Top 10 WWE Tag Teams of the 2000s
Nostalgia can be a deceitful thing, causing you to look back with far more fondness than the past deserves. However, sometimes nostalgia exists for a good reason because things were were great in the past. This is a great lens through which we can view the state of tag team wrestling during the 2000s (2000-2009).
There was a tremendous upheaval occurring in the world of sports entertainment during this period, mostly relating to the end of the Monday Night War and the fall of WCW and ECW. This led to a massive influx of talent into the last major surviving pro wrestling promotion in North America, the WWE. With so many wrestlers on their roster, WWE found that focusing on tag team wrestling was a great way to give as much screen time as possible to as many different talents as possible.
Not only was WWE basically the only show in town during this period, with regards to a major promotion with television deals, they also experimented with their first brand split. This led to two different tag team championships, which made the tag team division even more expansive.
Here are ten of the best WWE tag teams of the 2000s, in no particular order.
#1 The Dudley Boyz
The Dudley Boys were originally members of a much more expansive stable that included not only Spike Dudley, who wrestled in the WWE with his 'brothers,' but also Big Dick Dudley and Sign Guy Dudley. However, over time, the duo of D-von and Bubba Ray emerged as the stars of the group.
Their ability to generate unique and innovative tandem offense, as well as their surprising agility for big men--particularly D-Von--made them stand out even in ECW, where great in-ring performers abounded.
Once they made the jump to the WWE in 1999, many thought they would crash and burn. However, they overcame an initial silly stuttering gimmick to become a pair of monster heels who were willing and able to put anyone, male or female, through a table.
What made them one of the greats of this era: During their run with WWE, the Dudleys managed to capture one variation or another of the world tag team championships ten times. This accolade combined with their cultural and performative impact on pro wrestling makes them shoo-ins for the top ten teams of the 2000s. In fact, it would be a crime not to include them.