The American professional wrestling promotion WWE has maintained several men's and women's tag team championships (except for a two-year interim between 1967 and 1969) since Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in 1963 to become the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), which was later subjected to various name changes, including World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)—in April 2011, the company ceased using its full name and has since just been referred to as WWE. The first men's tag team title, the Northeast version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship, preceded the company's creation, as it was established in 1957 for CWC as a version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship, while the first women's tag team title, the WWF Women's Tag Team Championship, was established in 1983. Whenever the WWE brand extension has been implemented (2002–2011; 2016–present), separate tag team championships have been created or allocated for each brand.
This article covers all tag team championships contested in WWE throughout its history, not those acquired by the company and never contested under its banner, although WWE may recognize other titles for championship records, such as the ECW World Tag Team Championship.
The WWF International Tag Team Championship was the third men's tag team title to be contested in the company. For the two years following the abandonment of the WWWF United States Tag Team Championship, the WWWF had no tag team title until The Rising Suns (Toru Tanaka and Mitsu Arakawa) arrived in the promotion in September 1969 with the WWWF International Tag Team Championship, which they claimed to have won in a tournament in Tokyo, Japan in June of that year. This became the WWWF's tag team title until 1971, mostly being held by The Mongols (Bepo Mongol and Geeto Mongol). When they left the WWWF in 1971, they took the titles with them.[2] In May 1985, six years after the company was renamed World Wrestling Federation (WWF), Tatsumi Fujinami and Kengo Kimura beat Dick Murdoch and Adrian Adonis in a tournament final in Japan for a revival of the rebranded WWF International Tag Team Championship only for the title to be abandoned again when relations between New Japan Pro-Wrestling and the WWF fell out in October that year.[3]
The World Tag Team Championship was the fourth men's tag team title to be contested in WWE, however, it was the first world tag team championship to be established by the company. After the company lost the WWWF International Tag Team Championship, the WWWF established the WWWF World Tag Team Championship in 1971 and the inaugural champions were the team of Luke Graham and Tarzan Tyler. In 1979, the promotion became the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and the tag titles were renamed the WWF Tag Team Championship until 1983 when they became the WWF World Tag Team Championship.[4]
After WWF's initial brand extension in the spring of 2002 and the renaming of the company as World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), the tag titles became the WWE Tag Team Championship and champions Billy and Chuck were drafted to the SmackDown brand. That summer, however, The Un-Americans (Christian and Lance Storm) would win the championship and shortly thereafter transfer it to the Raw brand where it was later renamed the World Tag Team Championship. SmackDown subsequently established their own WWE Tag Team Championship. After several years, in April 2009, the titles would be unified as the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship, but both titles remained independently active.[5] The champions defended the unified title across all brands until the World Tag Team Championship was formally decommissioned in August 2010 in favor of continuing the lineage of the WWE Tag Team Championship, which dropped the "unified" moniker. The final World Tag Team Champions were The Hart Dynasty (Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith), who continued on as the WWE Tag Team Champions.[6]
The WWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship was the fifth men's tag team title under the company's banner, but it was contested in the WWF-affiliated promotion UWF Japan. By 1988, wrestling magazine Pro Wrestling Illustrated was calling for the establishment of a secondary tag team championship (modelled on the WCW United States Tag Team Championship) due to the glut of tag team competition in the promotion.[7] This never took place, but in 1991, UWF Japan introduced the WWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship, claimed by the team of Perro Aguayo and Gran Hamada. This title was abandoned when the affiliation ended later that same year, with Aguayo and Hamada as the only title holders.[8]
The WWE Tag Team Championship was established in 2002 and is one of WWE's two currently active world tag team championships for the main roster, representing the Raw brand. It was originally established as the WWE Tag Team Championship, being the sixth overall men's tag team title contested in the company, but the second world tag team championship established by WWE. As a result of the World Tag Team Championship becoming exclusive to Raw in the 2002 brand extension, then-SmackDown general managerStephanie McMahon introduced the WWE Tag Team Championship and commissioned it to be the tag team title for the SmackDown brand. The inaugural champions were Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit.[10]
After several years, in April 2009, the WWE Tag Team Championship and World Tag Team Championship were unified as the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship, but both titles remained independently active.[5] The champions defended the unified title across all brands until the World Tag Team Championship was formally decommissioned in August 2010 in favor of continuing the lineage of the WWE Tag Team Championship, which dropped the "unified" moniker. The first brand extension then ended in August 2011.[6]
As a result of the reintroduction of the brand extension in July 2016 and the subsequent draft that month, the championship became exclusive to Raw and was renamed the Raw Tag Team Championship, and SmackDown created the SmackDown Tag Team Championship as its counterpart title.[11] Since May 2022, the title has been held and defended together with the SmackDown Tag Team Championship as the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship, but both titles remain independently active.[12]
