There might not be a closer bond in professional wrestling than the bond between tag team partners. These men and women spend over 300 days a year together and the close proximity of being on the road and in cramped hotel rooms is almost unparalleled on other professions. But not all relationships between tag team partners are rosy. For every group of close friends like the New Day there is a pair like The Rockers that cannot stand each other. As such this article will name 15 wrestling tag teams that are real life friends (and 15 that dislike each other).
The close friends on this list will include some that you are aware of, but also other teams that you probably never realized we're real life friends. Similarly, the entries on tag teams that disliked each other will include teams where the tensions were palpable, thus limiting their effectiveness in the ring, but also iconic tag teams where it was not revealed that they did not like each other until years after they had gone their separate ways. If you can think of some tag teams that were made up of best friends (or some whose members ardently hated each other) that did not make our list, feel free to mention them in the comments.
30 Friends - Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio
There was a time in WWE when there was a group of Hispanic wrestlers who not only travelled and went to work events together, but who were actually close friends outside of the company. Though some of them had known each other for most of their lives, many of them met when they were part of the Cruiserweight Division in WCW. This was a time when men like Goldberg and Hulk Hogan dominated the main event scene but were constantly being outperformed by the Cruiserweights who were delegated to mid-card (at best) status.
Two men in particular are important for our purposes, Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero. While the two were never a consistent tag team, they were paired up enough to make them an option for this article, especially when you consider they won tag titles together. Over the time that they spent wrestling together for WCW and WWE, Rey and Eddie became extremely close. Therefore, it is understandable how devastated Mysterio was when he received words of Eddie's tragic death. But irony is always a factor in the WWE, and if it weren't for Eddie's death I don't think Mysterio would have gotten the chance to win the Royal Rumble and challenge Kurt Angle and Randy Orton for his first World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania.
29 Disliked - Heidenrich and Road Warrior Animal
Just because a wrestler is able to build a lasting relationship with his tag team partner does not mean that their personality is necessarily conducive to working with another wrestler. A perfect example of this is when the WWE tried to pair Road Warrior Animal (of the famed Road Warrior tag team) with Heidenreich, a superstar who had just previously botched a heavy singles push.
According to reports, Animal was very willing to tutor Heidenrich at first but the younger superstar's personality quirks began to grind on the veteran.
According to Animal, Heidenreich routinely showed up late to airports and was abusing substances. Animal told WWE management about these problems which greatly angered his partner. Despite winning the tag team titles together, this pair was forced to call it quits after a little over a year. Heidenreich's entire WWE career was a bust so it is easy to blame him for this episode. It is possible, however, that Animal just didn't like having another partner after teaming for so many years with his best friend Hawk. Either way it seems like this superstar tag team was doomed to fail.
28 Friends - Edge and Hulk Hogan
I have to admit that I am a little jealous of the moment that Edge got to have. Growing up as a wrestling fan in the 1980s, Edge was obviously a huge fan of Hulk Hogan (just like everyone else in America). Edge was even at WrestleMania VI in Toronto where Hogan was defeated in the main event by The Ultimate Warrior for the WWE Title. I doubt that even Edge believed that one day he would not only be in the ring with Hogan but teaming up with him to challenge for the WWE Tag Team Titles. This is exactly what happened, and I am sure that it is a moment that Edge will never forget.
Edge has won tag titles with multiple people, including his best friend Christian, but I have a hard time believing that any title win was as emotional as the one that he experienced with the "Immortal One." Hogan himself has said in interviews that winning with Edge was one of the coolest moments of his career. This was an awesome moment for both men. There are few bonds as strong as the one between a man and his boyhood idol.
27 Disliked - La Resistance
The tag team of Sylvain Grenier and Rene Dupree, better known as La Resistance, were fairly successful in the WWE despite the fact that neither member was very adept in the ring. The reason that they were so successful is that they were able to do what every good villain has to be able to do, they got the audience to hate them. This is ironic because after this tag team broke up it was revealed that not only did the WWE Universe hate the members of La Resistance, the members of La Resistance hated each other.
Apparently the two butted heads constantly throughout their time as a team and even once got into a physical confrontation backstage.
They did not relegate their feud to only backstage, however, the two used to exchange insults during interviews and over social media. Despite their numerous problems La Resistance was able to become an important part of WWE programming and the pair even won four tag team titles during their time with WWE. Success always seems to trump personal issues, it was recently announced that the pair would reunite as part of their work on the independent circuit.
26 Friends - Triple H and Shawn Michaels
If you have been a professional wrestling fan at all in the past twenty years than this next entry should not be news to you. The friendship of Triple H and Shawn Michaels has had immense ramifications not just for the men themselves, but for the entire landscape of the WWE. Michaels, Triple H, and the other members of the Kliq used to dream about changing professional wrestling, but I doubt that any of them imagined how much power and influence they would eventually hold over the WWE. Obviously, a lot of this comes from Triple H's position as the COO of WWE (and his status as an honorary McMahon), but each of the Kliq's members is influential in their own way.
