The Worst WWE Tag Team Champions Every Year For The Last 10 Years

WWE has never really prioritized tag team wrestling, and with the tag division currently split over both Raw and Smackdown, with two separate championships and divisions, it is currently struggling once again. There are some highlights here and there, and some vastly talented teams, but it still doesn’t get the attention it truly deserves.

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There have been some good reigns over the last decade, but there have also been some poor ones, with the introduction of the Women’s Tag Team Titles offering similar problems to the men’s belts. Each year, there is one set of champions that is the worst of the bunch over those twelve months.

10 2021: Nikki A.S.H. & Rhea Ripley

A trope used far too often in modern day WWE is the “odd couple” tag team, pitting together two completely opposite personalities, with them unable to coexist at first, but eventually find a way to work together. This was the case for Nikki A.S.H. and Rhea Ripley, who each came off the back of poor reigns as Raw Women’s Champion.

Their journey as a team had only just begun when they shockingly won the Women’s Tag Team Championship. In fact, they’d wrestled just three matches as a team before winning gold. They had very little chemistry, and their reign consisted of zero televised title defenses, losing the gold in under five minutes to Carmella & Zelina Vega.

9 2020: Asuka & Charlotte Flair

Though the titles had only been in existence for just over a year, they had plummeted significantly in terms of prestige, often used to aid singles feuds rather than focus on tag wrestling. The same was the case when Asuka & Charlotte Flair won the titles, after the latter was revealed to be a surprise replacement for Lana.

This was such a pointless reign, and the titles felt like mere props on their shoulders, as they dropped them just a month later anyway.

8 2019: Braun Strowman & Seth Rollins

The reign of Strowman & Rollins was another case of WWE using tag team titles as props to further other feuds. Strowman was set to face Rollins at the upcoming Clash of Champions PPV, but in the lead up, they were made to coexist in a Raw Tag Title match against The O.C.

Their only defense led to their loss, dropping the titles to the Dirty Dawgs, but the focus was on their Universal Championship match for later in the same evening. It was a meaningless reign, and they made the tag division look inferior due to being two singles stars.

7 2018: Braun Strowman & Nicholas

Heading into WrestleMania 34, Strowman was set to team up with a mystery tag partner to battle The Bar for the Raw Tag Team Titles. Strowman would pick a ten-year-old child from the audience, in what was essentially a 2-on-1 handicap match, where Strowman handily won.

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This made a mockery of the tag titles, and Nicholas relinquished the belt the next night to focus on his schooling, with him being a literal child.

6 2017: Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan

Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan had no chemistry at all. WWE was pushing Jordan as a new star, but the crowd weren’t buying it, so he ended up teaming with Rollins, with the pair winning the Raw Tag Team Titles.

It is a shame when two singles superstars are thrown together and win tag gold, as it makes all the other teams look poor, and not good enough to hang with the singles competitors. Their reign wasn’t great, although the matches may have been decent.

5 2016: American Alpha

American Alpha were a fantastic tag team, putting on some incredible matches in NXT. After less than six months on Smackdown, they had won the Tag Team Titles. Winning them so quickly was a surprise, as a long climb upwards would have been better suited for such a new and young team.

Their reign wasn’t terrible, but it had no marquee moments, and they didn’t feel like a big deal. There was nothing noteworthy, aside for a good match against The Usos when they lost the gold. The year saw several top champions across both brands, so it was hard for Alpha not to be considered the worst, even if it wasn’t a poor reign.

4 2015: Prime Time Players

In a year which saw the only other two champions being the incredibly fluid and entertaining duo of Cesaro & Tyson Kidd, and the record-breaking champions of The New Day, the Prime Time Players must be considered as the worst champions of 2015.

Unfortunately for Titus O’Neil and Darren Young, they didn’t have too much to shout about during their two months holding the gold. They were a popular duo, but got completely outshone by The New Day, with fans elated when they won back their titles at Summerslam.

3 2014: New Age Outlaws

There is no good reason as to why the New Age Outlaws were Tag Team Champions in the year of 2014. On the Royal Rumble kickoff, the aging pair of Billy Gunn and Road Dogg dethroned Cody Rhodes and Goldust, who had defeated some strong teams such as The Shield & The Usos, so losing to a team that had barely been a part of WWE for years felt like a slap in the face.

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The best thing about their reign was that they dropped the belts to The Usos, giving a younger team the rub, but it was an odd reign, and it came in the wrong era.

2 2013: Cody Rhodes & Goldust

When Rhodes and Goldust won the belts, it was an incredible and emotional moment, and their reign as champions was decent. However, the other two teams who held the titles during the year were just stronger.

The Shield and Team Hell No were the other two pairings to hold tag title gold in 2013, and they were both hugely entertaining as the champions. Though Rhodes and Goldust are bottom of the list, they still had some great moments.

1 2012: R-Truth & Kofi Kingston

There are a few teams which could be considered the worst in 2012. AirBoom were a fine team, but dropped the gold on a house show less than a month into the year, and Primo & Epico were as bland as bland can be as champions. But the thrown together pairing of R-Truth and Kofi Kingston was incredibly uninspiring.

Their reign was far too long, and the belts felt meaningless around their waists, with 2012 being a poor time for the tag team division, which was eventually saved when Team Hell No became champions.