Many have accused WWE of neglecting their tag team division over the years. This belief has come from tag teams from within the promotion, like The Revival, and fans of the business pointing out that WWE isn't prioritizing tag team wrestling. Fans often talk about the heyday of tag teams with the likes of The Midnight Express, The Rock n Roll Express, Demolition, The Road Warriors, and many more.
Even into the 1990s, tag teams like The Dudley Boys, The Hardys, and Edge and Christian put on tag team classics that are just as re-watchable today. Despite criticism of the modern WWE program, it still contains tag teams like The New Day and The Usos. While some stars have used their tag team platforms to launch single careers, some top stars have also done the reverse and chased WWE's Tag Team Titles despite being firmly established as a solo wrestler.
10 Tag Wrestler - Steve Austin
Most fans know Steve Austin for his run as the top star of WWE in the late 90s and early 2000s. Austin was often featured as a renegade, who didn't play well with others. As the Stone Cold character, Austin frequently feuded with the likes of WWE CEO and owner Vince McMahon and his favored champions like The Rock and Triple H.
However, before transitioning into The Texas Rattlesnake, Austin was a part of a tag team called The Hollywood Blondes. Austin was featured in the fourth version of the team alongside "Flying" Brian Pillman in WCW. Austin returned to the tag team scene winning the WWF Tag Team Titles with Triple H in 2001.
9 Singles - Kane
When Kane was introduced to the WWE Universe, it was as The Undertaker's brother who had come back for revenge. At the 1998 King of the Ring pay-per-view, Kane would defeat Stone Cold Steve Austin to win his first title, the WWF Championship in a first blood match.
Kane would go on to win several singles titles throughout his career, holding the WWE Championship, ECW Championship, and the World Heavyweight Championship. However, outside of his singles titles, Kane has held a variation of the tag team titles on 12 different occasions with seven different partners including Daniel Bryan, Mankind, and the Big Show.
8 Tag Wrestler - Edge
Speaking of Edge, the Rated R Superstar was first introduced to the WWE Universe as a part of the Brood stable alongside Christian and Gangrel. Edge and Christian would eventually ditch Gangrel to become an incredibly popular tag team frequently feuding with the likes of the Hardy Boyz and the Dudley Boyz. Edge and Christian participated in some of the first Tables, Ladders, and Chairs matches.
In 2004, Edge established himself as a great singles wrestler. The following year, Edge won the first-ever Money in the Bank briefcase which he would cash in against John Cena at New Year's Revolution 2006 after Cena had successfully defended his title in the Elimination Chamber. Edge would go on to become an 11-time world champion, as well as the winner of the 2010 Royal Rumble.
7 Singles - Kurt Angle
It's not exactly a secret, but before becoming a professional wrestler in WWE, Kurt Angle represented the United States of America at the Olympic Games and won a gold medal with a broken neck. After wrestling in the Olympics, Angle switched to professional wrestling. Angle adapted quickly to professional wrestling and was thrown into the main event scene.
After multiple reigns with singles championships, Angle would win his first and only WWE Tag Team Title alongside Chris Benoit in 2002. Angle also held tag team titles in TNA with Sting and AJ Styles. During the early years of WWE's first brand extension, Angle also served as a mentor for the team of Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin, the team was initially referred to as Team Angle.
6 Tag Wrestler - Jeff Hardy
Jeff Hardy's first WWE matches were in the singles division as predominantly one-sided squash matches. However, Jeff would stand out as part of the tag team division, alongside Matt as The Hardy Boyz.
After The Hardy Boyz team broke up, Jeff began a singles run which included a ladder match against The Undertaker for the Undisputed Title. In 2008, after a brief stint on the independent scene, Jeff defeated Edge and Triple H to win his first world title at the Armageddon pay-per-view.
5 Singles - The Rock
The Rock first appeared as the cheery Rocky Maivia at Survivor Series 1996, where he was the sole survivor for his team eliminating Crush and Goldust in quick succession. After fans rejected the baby-face Maivia, he would return as a part of the Nation of Domination stable. As a heel, The Rock quickly rose up the ranks to become one of WWE's hottest talents.
As a singles competitor, The Rock was a 10-time World Champions, having had eight reigns with the WWE title and two reigns with the WCW Title after WWE purchased the company in 2001. The Rock won his first WWF Tag Title in 1999 alongside Mankind as a part of the Rock 'n' Sock Connection. The Rock would also hold the tag titles with the Undertaker and Chris Jericho as well.
4 Tag Wrestler - Shawn Michaels
The Rockers, who previously wrestled in NWA and AWA as The Midnight Rockers, made their WWE debut in 1988. The duo was made up of Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels, despite the pair's popularity, they failed to pick up a title. The Rockers did beat The Hart Foundation for the title during an unaired matched in October 1990, but the title change isn't acknowledged as a part of WWE's history.
Michaels would dramatically end the pairing during a segment in Brutus Beefcake's "Barbershop". Michaels famously surprised Jannetty with a superkick before throwing his former tag team partner through the set's glass window. Michaels would go on to become a massive singles star winning four world titles with the promotion.
3 Singles - Mankind
Mankind was one of Mick Foley's most popular gimmicks. The basement-dwelling creature progressed from a genuinely creepy psychopath to a fun-loving popular character who fans loved. Foley would win the WWE Title three times and would have classic matches with The Undertaker, the Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Triple H.
Outside of his successes as a singles wrestler, Mankind was also one half of the popular Rock 'n' Sock Connection with The Rock. The two won the WWF Tag Team Titles on three separate occasions. Mankind also held the tag titles with Kane and Al Snow. Foley also held the Tag Team Titles with different gimmicks, such as Cactus Jack and Dude Love winning the gold with Chainsaw Charlie and Stone Cold Steve Austin respectively.
2 Tag Wrestler - Booker T
In the 1990s, Booker T and his brother Stevie Ray former the Harlem Heat tag team. Together, the pair won the WCW World Tag Team Titles 10-times and were engaged in legendary feuds against the likes of The Steiner Brothers, Public Enemy, and The Outsiders.
In the 2000s, Booker T transitioned into a singles star, winning the WCW World Heavyweight Championship four times. After WWE purchased WCW, Booker T won the WCW Championship an additional time. Booker T would also win King of the Ring and WWE's World Heavyweight Championship, making him a six-time world champion.
1 Singles - Triple H
Before becoming The Cerebral Assassin and The Game, Triple H wrestled in WWE as Hunter Hearst Helmsley or the Connecticut Blue Blood. The Game is a 14-time World Champion having held the WWE Championship nine times and the World Heavyweight Title five times.
After establishing himself as a singles star in WWE, Triple H won his first tag-team title in the company alongside Stone Cold Steve Austin as the Two Man Power Trip in 2001. The team dropped the titles in a match where Triple H tore his quad off the bone of his leg. Triple H would also hold the WWE Tag Team Titles with Shawn Michaels as part of D-Generation X in 2009.