Tag team wrestling is an art form, and throughout the history of this illustrious industry there has been a wide variety of incredible tag teams, which also make it one of the more exciting parts of the wrestling business, as so much can be done, so many stories can be told, and even today, there are countless unique and fantastic tag teams, not just within WWE, that deserve recognition for their abilities. From NXT to Japan, and from Australia to all over Europe, all the way to WWE’s main roster, there are many teams that excel on the microphone, in the ring and with amazing double team maneuvers, all of which have been inspired by great teams such as the Hart Foundation, the Four Horsemen, all the way up to the trio of teams that revolutionized the industry in the attitude era with their TLC dare devil antics. And with the amount of young teams among them, the future of this great art form looks to be in good hands.
With that being said, here are the 15 tag teams in wrestling today that epitomize everything that it means to be a great tag team. Whether they are permanent teams or not, when these duos get together in the ring, nothing but pure magic is created for the entertainment of the fans.
29 15. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa
NXT’s throw together tag team of independent stand outs, Gargano & Ciampa are fantastic singles competitors, but have stuck together ever since their debut inclusion in the Dusty Rhodes Classic tag team tournament of late 2015, and despite working as solo competitors on the independents still, the duo have done well for themselves in NXT, and find themselves as the next challengers to the Revival for their Championships, potentially at NXT Takeover: Back to Brooklyn. This early popularity and success has led both men into the Cruiserweight Classic, and due to this popularity, their first round match against each other has become the most hyped and interesting, perhaps in the entire tournament as fans are stacked with questions about how this will leave the duo after their match, but whatever the outcome, as long as the two remain together on NXT TV, they will remain popular, great in the ring, and with improvements in chemistry should be the next logical challengers to the Revival.
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27 14. The Addiction
Despite the fact this duo is made up of 2 40+ year old wrestlers Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels, they remain as good as ever inside the ring, and their 41 years of combined pro wrestling experience has helped them give invaluable experiences to the younger performers, as well as more efficiently and effectively being able to tell a story within their matches, as they remain a huge part of the Ring of Honor roster. From TNA to ROH, this team has had classic encounters with the Motor City Machine Guns, the Young Bucks, Gallows and Anderson and any other team that has competed in these companies, and have an amazing ability to work both side of heel/baby face, which still earns them a spot on this list.
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25 13. The Club
Despite losing their leader AJ Styles in the WWE draft (although, hello there Prince Devitt, our former Bullet Club leader, you’re on Raw too, what a coincidence), Gallows and Anderson came into WWE as the toughest and one of the best teams in recent Japanese memory, and despite poor booking from WWE so far, the two remain as vicious and intimidating as a tag team as ever. Since they began tagging together in 2013, the duo have won 3 IWGP Tag Team Championships and the 2013 World Tag League, and have starred alongside their former Bullet Club stable mates in ROH, NJPW and have appeared in smaller promotions such as GFW and Rev Pro before following AJ Styles to WWE in 2016. Here’s hoping that the brand split will give them a chance to shine with more time and importance placed on them, as they truly are one of the best teams in the world currently.
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23 12. War Machine
The youngest and no doubt future stars of the ROH tag team division are made up of Hanson and Raymond Rowe, and despite only being one time tag champions in ROH, they have showed the diversity that no men of their size and intimidating look should be able to perform, and since their debut in 2014 they have ventured into Pro Wrestling NOAH as well as ROH. Despite weighing 280 and 240 pounds, the two men can use their agility and speed just as well as their strength, and with an improvement in their characters and mic ability, they should find themselves shooting further up this list in the future (although it doesn’t hurt they get to wrestle stars like The Young Bucks and the Addiction).
