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World Tag Team Championship (WWE)

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This article is about WWE's tag team title established in 2002 and renamed in 2024. For the other WWE tag team title that has this title's original name that is currently defended on SmackDown, see WWE Tag Team Championship. For the title of the same name existing from 1971 to 2010, see World Tag Team Championship (WWE, 1971–2010). For other WWE tag team championships, see Tag team championships in WWE.
World Tag Team Championship
The current World Tag Team Championship belt with default side plates (2024–present)
Details
PromotionWWE
BrandRaw
Date establishedOctober 3, 2002
Current champion(s)The Judgment Day
(Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh)
Date wonJune 24, 2024
Other name(s)
Statistics
First champion(s)Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit
Most reignsAs a tag team (4 reigns):

As an individual (6 reigns):

Longest reignThe New Day
(Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods)[d]
(2nd reign, 483 days)
Shortest reignJohn Cena and The Miz
(9 minutes)
Oldest championR-Truth
(52 years, 78 days)
Youngest championNicholas
(10 years)
Heaviest championBig Show and Kane
(808 lbs combined)
Lightest championPaul London and Brian Kendrick
(365 lbs combined)

The World Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the Raw brand division. It is one of two male tag team championships for WWE's main roster, along with the WWE Tag Team Championship on SmackDown. The current champions are The Judgment Day (Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh), who are in their first reign as a team; individually, it is the first for McDonagh and third for Bálor. They won the title by defeating Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) on the June 24, 2024, episode of Raw.

The championship was originally established as the WWE Tag Team Championship on October 3, 2002, and the team of Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit were the inaugural champions. It was introduced for the SmackDown brand as a second title for tag teams in the promotion to complement WWE's original World Tag Team Championship, which became exclusive to Raw. Both titles were unified in 2009 and were collectively referred to as the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship while officially remaining independently active until the original World Tag Team Championship was formally decommissioned in 2010.

As a result of the 2016 WWE Draft, the championship became exclusive to Raw and was renamed as the Raw Tag Team Championship, with SmackDown creating their own counterpart, the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. From May 2022 until April 2024, both titles were held and defended together as the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship, with each maintaining their individual lineages. Under the Undisputed banner, both titles simultaneously became the first tag team championships to be defended in the main event of WWE's flagship event, WrestleMania, which occurred as the main event of WrestleMania 39 Night 1 in April 2023. The titles would again be defended in the main event of a pay-per-view and livestreaming event at Night of Champions the following month. The titles were then split at WrestleMania XL in April 2024 with the Raw Tag Team Championship subsequently renamed as the World Tag Team Championship with the SmackDown title becoming the WWE Tag Team Championship.

History

[edit]
Inaugural champions Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit, who won the title as the WWE Tag Team Championship

From 1971 until 2002, WWE's original World Tag Team Championship was the primary men's world tag team championship of the professional wrestling promotion. Following The Invasion storyline, WWE's roster doubled in size due to the influx of wrestlers from the former promotions, World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling. As a result, WWE introduced the brand extension in March 2002 to divide its roster between the Raw and SmackDown! brands where wrestlers would exclusively perform on their respective weekly television programs. The original World Tag Team Championship initially became exclusive to SmackDown!, but was later reassigned to Raw, leaving the former without a tag team title. As a result, SmackDown! General Manager Stephanie McMahon introduced the WWE Tag Team Championship and commissioned it to be the tag team title for the SmackDown! brand on October 3, 2002. She also announced that the inaugural champions would be determined from an eight-team tournament. At No Mercy on October 20, 2002, the team of Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit defeated Rey Mysterio and Edge in the tournament final to become the inaugural WWE Tag Team Champions.[1]

