Some of the best tag teams in WWE history were never world champions, such as The Dudley Boyz, the Steiner Brothers, or The Usos. This is not surprising, since the tag team division was created precisely for those wrestlers who do not belong to the world title picture.
However, on some occasions, the main eventers, the world champions (former or present), join forces and compete for the Tag Team Championship and win it. This was usually done to further a storyline or to add prestige to the titles in the eyes of fans. Without further ado, let's take a look at 10 pairs of WWE World Champions who won Tag Team Titles together.
10 Edge & Chris Jericho
11-time WWE World Champion Edge and six-time World Champion Chris Jericho teamed up and defeated Carlito and Primo and Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. to win the Unified WWE World Tag Team Championship at The Bash 2009.
This was a phenomenal team, made up of not only two world champions but two of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Sadly, Edge got injured, but another world champion, The Big Show, replaced him.
9 Randy Orton & Edge
Another World Champion who won the Tag Team Championship alongside Edge is Randy Orton. They formed the unforgettable Rated-RKO, one of the most badass and coolest teams of all time. They became Tag Team Champions after defeating Ric Flair and Roddy Piper on the November 13, 2006, episode of Monday Night Raw.
Unfortunately, bad luck and perhaps inappropriate booking prevented Rated-RKO from reaching their full potential, and they ended up holding the titles for 77 days and parting ways. It would have been amazing to see a longer run of these two phenomenal heels together.
8 John Cena & Shawn Michaels
John Cena and Shawn Michaels were precisely the ones who defeated Rated-RKO for the Tag Team Championship during the January 29, 2007, episode of Monday Night Raw. The funny thing is that this title win served as the build to their World Title match at WrestleMania 23, to add a little more drama.
The Tag Team Champions delivered a memorable match at The Show of Shows and the following night, HBK eliminated Cena in a Battle Royal for the Tag Team Titles, bringing the reign to an end.
7 John Cena & Batista
Once again, John Cena joined forces with a World Champion to become Tag Team Champion. On the August 4, 2008, edition of Monday Night Raw, 16-time World Champion Cena and six-time World Champion Batista defeated Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. to win the World Tag Team Titles.
However, the following week Rhodes and DiBiase regained the gold. Days later, Cena and Batista returned to normalcy, back to being rivals, and clashed at SummerSlam 2008, where The Animal emerged victorious.
6 Batista & Ric Flair
Batista also teamed with another World Champion, none other than Ric Flair. On March 22, 2004, on RAW, Batista and Flair defeated Booker T and Rob Van Dam to win the World Tag Team Championship.
They held the titles for less than a month, 28 days to be exact. Objectively it was a terrible title reign, but winning tag team gold alongside a legend was beneficial for Batista.
5 Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins
The Shield is arguably the greatest faction of the 21st century, as all three members became megastars, some of the greatest wrestlers of this generation. Each went their own way and all three won at least one WWE World Title.
Eventually, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins joined forces again and won the Raw Tag Team Titles twice. However, their title reigns were lackluster, as they were champions for 92 days in total, though at least they had a couple of amazing matches against The Bar (Cesaro and Sheamus).
4 The Rock & Mankind
The Rock and Mankind are two of the greatest characters in sports entertainment history. They had a rivalry for the ages, battling for the World Championship for several months, it seemed like they really hated each other. Nevertheless, these two left their differences aside in the summer of 1999 and formed a tag team.
They won the Tag Team Titles three times in two months, but it would have been great to see them holding the titles for several months, as they were loved by the fans. It's worth mentioning that The Rock and Mankind’s split was a memorable storyline.
3 The Rock & The Undertaker
The Rock also won the Tag Team Titles with The Undertaker, although you may not even remember that. They were Tag Team Champions for less than a week, winning the titles on the December 18, 2000, episode of Raw is War after defeating Christian and Edge, but losing them to them on the December 21 episode of SmackDown as well.
The Rock and The Undertaker formed a random and fleeting team, they had nothing in common, but it was interesting to see them together.
2 Shawn Michaels & Triple H
When we talk about pairs of World Champions who won Tag Team Titles together, the tandem of Shawn Michaels and Triple H always comes to mind. These real-life friends formed one of the greatest tag teams in WWE history.
They won the World Tag Team Championship in a Tables, Ladders, And Chairs match against Chris Jericho and the Big Show. They had three successful defenses but dropped the titles to the Miz and Big Show on the February 8, 2010, episode of Monday Night Raw.
1 Triple H & Steve Austin
Triple H and Steve Austin formed one of the most dangerous teams in the history of sports entertainment, The Two-Man Power Trip. This team emerged after WrestleMania 17, an alliance that made a huge impact at the time.
At Backlash 2001, they defeated The Undertaker and Kane to become World Tag Team Champions. On top of that, at that time Triple H was the World Champion and Steve Austin was the Intercontinental Champion.