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21 11. The Revival
Despite being seen as no more than ‘just good hands’ and ‘nothing special’ by a majority of the WWE fan base, the proof is in the pudding that the throwback team who go by the moniker of ‘no flips, just fists’ are the perfect heel team for WWE in 2016. The team made up of developmental products Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson bring to mind teams such as Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard, even wearing similar jackets to the ring, and in recent times, with amazing matches between Enzo & Cass and American Alpha, are proving their point to be correct that they are ‘the Revival’ of true, old school tag team wrestling. The Revival have become the first ever two-time NXT Champions, which could either signify WWE have no faith in them moving up, due to the fact they’ll get lost in the shuffle, or that they are being groomed further to be the next great heel tag team in wrestling, but whatever the case, their performances over the past 8 months have warranted their inclusion on this list.
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19 10. Enzo & Cass
Though an absolutely incredible team on the microphone, Enzo & Cass have a ways to go inside the ring, yet the promise they have shown in the last year alone warrants their place on this list, with WWE feeling the same way by including the brash talking duo in the high profile feud between John Cena and The Club. Throughout three years in developmental, their chemistry and in ring performances improved each and every TV outing, culminating in two fantastic matches with the Revival, yet they were never allowed to capture the NXT Tag Team Championships before debuting on Monday Night Raw the night after WrestleMania, which may indicate their in ring performances may still be a little way off from championship caliber. However you see the team, in the ring and on the microphone, there is no doubting that the charisma is overwhelming, and if given time the duo, alongside American Alpha will be the two tag teams to lead WWE into the future.
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17 9. The Wolves
Long have these two been the stand out tag team in TNA, the pairing of Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards have had great careers as singles competitors, but in TNA make up one of the most illustrious tag teams in history, with their careers perhaps rivaling the likes of the Motor City Machine Guns, Beer Money and Americas Most Wanted. The duo are the first ever 5 time TNA World Tag Team Champions, and while they may take on solo adventures from time to time (Edwards is currently feuding with TNA X Division Champion Trevor Lee, and the two faced each other in the 2015 TNA World Title Series), when they come back together it is pure magic each and every time, with an intense, technical prowess that most teams could only strive for, they have kept the TNA tag division afloat for year, cementing their spot on this list (would have been higher if they tagged together more consistently).
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15 8. TM-61
Better known to fans of Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan as The Mighty Don’t Kneel, the Australian pairing of Nick Miller and Shane Thorne have found themselves in NXT under the new moniker TM-61 (often referring to themselves as ‘The Mighty’), and despite being quite new on the scene, have thoroughly impressed all the fans at Full Sail University whenever they step foot in the ring, showing the potential that could have them as the next big baby face team in NXT now that both Enzo & Cass and American Alpha are full time on the main roster. A well travelled veteran duo who still have enough youth to be considered the future of the tag team division, the duo will provide perfect spoils to heel teams like the Authors of Pain and the Revival, and if their characters can be built on further, with their outstanding in ring skills, this could be one of the best WWE tag teams of all time.
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13 7. Killer Elite Squad
So much for being WWE failures. The team of Lance Archer and Davey boy Smith left the WWE due to being severely underutilized, and in that time have gone of to Japan to become one of the hottest tag teams in the world, and have joined one of the hottest stables in Japan (Suzuki-Gun), and proved everyone in their former company wrong about how they were treated. Since their formation in 2012 they have won a combined 5 Tag Team Championships in Japan and the United States, and despite neither being an incredible worker or overly charismatic, as a team they blend well and get the job done in the ring, which is a strength that these promoters focus on while hiding their weaknesses, which has led them to becoming one of the best overall teams in the world. I bet you want them back now, huh WWE?
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11 6. American Alpha
The youngest team on this list, American Alpha only came together within this past year, and amateur wrestling stand outs Chad Gable and Jason Jordan have quickly become the most popular team in NXT, due to their overwhelming charisma and exciting move set, with Jason Jordan possessing perhaps the best hot tag in the current wrestling world. After having a classic series of matches with the Revival, American Alpha have recently been moved to Smackdown, and are ready to prove themselves to a wider WWE audience, but their infectious personality and talent will no doubt help them get over with this larger crowd. Despite both of them showing promise as solo competitors, if they manage to stay together as a team for any significant amount of time, Gable and Jordan could be seen as the best tag team of this generation, and if their potential is anywhere close to lived up too, they will no doubt find themselves at the top of one of these future lists.