WCW tried their best to create a great tag team division consistently throughout their existence. Both WWE and WCW would battle it out to sign the best tag teams to hit the free agent market. Most relevant wrestlers in the 90s spent time in both promotions given the nature of the Monday Night Wars. Some of the elite teams like the Steiner Brothers and Legion of Doom would win titles in both WWE and WCW to showcase how dominant they were.
Not all the tag teams from WCW would have similar success. Quite a few had runs in WWE that saw them fall short of winning the tag team gold while others failed to even have a stint in the company. We will look at the best tag teams from WCW to never reach the top of the WWE tag team mountain. These are the ten greatest WCW tag teams that never won tag titles in WWE.
10 The Outsiders
Kevin Nash and Scott Hall dominated the WCW tag team picture for the first few years of the New World Order. Their tag name of the Outsiders would see them win the WCW Tag Team Championship on five occasions. Hulk Hogan was their representative as the World Champion, so Hall and Nash worked in the tag division to great success.
WWE would never go that far with the duo of Hall and Nash during their version of the nWo. Hall instead worked with Steve Austin in a singles feud and was released before WWE even considered making the Outsiders tag champs.
9 Kronik
The tag team of Kronik had an underrated run together in the final years of WCW. Singles wrestlers Brian Adams and Bryan Clark found success together as Kronik. Their intensity in the ring along with the unique nature of their gimmick made a top duo as two-time WCW Tag Team Champions.
WWE signed Adams and Clark to bring the team to the company for the WCW invasion storyline. One major match against The Undertaker and Kane would see them essentially buried and never used again. WWE had no interest in Kronik after the one lackluster performance.
8 Ric Flair and Arn Anderson
The duo of Ric Flair and Arn Anderson achieved incredible success together in WCW. Both wrestlers were the main fixtures in the various incarnations of the Four Horsemen faction. They never had a long run as a tag team together, but they often united against top faces for appealing matchups.
WWE had Flair and Anderson on the roster at different points throughout their careers. The duo never had a tag team run together in WWE as Flair was usually involved in singles action. Anderson’s tag team run with Tully Blanchard found his greatest success, but a team with Flair could have been fun.
7 The Fabulous Freebirds
WWE inducted the Fabulous Freebirds for their great run together as a team. Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy, Buddy Roberts and Jimmy Garvin were the main fixtures of the group. The Freebirds found success in WCW winning the tag titles there on two occasions.
They never had a real run in WWE, but the company believed their contributions to the industry warranted a Hall of Fame induction. WWE hired Hayes at the end of his in-ring career to become a broadcaster and an eventual producer, but the run of the Freebirds together would have been amazing.
6 Public Enemy
The success of the Public Enemy in ECW allowed them to break out as a successful tag team of the 90s. Paul Heyman booked to the strengths of Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock to get them over with the audience. WCW signed Public Enemy to a deal, and they would win the tag titles there for a solid run.
WWE eventually signed them, and it did not lead to similar results. Grunge and Rock received backstage heat for complaining about the booking which led to the APA destroying them in the ring. The violent match essentially ended Public Enemy as they were released way faster than expected.
5 Lex Luger and Sting
Lex Luger and Sting each had multiple WCW Tag Team Championship reigns with different partners. The best run came when both singles stars worked together in a duo. Luger and Sting were best friends outside of the ring that inspired the team to exist when necessary on WCW television.
The duo had memorable matches against credible teams like the Steiner Brothers, Harlem Heat and Road Warriors. WWE would have found major success with the duo of Sting and Luger in the 90s. Sting never joined the company during that, and Luger had a disappointing tag run with Davey Boy Smith.
4 Faces of Fear
Meng and Barbarian made up one of the most intimidating teams in wrestling history as the Faces of Fear during their WCW run. Both wrestlers had runs in WWE with Meng playing Haku and Barbarian taking part in the Powers of Pain tag team with Warlord.
This was a better version as the Faces of Fear provided amazing success for the WCW tag team division. They never won the tag titles there, but they remained a contender for most of their time together. WWE would have found more success with Meng and Barbarian if pairing them together at the start instead of teaming Barbarian with Warlord.
3 The Filthy Animals
The Filthy Animals remained one of the most underrated factions for WCW. Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Konnan, Billy Kidman and Torrie Wilson are all already WWE Hall of Famers or could have a realistic shot at being inducted one day.
The pairing of Kidman and Mysterio specifically found success together winning the WCW Tag Team Championship. Both wrestlers would reunite for another short tag run in WWE. A classic match saw them fall short of winning the tag titles against Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin.
2 The Rock n Roll Express
The Rock n Roll Express have a reputation for being one of the all-time great tag teams in wrestling history. Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton found success together as they won the prestigious WCW Tag Team Championship on four occasions.
WWE tried bringing them in for a run during the Attitude Era, but the old school tag team did not fit into what the company was going for. The Rock n Roll Express did get the ultimate honor of being inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame, but the WWE Tag Team Championship remains the biggest goal they never accomplished.
1 Harlem Heat
The record breaking ten WCW Tag Team Championship reigns of Harlem Heat made them an iconic team in WCW history. Brothers Booker T and Stevie Ray scored their contracts with WCW together as a tag team with great potential.
WCW booked them to remain a title contender for most of the 90s. Harlem Heat never made it to the WWE ring as a duo since Booker was a singles star when he signed, and the company had no interest in Stevie. WWE did induct them into the Hall of Fame in 2019 for Booker’s second induction for their accolades as a legendary tag team.