The fact that Michaels and Triple H have been friends for over twenty years is on its own an amazing fact but considering the major changes that have occurred in these men's lives over that time it is even more impressive.
Michael's addictions are well documented, and there was surely a good deal of professional jealousy between the two at some point in their careers. But through it all they have remained close friends and they have to be happy with the current state of their lives. And if you're not down with that, I've got two words for ya.
25 Disliked - John Cena and Batista
Our next entry includes two men who were not tag team partners for any substantial length of time, but given the fact that they once held the World Tag team Championships together, I would say that their tumultuous relationship deserves a spot on this list. Both John Cena and Batista were long time (and in Cena's case still is) staples of the WWE main event scene. As such, they spent a substantial amount of time as teammates and enemies. The funny thing about this is that there is evidence that Cena and Batista were never too fond of one another.
In many ways their careers developed parallel to each other. Both won their first major championships at WrestleMania 21 and both quickly became the "top guys" on their respective brand. This naturally created some professional jealousy between them and Batista in particular seemed bothered by what he saw as special treatment that Cena was receiving. With all due respect to The Animal, his mic skills were never on par with Cena's. Because of his ability to hype matches Cena was much more valuable to WWE as a brand ambassador, something Batista always resented.
24 Friends - Sheamus and Cesaro
Most of the entries on this list are from tag teams who have been friends for a number of years. Our next duo, however, have only been wrestling together as a team since 2016. Despite the fact that they have only been an official tag team for about two years, the Celtic Warrior Sheamus and the Swiss Superman Cesaro have become good friends and their chemistry together has contributed greatly to their work both in the ring and on the microphone.
Watching them together, you can just tell that they are on the same page.
Every time I see a match featuring them as a tag team I am reminded that they don't just set the bar, they are The Bar. Catchphrases aside, two people cannot perform the moves inside the ring that Sheamus and Cesaro with such proficiency without first completely trusting one another. Week in and week out The Bar continues to prove that being friends is important to developing good in-ring chemistry, a crucial component of a successful tag team. Both Sheamus and Cesaro have been successful singles performers in the past, hopefully the WWE does not suddenly decide to end this successful tag team.
23 Disliked - Tony Atlas and Rocky Johnson
I understand that all the people on this list are grown adults but I can't help but blame the WWE for the friction between some of these teams. This next entry is a perfect example, as there is evidence that Tony Atlas and Rocky Johnson did not really like each other even before they were paired up as partners. In typically Vince McMahon fashion, however, the two African American wrestlers were paired together despite not really having anything to connect them. This not only hampered their ability to be a fun and exciting tag team, it also added to the friction between them.
According to reports, Atlas and Johnson were always at each other's throats and their confrontations even became physical at times.
If you have ever seen pictures of these two giant men in their prime you will understand that this must have been a pretty awesome sight. WWE finally allowed the pair to split up after about two years, but it is unclear if this was only for storyline purposes or if they just could not stand to be around each other for any longer. Either way, the tag team of Tony Atlas and Rocky Johnson certainly deserve to be on our list of tag teams that hated one another.
22 Friends - The Shield
Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns, the three men that make up The Shield are not only one of the most dominant tag-teams in the history of the WWE, they are also one of the closest. The members of The Shield refer to themselves as "brothers" and there is evidence to suggest that this is more than just rhetoric. Since making their debut the three men have traveled together (except when Rollins was on his main event heel run) and everyone knows how important those moments in the car are to building a friendship.
Despite all of them coming to WWE from different backgrounds (Ambrose from the indies, Rollins from NXT, and Reigns from professional football), the success that they have had together in the WWE has created a lifelong bond. If you need more evidence of their friendship look no further than the fact that Reigns and Rollins were some of the first people to visit Ambrose after he underwent surgery in 2017. There have been reports that Ambrose will be ready to return to Raw any time now so do not be surprised when The Shield returns to once again dominate the WWE.
21 Disliked - The Rockers
Our next entry might be the only tag team in the history of professional wrestling that is better remembered for their breakup than anything that they did within the squared circle. In a montage of the greatest moments in the history of the WWE the scene of Michaels throwing Jannetty through the barber shop window would almost certainly be featured.
What makes the demise of Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty, The Rockers, even more fascinating is the fact that they legitimately disliked one another.
While both men have been somewhat tight lipped about their tumultuous relationship, I get the sense that their friction was caused by professional jealousy more than anything else. According to reports the pair would always try to outdo one another in the ring. Sometimes this can be a productive way to motivate your tag team partner, but in the case of Michaels and Jannetty it only added to the resentment between them. I imagine that this resentment is still a big part of how Jannetty feels about his time with WWE. He flopped after the breakup of the Rockers but Michaels would go on to become one of the most celebrated superstars in the history of professional wrestling.