On October 17, 2007, SmackDown! and ECW (which became a third brand in 2006) announced a talent sharing agreement that enabled talent from either brand's roster to compete on both brands. As a result, the title became eligible to be contended and defended on both brands. In late 2008 through early 2009, reigning WWE Tag Team Champions The Colóns (Carlito and Primo) engaged in rivalry with reigning World Tag Team Champions John Morrison and The Miz, which resulted in the announcement on the March 17 episode of ECW that at WrestleMania 25, both teams would defend their titles against each other and the winning team would hold both titles.[2] The Colóns defeated Morrison and Miz, and thus unified the titles into what became known as the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship, the umbrella term for what officially remained two active championships that were now collectively defended.[3] The championships would be defended as the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship on any brand until August 2010. That month, the Anonymous Raw General Manager announced that the World Tag Team Championship would be decommissioned in favor of continuing the WWE Tag Team Championship, which received a new, single set of championship belts, which were presented to reigning champions The Hart Dynasty (Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith) by Bret Hart. The WWE Tag Team Championship, which dropped the "unified" moniker, subsequently became the sole tag team championship in WWE, available to any brand. The first brand extension then ended in August 2011.[4]

Following the reintroduction of the brand extension in July 2016, reigning champions The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods) were drafted to the Raw brand, making the championship exclusive to Raw. In response, SmackDown created the SmackDown Tag Team Championship on August 23, 2016. The WWE Tag Team Championship was subsequently renamed to Raw Tag Team Championship and The New Day were the first champions to hold the title under its new name.[1] In 2019, WWE's developmental territory NXT became the promotion's third major brand when it was moved to the USA Network in September, thus making the NXT Tag Team Championship the third major tag team title for men in WWE.[5] However, this recognition was reversed when NXT reverted to its original function as a developmental brand in September 2021.[6]

At WrestleMania 34 on April 8, 2018, reigning Raw Tag Team Champions Cesaro and Sheamus were scheduled to defend the title against Braun Strowman and a partner of his choosing. At the event, Strowman revealed that his partner would be a fan from the live audience. He then went out into the crowd and picked 10-year old Nicholas, and the two defeated Cesaro and Sheamus for the title. This made Nicholas the youngest WWE champion in history. Nicholas was also revealed to be the son of WWE referee, John Cone. The following night on Raw, the two relinquished the titles.[7]

During the May 20, 2022, episode of SmackDown, reigning SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) defeated reigning Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro (Randy Orton and Riddle) in a Winners Take All match to claim both championships and become recognized as the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions. WWE had billed the match as a championship unification match; however, both titles remained independently active.[8] The Usos had defended both titles together across both brands as the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship, but on a couple of occasions in early 2023, they also defended the titles separately.[9][10]

In the main event of WrestleMania 39 Night 1, The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) defended the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship against the team of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. This subsequently made both the Raw and SmackDown titles the first tag team championships to be defended in the main event of WWE's flagship event, WrestleMania. At the event, Owens and Zayn defeated The Usos to become champions.[11] The titles would again be defended in the main event of a pay-per-view and livestreaming event at Night of Champions the following month on May 27 when Owens and Zayn retained the titles against The Bloodline (Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa).[12]

At WrestleMania XL Night 1 on April 6, 2024, The Judgment Day (Finn Bálor and Damian Priest) defended the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship in a Six-Pack Tag Team Ladder match in which both sets of championships had to be retrieved for the match to end. As a result, the championships were split with Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) winning the Raw Tag Team Championship while A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory and Grayson Waller) won the SmackDown titles.[13] A week later on the April 15 episode of Raw, the Raw Tag Team Championship was renamed as the World Tag Team Championship with a new set of championship belts.[14] The SmackDown Tag Team Championship was then renamed as the WWE Tag Team Championship with its own new set of belts on the April 19 episode of SmackDown.[15]

Inaugural WWE Tag Team Championship Tournament (2002)

[edit]

The WWE Tag Team Championship Tournament was a tournament held to crown the inaugural WWE Tag Team Champions for the SmackDown brand. It concluded at No Mercy on October 20, 2002, and was won by the team of Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit.[16]

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
 
 
 
Los Guerreros Sub
 
 
 
