If one looks at the long-term of pro wrestling, change is the only constant. Wrestlers come and go, storylines switch gears based on myriad variables, and even gimmicks can be tweaked and improved on a weekly basis. If there’s one thing that isn’t guaranteed, it’s the longevity of a tag team -- or even a general partnership. As soon as two wrestlers team up, it’s often a countdown to an inevitable betrayal, breakup, and subsequent blood feud.
Sometimes, however, that DOESN’T happen. There are a number of occasions where former partners got into a feud months or even years down the line in ways that have little to do with their past relationships to the point where it feels like everyone involved forgot about it, including the fans.
10 Jinder Mahal vs. Drew McIntyre
From 2012 to 2014, Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre were in the same boat -- two guys WWE didn’t seem to care about, united with Heath Slater as rockstar jobbers 3MB. Mahal and McIntyre would also both be released at the same time, and end up returning to WWE and unexpectedly becoming main eventers and WWE Champions. As the two wage the most midcard war possible over motorcycles and broadswords in 2021, it’s easy to forget that they both came from the same place -- the undercard.
9 Dolph Ziggler vs. Jack Swagger
Around 2011, Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger toiled in the tag division with Vickie Guerrero as their manager, but they ultimately ended up feuding with one another in 2012. Dolph won, and the two men went their separate ways only to meet in the World Heavyweight Title division in 2013. By then Swagger was a “Real American” and the fan-favorite Ziggler was on his way to a face turn as they engaged in a three-way feud with Alberto Del Rio for the belt that had little to do with their very recent shared history.
8 Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Two of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s biggest stars were also two of its biggest rivals. Hiroshi Tanahashi was the Ace who made NJPW popular again in the 21st century, while Shinsuke Nakamura was basically playing second banana despite being the uber-charismatic “King of Strong Style.” Over the years, the two clashed countless times, with Nak as the Randy Orton to Tana’s John Cena.
Fans may not know, however, that before that they were actually tag partners, having come up through the NJPW Dojo at the same time as extremely promising rookies. In 2004, they ended up scoring an impressive 323-day run with the IWGP Tag Team Championship.
7 Tyler Breeze vs. CJ Parker
One of the earliest NXT feuds of Full Sail favorite Tyler Breeze was with cartoon hippie CJ Parker (now known as Juice Robinson) in a conflict based entirely on Parker constantly photobombing Breeze’s selfies. Before Breeze debuted, however, he failed to make an impression on the early episodes of NXT as Mike Dalton, who actually teamed with Parker against The Ascension on the very first episode. And before THAT, they were full-on partners in Florida Championship Wrestling, having challenged Corey Graves and Jake Carter for the FCW Florida Tag Team Titles.
6 AJ Lee vs. Kaitlyn
Both competitors on the all-female Season 3 of game show NXT, AJ Lee and Kaitlyn made their debut on SmackDown and teamed up as the babyface duo The Chickbusters despite WWE being seven years away from establishing women’s tag belts. Eventually, the two would go separate ways until Kaitlyn won the Divas Championship and AJ won a battle royal to challenge. As the storyline leading to their big match was focused on AJ creating a fake secret admirer to mess with Kaitlyn, it became increasingly easy to forget that they used to be friends.
5 Drew Gulak vs. Oney Lorcan
The indie wrestling pasts of wrestlers in WWE are often forgotten, especially if they’re not top guys on NXT. In 2019, Oney Lorcan was challenging Drew Gulak for the Cruiserweight Championship on 205 Live, resulting in some awesomely underrated matches for the undervalued division. But before that, the two were actually frequent tag team partners on the indies and were even in a stable called Fourth Gunn in Toronto’s Smash Wrestling alongside Johnny Gargano and Chuck Taylor.
4 Shawn Michaels vs. Steve Austin
In 1997, Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin defeated Owen Hart and British Bulldog for the WWE Tag Team Championship, a reign that would, unfortunately, be cut short due to Michaels getting suspended due to real-life backstage issues. The next time the two men would share the ring, it would be as opponents.
The following year, Austin would win the Royal Rumble, earning a shot at Michaels’ WWE Title, leading to the much-hyped WrestleMania XV bout with Mike Tyson as the special guest enforcer and a whole lot of D-Generation X shenanigans.
3 Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt
In 2016, Randy Orton surprised fans by aligning himself with Bray Wyatt and joining the Wyatt Family -- that is until Orton turned on Wyatt, leading to some poorly received bouts like the “House of Horrors” match and that WrestleMania 33 match where they projected creepy imagery on the floor. The two would end up kicking off a new feud from 2020-2021 centered around supernatural shenanigans, attempted murder by fire, and a giant jack-in-the-box that completely overshadowed their former partnership.
2 Dolph Ziggler vs. Drew McIntyre
People from Drew McIntyre’s past keep showing up to fight him, and yet their shared history keeps flying under the radar. McIntyre made his return to the WWE main roster in 2018, becoming Dolph Ziggler’s enforcer and tag team partner, and even had a short run as Raw Tag Champs. By 2020, however, they’d gone their separate ways and Ziggler showed up to feud with McIntyre for the latter’s WWE Championship going into the Extreme Rules pay-per-view. Maybe Dolph is the problem -- after all, he’s been in WWE since like 2004 and seemingly both tagged and feuded with everyone in sight.
1 Daniel Bryan vs. Kane
One of the more baffling feuds between former tag partners has to be between Kane and Daniel Bryan. As Team Hell No, the two spent 2012-2013 as one of WWE’s most popular tag teams thanks to the time-honored “odd couple” formula, but then their partnership quietly ended as Bryan began pursuing the WWE Championship. He won it at WrestleMania XXX and Kane ended up becoming his next challenger, but the storyline was about horror movie style hijinx rather than any acknowledgment that they used to be friends, which would have been a slam-dunk angle.