Despite running numerous weekly episodic shows all year long, WWE tends to keep things fresh with the help of the Draft. The WWE Draft sees multiple professional wrestling superstars move from one brand to another. This helps pave the way for new feuds and matches to take place.
Even though tag teams or factions are sometimes counted as a single unit in the WWE Draft, there have been countless instances of Superstars finding themselves on a different brand than that of their partner(s). This has been the norm since the very first edition of the Draft that took place in 2002. Ya boys, The New Day, most recently know the pain of splitting up due to WWE Draft decisions.
10 The New Day (2020)
In the current era of professional wrestling, the tag team division is often overlooked. Despite that, The New Day, comprising of Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods, managed to not only stick together for nearly six years but also remain a part of prominent storylines.
With Big E all set to become a major singles player on SmackDown, it only made sense for WWE to separate him from his stablemates without breaking up The New Day for good. And this is exactly what happened during the most recent edition of the draft that saw Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods moving to RAW, leaving Big E alone on the blue brand.
9 The Club (2016)
When AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson signed with WWE in 2016, fans expected the Bullet Club trio to stick together in the world of sports entertainment. After WrestleMania 32, AJ Styles aligned himself with The Good Brothers and feuded with the likes of John Cena, Roman Reigns, and The Usos.
However, the trio didn't stick together for long as in the summer of 2016 during the WWE Draft, AJ Styles moved to SmackDown Live, while Gallows and Anderson remained on RAW. The three would reunite on multiple occasions over the next three and a half years.
8 ShoMiz (2010)
At the beginning of 2010 when The Big Show was in search of a tag team partner, The Miz joined forces with The World's Largest Athlete to capture the Unified Tag Team Championship.
However, ShoMiz dropped the titles three months later to The Hart Dynasty. On the April 26, 2010 edition of RAW, The Miz and The Big Show failed to recapture the tag titles and this prompted The Big Show to knock The Miz out after the match. Later in the night, it was confirmed that the multi-time WWE World Champion would leave RAW for SmackDown, further confirming the end of ShoMiz.
7 Paul London & Brian Kendrick (2008)
When discussing the best tag teams of the Ruthless Aggression era, the alliance between Paul London and Brian Kendrick is often overlooked. The high-flying duo started teaming up in 2003 but it wasn't until 2005 when they became a prominent part of the tag team division.
London and Kendrick captured the WWE Tag Team Champion at Judgement Day 2006 and held the titles for nearly a year before being dethroned in April 2007. They continued teaming up until the summer of 2008 after which Kendrick was drafted to SmackDown while London remained on RAW.
6 Aleister Black & Ricochet (2019)
Aleister Black and Ricochet joined forces in early 2019 to participate in and win that year's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Prior to the tournament, the two received their main roster call-ups as well. They unsuccessfully challenged for the RAW, SmackDown, and NXT Tag Team Titles between March and April.
During the Superstar Shakeup in April, Black was drafted to SmackDown while Ricochet became a resident of Monday Night RAW, thus ending their short-lived alliance. The two would end up on the same brand later in 2019 but wouldn't reform their exciting tag team.
5 The Dudley Boyz (2002)
The tag team of Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley will go down in history as one of the most decorated and influential teams in professional wrestling. The two held tag team gold in WWE, TNA, ECW, and NJPW. The Dudley Boyz have been a part of several iconic matches and feuds over the course of their illustrious tag team run.
In 2002, during WWE's (then WWF) first edition of the draft, Vince McMahon drafted D-Von to SmackDown after Ric Flair had drafted Bubba Ray to RAW. This was done by McMahon to make sure that Flair didn't get one of the most iconic teams in the company at that time, in its full strength.
4 The World's Greatest Tag Team (2004)
After teaming up with Kurt Angle at the start of 2003, Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas managed to break through as a tag team on their own after WrestleMania XIX. To say that The World's Greatest Tag Team had tag team wrestling figured out completely would be an understatement.
However, after ruling the SmackDown tag team division in 2003, Benjamin was drafted to RAW post-WrestleMania XX, leaving Charlie Haas in pursuit of a new partner. Their split paved the way for Benjamin to embark on a solo run that was well received by the WWE Universe.
3 Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler (2008)
Who said that the best teams in the history of WWE are only the ones that have competed regularly inside the squared circle? Although they did team up to wrestle in the penultimate match of Unforgiven 2003 in a losing effort against Al Snow and Jonathan Coachman. When it comes to Jerry "The King" Lawler and Jim Ross, their stint as a commentary duo in the 90s and the 2000s is talked about to this day.
Despite their contrasting personalities, Lawler and Ross never hesitated to stand up for one another when the moment called for it. In 2008, their legendary run as a commentary team came to an end when Ross got drafted to SmackDown.
2 John Morrison & The Miz (2009)
In 2007, the WWE Universe got to witness the formation of the self-proclaimed "Greatest Tag Team of the 21st Century". This team featured The Miz and John Morrison, who would bring the WWE Tag Team Titles from SmackDown to ECW. To say that this duo is still doing a fantastic job at entertaining the fans would be an understatement.
However, their first stint as a tag team came to an abrupt end during the 2009 draft when The Miz got drafted to RAW (Morrison would later find a new home on SmackDown). However, The Miz made sure to start the new chapter in his career on a fresh note by attacking John Morrison immediately after being announced as a member of the RAW roster.
1 Evolution (2004)
The 2004 Draft was responsible for separating a lot of tag teams and groups as well. For starters, La Resistance member Rene Dupree was picked by SmackDown. But the biggest twist of the night came when it was announced that Triple H had been drafted to the blue brand.
At that time, Triple H was the leader of Evolution. This move left Batista, Randy Orton, and Ric Flair on RAW on their own. However, The Game didn't appear on SmackDown and was traded back to RAW in exchange for Booker T and The Dudley Boyz.