Mark Henry and Rikishi
 
Los Guerreros
 
 
 
Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle Pin
 
Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle Sub
 
 
 
Billy Kidman and John Cena
 
Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle Sub
 
 
 
Edge and Rey Mysterio 22:03
 
Reverend D-Von and Ron Simmons Pin
 
 
 
Billy and Chuck
 
Reverend D-Von and Ron Simmons
 
 
 
Edge and Rey Mysterio Pin
 
Edge and Rey Mysterio Pin
 
 
Brock Lesnar and Tajiri
 

Brand designation history

[edit]

Following the events of the WWE brand extension, an annual WWE draft was established, in which select members of WWE's roster are reassigned to a different brand.[17] After the WWE Tag Team Championship was unified with the World Tag Team Championship as the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship, the champions could appear and defend the titles on any WWE brand.[18] The World Tag Team Championship was decommissioned in August 2010, leaving the WWE Tag Team Championship as WWE's sole tag team title, which dropped the "Unified" moniker, received a new single set of belts, and continued to be defended on any brand.[19] The brand extension was discontinued on August 29, 2011, but it was revived on July 19, 2016.[20] The following is a list of dates indicating the transitions of the current World Tag Team Championship between the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands.

Date of transition Brand Notes
October 20, 2002 SmackDown Championship established as the WWE Tag Team Championship for SmackDown after the World Tag Team Championship became exclusive to Raw. Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit became the inaugural champions at No Mercy.
November 13, 2007 ECW The WWE Tag Team Championship moved to ECW after John Morrison and The Miz, members of the ECW brand, defeated Matt Hardy and Montel Vontavious Porter to win the WWE Tag Team Championship. However, as part of a talent exchange agreement between SmackDown and ECW, teams of either brand could challenge for the title.
July 20, 2008 SmackDown The WWE Tag Team Championship returned to SmackDown after Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder, members of the SmackDown brand, defeated John Morrison and The Miz to win the WWE Tag Team Championship. The talent exchange agreement was still in effect during this time.
April 5, 2009 N/A At WrestleMania 25, The Colóns unified the WWE Tag Team Championship and World Tag Team Championship as the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship. Both titles remained active and were defended on any brand.
The World Tag Team Championship was decommissioned in August 2010, and "Unified" was dropped from the name.
July 19, 2016 Raw Reintroduction of brand split.
WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods) were drafted to Raw during the 2016 WWE Draft.
The title was renamed to Raw Tag Team Championship after SmackDown introduced the SmackDown Tag Team Championship.[20]
The title was renamed to World Tag Team Championship on the April 15, 2024, episode of Raw.

Belt designs

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One-time champions Deuce 'n Domino (right and left), shown here with the original design of the championship (2002–2010) when it was still known as the WWE Tag Team Championship of SmackDown!.
One-time champions The Hart Dynasty (Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith, with Natalya), the first team to hold the 2010–2016 version of the title when it was still called the WWE Tag Team Championship.
One-time champion Sami Zayn with the 2016–2024 version of the title when it was known as the Raw Tag Team Championship.

The original design of the title belt when it was introduced as the WWE Tag Team Championship featured a design that was similar to the 1985 to 2002 version of the original World Tag Team Championship, with gold plates on black straps. It featured a similar center plate with an eagle and crown designs alongside a blue globe at the center. On top, it featured the company's scratch logo on a blue background. The gold text in the blue ribbon read "World Wrestling Entertainment" while the bottom read "TAG TEAM" in a blue background and "CHAMPIONS" in blue text. The inner side plates were gold and featured two wrestlers grappling with the WWE logo at the top on a blue background, while the outer side plates were simply the company logo on a blue background.[21]