20 Friends - Batista and Rey Mysterio
When people talk about WWE wrestlers who have built incredibly close friendships with each other they inevitably talk about Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero. This friendship became an important part of WWE storylines following Eddies death and the images of Rey crying at the Eddie tribute show left a lasting impression on the WWE Universe.
In all this talk about Eddie, however, people forget that Mysterio was also very close with another former tag team partner, Dave Batista.
Though they became friends many years earlier, Batista and Rey first began wrestling together in 2005. At that time Smackdown was totally bereft of main event talent so WWE Creative had to find something else to do with Batista, it's World Heavyweight Champion and biggest star. They decided to team him up with his good friend Mysterio to take on MNM, the reigning WWE Tag Team Champions. The rivalry between these two teams did not make for great TV but it did strengthen the bond between these two men. Both men have (at least partially) moved on from WWE but they remain close friends.
19 Disliked - William Regal and Tajiri
Many of the entries on this list are intense and some are even sad. This next entry, however, is pretty hilarious. Historically, WWE has loved to use "odd couple tag-teams." These are two people who WWE pushes together despite the fact that they do not really have anything in common (or maybe because of it). The perfect example of this is the team of William Regal and Tajiri, two veteran wrestlers who were paired together in the mid-2000s. Instead of being a train wreck (which was very possible) this team was actually very successful together.
Their differences really complimented each other and the two became famous for providing comedy in backstage segments as well as amazing wrestling proficiency inside the ring. Everything was not, however, sunshine and lollipops for this mismatched team. According to Regal, Tajiri was guilty of one of the greatest offenses in professional wrestling, poor road trip etiquette. Tajiri insisted on driving in total silence because he was "afraid of music." He also would freak out whenever Regal would try to eat spam. Regal has said that all of these quirks caused him to truly revile his tag-team partner.
18 Friends - Edge and Christian
It isn't often that someone gets to live out their childhood dream. It is even more rare for a pair of friends to get the chance to live out that dream together. This, however, is exactly what happened to Edge and Christian, two men who grew up in Canada dreaming of becoming WWE superstars. Edge and Christian made their debut with The Brood in 1998 and never looked back. The two would go on to have distinguished singles careers, but they will always be remembered as one of the greatest, and most entertaining tag teams of all time.
Their matches with the Dudleys and Hardy Boyz are legendary and every WWE fan remembers (or has heard of) their legendary encounters with ladders at WrestleMania. The friendship between these two did not end with their WWE careers, however, they have continued hanging out and actually appear to have strengthened their friendship now that they are no longer performing. They host the Edge and Christian Show together on the WWE Network and their chemistry is palpable. This is one of my favorite stories on this list because the two lifelong friends were able to live out their dreams not only as WWE superstars, but also as the hosts of their own skit show.
17 Disliked - Buff Bagwell and Scott Steiner
It is not surprising to me that this team of meatheads was not as close as they appeared on camera. Scott Steiner was, of course, half of the Steiner Bros. tag team that revolutionized tag-team wrestling in the 1990s. Later in his career WCW had the idea to team Steiner up with Buff Bagwell. Bagwell had a huge personality and the WCW locker room was not very inviting to him when he arrived in professional wrestling. One of the few people who was nice to him was Scott Steiner, so it is unsurprising that WCW management would try to team them together. It was not very long, however, before the personalities of these wrestlers would clash.
According to Bagwell there was a lot going on behind the scenes that led to their animosity.
He has said that the WCW locker room convinced Steiner to shun him. They would corner Steiner and start nagging him about how Bagwell had a better physique than he did. For someone who was as proud of his body as Steiner was, this was an offense that he could not handle. This is obviously a pretty silly reason to fight with someone, but such is the world of professional wrestling.
16 Friends - The Hardy Boyz
This one might seem obvious, but if you read this entire list you will find that just because a pair of wrestlers are brothers does not mean that they necessarily get along. Luckily for the Hardy family, Matt and Jeff are very friendly with one another. In the Edge and Christian entry, I talk about how cool it must have been for them to realize their dreams of becoming professional wrestlers with someone they grew up with. The same story is true for Jeff and Matt Hardy, except instead of making it big alongside a lifelong friend, they came to the WWE as part of a tag team with their legitimate brother.
Matt and Jeff have been veterans of the WWE for almost two decades and have done just about everything there is to do with the company. This includes being on a team together for big matches, and sometimes even as enemies for big spots. Unfortunately for the WWE, perhaps their biggest moment occurred with TNA. The Broken Matt Hardy story line had the professional wrestling community buzzing after it climaxed with a match between the two at a TNA pay-per-view. The two have had their ups-and-downs throughout their careers, but they have never let personal or professional differences drive a wedge between their brotherhood.
