gunns are now in the midst of their first reign as champions and have even just re-signed with AEW, seemingly indicating a future as major players in the tag team scene.
While their in-ring work is not at the standard of some of the greats in AEW, The Gunns have showed a lot of promise recently, with their match against FTR in late 2022 and the subsequent funeral for FTR segment both being fairly outstanding performances from the young brothers. While their reign is in its infancy, many are expecting this to be a fully transitional run as champions, making it likely that they will remain towards the bottom echelon of former AEW Tag Team Champions.
8 SCU
The first-ever AEW World Tag Team Champions, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky will forever remain in the history books for AEW as they proved to be a surprise choice as the first champions.
While their reign would be short, the duo would have some great bouts against The Lucha Bros and The Young Bucks, successfully retaining their titles until falling to Kenny Omega & Hangman Page in early 2020.
7 FTR
After leaving WWE in favor of AEW's tag team division that was on fire at the time, Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler would arrive in AEW under the new name of FTR. The duo would originally arrive as faces, though they would quickly turn heel and would score Tully Blanchard as their manager in the process. Defeating Kenny Omega & Hangman Page to win the belts, FTR would have a shockingly short time with the titles.
Reigning from September 2020 until November 2020, FTR would fail to have the greatest reign witht he tag titles, though notable matches would include their title victory over Hangman & Omega, a title defense against Best Friends, and their first meeting against The Young Bucks at AEW Full Gear 2020, where they would be defeated.
6 Jurassic Express
One of the bright young acts that arrived in AEW as the company was launching in 2019 would be Jurassic Express, with Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus appearing to be two future stars for the company. While they would struggle to put things together in the early days of the company, by 2021 things would begin turning around for them.
With Jungle Boy breaking out as a singles star in 2021, more emphasis was added to the team and in January 2022, the duo would defeat the Lucha Bros to become AEW World Tag Team Champions. Their reign saw Jurassic Express defend against teams with lower stock including The Acclaimed, Dark Order, and The Gunn Club, though a few huge matches would elevate the reign, with a defense against reDRagon, a triple threat against reDRagon and The Young Bucks, another triple threat against Swerve In Our Glory & Team Taz, and finally a ladder match that they would lost the titles in against The Young Bucks.
5 Lucha Bros
After remaining one of the hottest acts in AEW since the company first launched in 2019, The Lucha Bros would finally get the success that they were destined for in the fall of 2021. Facing off against longtime rivals, The Young Bucks, at AEW All Out 2021, Fenix & Penta would defeat the champions in a Steel Cage Match that many deemed an instant classic.
From there, their title reign would suffer from less than great booking, though The Lucha Bros would maintain high quality performances in order to help elevate each of their matches. Their reign would be highlighted by a pair of matches against FTR before losing the belts to Jurassic Express at the start of 2022, though by the end of the year, the Lucha Bros would hold gold once more, becoming the second-ever AEW World Trios Champions alongside PAC.
4 Swerve In Our Glory
A team that most fans assumed would not last very long would be formed in 2022, as both Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland would make their debuts for All Elite Wrestling in the early portion of the year. With both men lacking any real direction in the Spring, they would come together as a tag-team on AEW Dark before picking up a number of big wins.
In a shocking moment, Swerve In Our Glory would defeat The Young Bucks to become AEW World Tag Team Champions at Fyter Fest 2022 before having quite a fun reign as champions. Their reign would ultimately be highlighted by a pair of matches against The Acclaimed, who would ultimately defeat Swerve & Lee at AEW Grand Slam 2022, ending a surprisingly fun tag team title reign.
3 The Acclaimed
After having a meteoric rise in 2022 with the introduction of Daddy Ass into their group, The Acclaimed were one of wrestling's great breakout acts of 2022. After fighting their way from AEW Dark to regular TV appearances, Max Caster & Anthony Bowens would eventually get a shot at the AEW World Tag Team Championship at AEW All Out 2022.
Failing to defeat Swerve In Our Glory in their first attempt, the duo would succeed at Arthur Ashe Stadium to great fanfare. From there, the young duo would continue to put in great performances, with a great defense against Keith & Swerve at Full Gear, a fantastic TV match against FTR, and two shockingly great title defenses against Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal in early 2023 before losing the belts to The Gunns.
2 Hangman Page & Kenny Omega
After both men had rocky starst to their AEW careers, with Hangman failing to win the AEW World Championship at All Out 2019 and Omega losing his first three PPV matches to Chris Jericho, PAC, & Jon Moxley, the two would come together as a thrown-together tag team towards the end of the year. Putting together a number of wins, Omega & Page would eventually earn the right to challenge SCU for the AEW World Tag Team Titles, and would defeat them on the Jericho Cruise.
From there, Omega & Hangman would have a number of stellar matches, including a bout at AEW Revolution 2020 against The Young Bucks that is regarded as one of the best Tag Team Matches of all time. The pair would reign for much of 2020 until dropping the belts to FTR at All Out 2020 that September.
1 The Young Bucks
Taking the crown as the best pair of AEW World Tag Team Champions thus far, as well as the only team to have 2 reigns, The Young Bucks' first reign with the titles would be a truly sensational run for the legendary tag team. Defeating FTR to win the belts in late 2020, Matt and Nick Jackson would go on to have an incredible reign, lasting from November 2020 until September 2021.
During their time as champions, The Bucks would transition from babyfaces to heels, joining The Super Elite alongside Kenny Omega & The Good Brothers, a polarizing choice to some. Regardless, the Young Bucks would elevate others and regularly deliver some of the best tag team matches during their time with the belts, including notable matches against The Acclaimed, SCU, Eddie Kingston & Jon Moxley, and The Lucha Bros.