In August 2010, the WWE Tag Team Championship received a redesign, replacing the previous design that had been used in tandem with the original World Tag Team Championship to represent the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship since April 2009. The belts were on black straps with copper plates. Taking inspiration from Greece, the center plate was dominated by two Spartan helmets facing outward and it was encircled with a meander pattern. At the top of the center plate was the WWE scratch logo and at the bottom was a banner that read "Tag Team" on one line and "Champions" below that; above the Tag Team banner read "World Wrestling Entertainment" in small print. On both sides of the center plate were two side plates. The inner side plates featured the WWE scratch logo and were encircled with the meander pattern, while the outer side plates featured a single Spartan helmet facing inward. A version with two name plates on the center plate, one for each champion, had been created but was not used.[22] In August 2014, the belts, along with all other pre-existing championship belts in WWE at the time, received a minor update, replacing the scratch logo with WWE's current logo that was originally used for the WWE Network that launched earlier that year in February.[23] According to well-known belt maker Dave Millican, who designed and created the belts, he wanted to go with either nickel, silver, or gold for the plates, but WWE, in particular Stephanie McMahon, wanted copper to do something different that was not done elsewhere.[24]

In August 2016, after the reintroduction of the brand split and the creation of the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, the WWE Tag Team Championship was renamed to Raw Tag Team Championship. The belts then received an update on December 19 that year to reflect the name change. They featured the same physical design, but the plates were silver and the straps changed to red, countering the silver plates on blue straps design of the SmackDown Tag Team Championship belts. While all other WWE championship belts were updated to feature customizable side plates for the champion's logos, the Raw and SmackDown tag titles lacked these features.[25]

On the April 15, 2024, episode of Raw, in conjunction with the Raw Tag Team Championship being renamed to World Tag Team Championship, the championship belts received a new design. At the center of the plate is WWE's logo placed over a globe, similar to the World Heavyweight Championship and Women's World Championship belts, albeit with a red background and placed on a shield flanked by two griffins in a similar manner to a coat of arms. Above the globe is a banner that reads "WORLD TAG TEAM" while below the globe is another banner that reads "CHAMPIONS", both in silver and with a red background. The plates are on black straps with metal endplates, and gold divider bars separate the center plate from the two side plates. The side plates are now customizable with the reigning champions' logo; the default side plates feature the WWE logo on a red globe.[14]

Reigns

[edit]
Main article: List of World Tag Team Champions (WWE)
Current champions The Judgment Day (Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh)

As of November 5, 2024, there have been 94 reigns between 72 teams composed of 103 individual champions, and one vacancy. The team of Cesaro and Sheamus and The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) have the most reigns as a team at four, while individually, Kingston and Seth Rollins have the most with six. The New Day's second reign is also the longest reign at 483 days and they are the only team to hold the championship for over one consecutive year—Big E is also credited for this reign as during New Day's first two reigns, Big E, Kingston, and Woods were all recognized as champion under the Freebird Rule (Big E was split from the team in the 2020 WWE Draft). John Cena and The Miz's sole reign is the shortest reign at 9 minutes, due to The Corre invoking their rematch clause immediately after losing the title. As a team, The New Day (across its two different variants of team members) also have the longest combined reign at 627 days, while Kingston individually has the longest combined reign at 912 days (910 days as recognized by WWE). Nicholas is the youngest champion at 10 years old (also making him the youngest champion in WWE history), while R-Truth is the oldest champion at age 52.

The current champions are The Judgment Day (Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh). Individually, it is McDonagh's first reign and Bálor's third, and while it is their first time holding the title as a team. They won the title by defeating Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) on the June 24, 2024, episode of Raw in Indianapolis, Indiana.[26]

Notes

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  1. ^ In tandem with the original World Tag Team Championship.
  2. ^ In tandem with the then-WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship.
  3. ^ During their first two reigns, Big E was also recognized as champion under the Freebird Rule.
  4. ^ During their first two reigns, The New Day, which at the time consisted of Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods, defended the championship under the Freebird Rule; Big E was split from the team in the 2020 WWE Draft.