15 Disliked - Hardcore and Crash Holly
We've seen tag teams of real family members on this list but for our next entry the tag team includes a pair of fictional family members. During the Attitude Era, WWE decided to put Hardcore Holly, Crash Holly, and Molly Holly together to form a Holly family trio. The idea was that they were cousins who couldn’t get along, but they managed to make it work out together. The problem with this storyline (or perhaps the thing that made it so successful) was that Crash and Hardcore legitimately did not like one another.
According to reports, Hardcore Holly liked to keep to himself backstage and hated when other wrestlers impinged upon his privacy.
Crash never seemed to get the hint and could always be found backstage following his tag team partner. Hardcore quickly grew weary of Crash and he is not the type of person to let his problems go unsaid. There is no evidence that this conflict ever got physical (like many other entries on this list) but things got bad enough to draw a wedge between this team. Eventually Crash was let go by the WWE and Hardcore was able to go his separate way. If Hardcore is as antisocial as this story suggests it was unwise of WWE to pair him with the more abrasive Crash.
14 Friends - The Club
If you have spent most of your adult life traveling the world with someone, chances are that you and he are pretty good friends. Such is the case with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, two men who have literally wrestled around the world together. At one point these two dominated New Japan alongside Finn Balor in the infamous Bullet Club (one could make the argument that Bullet Club is not anything more than a NJPW version of WCW's New World Order, but I digress).
While The Club has not quite caught on in WWE the way it did in New Japan (largely because they refuse to permanently pair Anderson and Gallows with either Balor or AJ Styles), Anderson and Gallows have still had some success with the company. I don't think that this is about money or accolades for them though. They have gotten to travel the world, doing what they love, with one (or more) of their closest friends. Of course, it is important to be able to support yourself, but I think Anderson and Gallows will be happy even if they never get to become WWE's top stars. WWE seems to be higher on Gallows then it is on Anderson, so I am curious to see if their friendship suffers if Gallows is given a singles run and his partner is not.
13 Disliked - Vader and Bam Bam Bigelow
Whether it is WCW or the WWE, big time wrestling organizations love to put two big guys together in a tag team. Sometimes this works and sometimes this doesn't; our next entry is a little of both. When Bam Bam Bigelow was first paired with Vader it seemed like a match made in heaven. Despite being big men, Bigelow and Vader both could execute impressive moves off the top rope and keep up with faster opponents. The duo worked together in Japan and there was no reason to believe that they could not replicate their success in the U.S.
What officials did not know, however, is that these two wrestlers ardently hated each other.
Both men have stated that their animosity towards each other caused them to compete against one another during tag matches. Bigelow claimed that Vader was a bully who wanted to keep all the impressive spots during the match for himself. Despite disliking each other the two remained a team for over a year and had a lot of success together. Perhaps their competitive nature inspired both wrestlers to be better in order to outdo one another?
12 Friends - New Age Outlaws
Oh you didn't know? Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages. D-Generation X and the WWWE proudly present to you, it's WWE Tag team Champions of the Wooooooorrrrld. The Road Dogg Jesse James; The Bad A$$ Billy Gun – The New Age Outlaws.
There might not be another tag team that is more synonymous with professional wrestling in the 1990s than the New Age Outlaws. This team was never known for their in-ring wrestling skills, but their ability to cut a promo on the mic made them must-see TV for much of the decade. Road Dogg and Billy Gun got their first big break as part of D-Generation X, but they became so popular in their own right that they were able to branch off of the main group headed by Triple H and Shawn Michaels.
The two became multiple time tag team champions, belts that they last won just a few years ago when both performers were well into their 40s. Throughout it all the two remained close friends and they continue to make appearances together. The New Age Outlaws never took themselves too seriously, something that I think helped them as performers and something that helped them maintain their friendship.
11 Disliked - Rated RKO
Edge is featured a couple of other times on this list as a wrestler who has built lasting friendships with some of his tag team partners. This leads me to believe that he is pretty friendly and easy to get along with. Randy Orton, not so much. He is notorious for being demanding of his partners (and opponents) and Edge is not the only performer who he has supposedly had friction with. The two were already established singles competitors when they combined to form the team Rated RKO in opposition to the newly reformed DX.
The friction between them lasted for their entire partnership despite the fact that they were highly successful and were multiple time tag team champions.
Following the breakup of their team the WWE, perhaps unwisely, pitted them against one another as singles competitors. This resulted in one of the most famous backstage incidents in the history of Monday Night Raw. During an episode of Raw, the final two matches were billed as John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels and Orton vs. Edge. Unfortunately, Edge and Orton got into a confrontation backstage and they were both sent home. In their place, Cena and Michaels had an hour-long match that is ranked as one of the greatest in Raw's history.