5 Former Tag Team Champions WWE released this year and 5 they broke up
WWE is undoubtedly the most popular wrestling promotion in the world. Having a roster full of top Superstars and teams, one thing that WWE has always been criticized for is not taking tag-team wrestling seriously and elevating its status.
Currently, both RAW and SmackDown have their separate Tag Team Championships but the tag-team rosters on both the brands aren't deep enough with only a few getting showcased regularly. To add to the misery, WWE has taken many decisions this year that have further damaged the tag-team division of the company.
Let's take a look at five former WWE Tag Team Champions that were released this year and five others that were broken up.
#5 Tag Team Champions WWE released: The Revival
Fans who followed The Revival's career in the Black and Gold brand know just how over they were with the NXT Universe. The former two-time NXT Tag Team Champions, The Revival made their way to the main roster in 2017. While they became the first team in history to win the tag team titles of all the three brands of WWE, they weren't satisfied with the company not using them properly.
The two requested for their release in 2019 but WWE tried to make them stay by giving them a push and the titles. But the two had decided to not stay with the companies and were finally granted their release earlier this year in April. In May 2020, the two made their debut for All Elite Wrestling as FTR and went on to win the AEW World Tag Team Championship in September. They were also ranked No. 1 by PWI in their top 50 Tag Teams of 2020 list.
#5 Tag Team Champions WWE broke up: Peyton Royce and Billie Kay (The IIconics)
One of the most surprising decisions by WWE this year was to break up the team of Peyton Royce and Billie Kay, aka The IIconics. From their time in NXT as The Iconic Duo, the two had impressed everyone and continued to do so after their main roster call-up in 2018. At WrestleMania 35, The IIconics won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship in a fatal four-way match and held the titles for 120 days.
Earlier this year, they lost a match to The Riott Squad on RAW and as per the stipulation, were forced to break up. At the 2020 WWE Draft, Peyton Royce was drafted to RAW while Billie Kay went to SmackDown.