References

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General
  • "World Tag Team Championship title history". WWE. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
  • "Raw Tag Team Championship title history". WWE. Retrieved 2016-09-05.
Specific
  1. ^ a b "Raw Tag Team Championship".
  2. ^ Medalis, Kara (2009-03-17). "Extremely lucky night". WWE. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
  3. ^ "WWE Tag Team Champions def. World Tag Team Champions (New Unified Tag Team Champions)". WWE. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  4. ^ Schadler, Kyle (February 12, 2012). "Abandoned: The History of WWE's World Tag Team Championship, Pt. 2". Bleacher Report. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  5. ^ "Triple H Discusses NXT as a Third Brand, Putting Talent in a Position to Succeed, More – 411MANIA". www.411mania.com.
  6. ^ Currier, Joseph (December 3, 2021). "Preview and Predictions for 'NXT WarGames'". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  7. ^ Fiorvanti, Tim. "WrestleMania 34 recaps and results: Ronda shines in debut, Taker returns, Charlotte stops Asuka, new champs galore". ESPN. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  8. ^ Barnett, Jake (March 20, 2022). "5/20 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Barnett's review of Smackdown Tag Team Champions Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso vs. Raw Tag Team Champions "RK-Bro" Randy Orton and Riddle in a unification match, Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn, Xavier Woods vs. Butch". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  9. ^ Rose, Bryan (January 9, 2023). "Judgment Day earn WWE Raw Tag Team title match". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  10. ^ Bath, Dave (February 10, 2023). "WWE SmackDown live results: The Usos vs. Braun Strowman & Ricochet". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  11. ^ Powell, Jason (April 1, 2023). "WrestleMania 39 results: Powell's live review of night one with Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles, Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley for the Smackdown Women's Title, Austin Theory vs. John Cena for the U.S. Title, Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio, Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  12. ^ Powell, Jason (May 27, 2023). "WWE Night of Champions results: Powell's live review of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn vs. Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles, Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Bianca Belair vs. Asuka for the Raw Women's Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on May 27, 2023. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  13. ^ Powell, Jason (April 6, 2024). "WrestleMania XL results: Powell's live review of night one with The Rock and Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes, Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch for the Women's World Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  14. ^ a b Lambert, Jeremy (April 15, 2024). "New WWE World Tag Team Championships Presented To R-Truth And Miz On 4/15 WWE Raw". Fightful. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  15. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (April 19, 2024). "New WWE Tag Team Titles Given To Austin Theory And Grayson Waller On 4/19 WWE SmackDown". Fightful. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  16. ^ "Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit's first reign". WWE. Retrieved 2013-10-13.
  17. ^ Dee, Louie (2007-06-07). "Draft History". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
  18. ^ Sitterson, Aubrey (2009-04-27). "Judgment is coming". WWE. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
  19. ^ "History of the World Tag Team Championship: Carlito & Primo". WWE. Archived from the original on April 8, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  20. ^ a b Babos, John. "WWE Raw & Smackdown Live Spoilers: WWE Raw Rebrands 2 Championship Belts Following Smackdown Live's Lead!". Www.insidepulse.com. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  21. ^ "WWE SmackDown Ruthless Aggression Tag Team Championship Replica Title Belt". WWE. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  22. ^ "Bret "Hit Man" Hart presents The Hart Dynasty with the new WWE Tag Team Championships: Raw, August 16, 2010". WWE. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  23. ^ Graser, Marc (August 15, 2014). "WWE Rebrands With New Logo Tied to Digital Network". Variety. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  24. ^ Thomas, Jeremy (August 8, 2018). "WWE Title Belt Maker Reveals Where Raw Tag Team Title Design Came From". 411Mania. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  25. ^ Thomas, Jeremy (December 19, 2016). "New Raw Tag Team Championships Revealed". 411Mania. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  26. ^ Powell, Jason (June 24, 2024). "WWE Raw results (6/24): Powell's live review of Wyatt Sicks follow-up, Bron Breakker vs. Ludwig Kaiser, Triple Threat qualifiers for the Money in the Bank ladder matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
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