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News: WWE’s 50 Greatest Tag Team Countdown Continues #20 to #11 Revealed

The third episode of WWE’s 50 Greatest Tag Team Countdown premiered today on Peacock/WWE Network.

Since there might be some confusion if I don’t explain it again, here were the ground rules explained in the opening episode.

It was made clear by the hosts (Tyler Breeze and Fandango) that they will be ranking WWE tag teams over the last 50 years, so as much as they like WCW tag teams like Harlem Heat and the Hollywood Blonds, they won’t be on the list. The way the list was ranked was by looking at the title reigns, the longevity and the cultural impact they had. They encouraged fans to talk about the list using the hashtag #WWE50GreatestTagTeams as well.

Here were the rankings after the first episode.

50. The Bushwhackers (Butch & Luke)

49. Too Cool (Grandmaster Sexay & Scotty 2 Hotty)

48. The Quebecers (Jacques & Pierre)

47. Smoking Gunns (Billy & Bart Gunn)

46. Strikeforce (Tito Santana & Rick Martel)

45. The Headshrinkers (Samu & Fatu)

44. Kane & X-Pac

43. Batista & Ric Flair

42. MNM (Johnny Nitro & Joey Mercury with Melina)

41. Nasty Boys (Brian Knobs & Jerry Sags)

40. Rated RKO (Randy Orton & Edge)

39. Paul London and Brian Kendrick

38. DIY (Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano)

37. World’s Greatest Tag Team (Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas)

36. Money Inc. (Ted Dibiase & Irwin R. Schyster)

Here’s the countdown from #35 to #21 that aired in part two:

35. Jeri-Show (Chris Jericho & Big Show)

34. The Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Tugboat/Typhoon)

33. The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins)

32. The Brisco Brothers (Jack & Gerald Brisco)

31. Harper & Rowan

30. Owen Hart & The British Bulldog

29. The Miz & John Morrison

28. The Bar (Cesaro & Sheamus)

27. Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane)

26. Nikolai Volkoff & The Iron Sheik

25. Los Guerreros (Eddie & Chavo Guerrero)

24. The APA (Bradshaw & Faarooq)

23. The Blackjacks (Blackjack Lanza & Blackjack Mulligan)

22. The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose)

21. D-Generation X (Shawn Michaels & Triple H)

Now we move on to part three covering spots #20 to #11.

20. The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish, Roderick Strong, Adam Cole)

19. The Soul Patrol (Rocky Johnson & Tony Atlas)

18. Mr. Fuji & Toru Tanaka

17. The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott Steiner)

16. The Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection (The Rock & Mick Foley/Mankind)

15. The Wild Samoans (Afa & Sika)

14. The Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty)

13. The Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage)

12. The Valiant Brothers (Jimmy & Johnny Valiant)

11. Demolition (Ax & Smash – Crush was not mentioned)

Part 4 will likely feature the teams ranked from #10 to #6 and then Part 5 will feature the top five teams.

TJR Thoughts: It’s an interesting list with an odd order. I’m glad to see The Undisputed Era there as one of the best teams in NXT history and maybe they should be even higher. Teams like The Soul Patrol, Fuji/Tanaka and Valiant Brothers were before my time. I don’t have many memories of them. I remember a bit about The Wild Samoans. The Steiners should be higher of course, but if you only count their WWE run (and the rules are they aren’t counting WCW or other companies) then I can understand it. The thing is they say WCW doesn’t count, but they showed a lot of footage of The Steiners in WCW.

The graphic for The Rockers said they were Tag Team Champions. I don’t know why it said that because the title reign was never recognized because it was unaired. It was mentioned in the video. The Rockers should have been champions, but it didn’t happen.

Teams like The Mega Powers and The Rock ‘n Sock Connection were not traditional tag teams. They were short-term things that people remember well for memorable moments, but I think they are ranked too high. I mean even The Rock would probably say his team shouldn’t be higher than The Soul Patrol duo of his father Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas. The Mega Powers were a headline act when they teamed, so I see why Hogan & Savage are in it. I just don’t think they should be this high.

Demolition is a team that warrants a spot in the top ten, in my opinion. I think they were one of the best teams from their era and having a lengthy title reign should mean a lot. Plus, they were three-time Tag Team Champions in WWE. Demolition is the best WWE tag team not in the WWE Hall of Fame because they participated in lawsuits against WWE for things like concussions and other issues. I hope one day they get recognized by WWE for being the great, legendary team that they were.

Who’s in the top ten? Some of the teams that come to mind are The New Day, The Hardy Boyz, The Dudley Boyz, Edge & Christian, The Usos, The Hart Foundation, British Bulldogs, Brothers of Destruction (The Undertaker & Kane), New Age Outlaws and Legion of Doom. That’s ten teams. If that’s not the final ten I’ll be surprised. What’s the order? I don’t know for sure.