The Unified WWE Tag Team Championship was the term used in WWE to refer to both the World Tag Team Championship and WWE Tag Team Championship being held and defended together by the same team, but both titles were independently active. The titles were held together under the "unified" banner from April 2009 to August 2010, with a total of six teams holding the titles during this time, with one individual, Chris Jericho, holding them twice as he held the unified title with two different teams. The holders of the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship appeared and defended the titles across all three brands at the time: Raw, SmackDown, and ECW—the latter of which was established in May 2006 but disbanded in February 2010.[5]
At WrestleMania 25, reigning WWE Tag Team Champions The Colóns (Carlito and Primo) defeated reigning World Tag Team Champions John Morrison and The 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. 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. The Hart Dynasty (Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith) were subsequently the final team recognized as the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions. The WWE Tag Team Championship, which dropped the "unified" moniker, subsequently became the sole tag team championship in WWE, available to any brand before the first brand extension ended in August 2011.[6]
The NXT Tag Team Championship is the tag team championship of WWE's developmental territory, NXT. The title was established in January 2013 and the inaugural champions were British Ambition (Adrian Neville and Oliver Grey). It is the seventh overall men's tag team title to be contested in the company.[13] In September 2019, it became regarded as one of WWE's main titles for male tag teams when NXT became recognized as WWE's third major brand.[14][15] However, NXT reverted to being WWE's developmental brand in September 2021.[16]
The SmackDown Tag Team Championship was established in 2016 and is one of WWE's two currently active world tag team championships for the main roster, representing the SmackDown brand. It is the eighth overall men's tag team title contested in the company, but the third world tag team championship established by WWE. Its creation came as a result of the reintroduction of the brand extension in July 2016, when the WWE Tag Team Championship became exclusive to Raw and was renamed the Raw Tag Team Championship, thus SmackDown created the SmackDown Tag Team Championship as its counterpart title. Heath Slater and Rhyno were the inaugural champions.[17]
Since May 2022, the title has been held and defended together with the Raw Tag Team Championship as the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship, but both titles remain independently active.[12]
The NXT UK Tag Team Championship was the tag team championship for the NXT UK brand, a sister brand of NXT based in the United Kingdom. It was the ninth overall men's tag team title contested in the company, and the inaugural champions were James Drake and Zack Gibson. It was established in 2018, however, after the announcement of the closure of NXT UK, the title was retired when it was unified into the NXT Tag Team Championship at Worlds Collide in September 2022. At the event, Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince and Kit Wilson) defeated Gallus (Mark Coffey and Wolfgang), reigning NXT Tag Team Champions The Creed Brothers (Brutus Creed and Julius Creed), and reigning NXT UK Tag Team Champions Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs in a fatal four-way tag team elimination match to unify the tag team championships, with Jensen and Briggs recognized as the final NXT UK Tag Team Champions.[18]
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship (2022–present)
The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso) unified the Raw Tag Team Championship and SmackDown Tag Team Championship as the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship. Their reign as SmackDown Tag Team Champions prior to and during their time as undisputed champions became the longest male tag team championship reign in WWE history at 622 days.
The Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship is the term currently used in WWE to refer to both the Raw Tag Team Championship and SmackDown Tag Team Championship being held and defended together by the same team. Since May 2022, the holders of the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship appear and defend the titles on both the Raw and SmackDown brands.[12]
On 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 become recognized as the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions. Although WWE billed the match as a unification match, both titles have remained independently active.[12] For the vast majority of the title defenses since May 2022, the titles have been defended together, but there were a couple of occasions in early 2023 where the titles were defended separately.[19][20]
As of February 27, 2024, four teams have been recognized as the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions, with one team and three individuals recognized twice. Jey Uso held the undisputed title with two different partners, while The Judgment Day (Finn Bálor and Damian Priest) are the only team to hold the undisputed title twice. The currently recognized champions are The Judgment Day, who are in their second reign as undisputed champions. They defeated Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso on the October 16, 2023, episode of Raw.[21]
The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship was introduced on the December 24, 2018, episode of Raw[25] and is the only women's tag team championship in WWE, shared by the Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brands. After three decades of not having a women's tag team championship and with large support from fans and female wrestlers alike, the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship was established and then debuted in 2019. The Boss 'n' Hug Connection (Bayley and Sasha Banks) became the inaugural champions at Elimination Chamber in February. The title was originally established to be defended across the Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brands.[26] However, in March 2021, after a dispute over the title, the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship was established, thus the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship became no longer available to NXT.[27] On the June 23, 2023, episode of SmackDown, reigning WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler defeated the reigning NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn in a unification match where the NXT title was unified into the WWE title, retiring the NXT title and subsequently making the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship available to NXT again.[28]
The NXT Women's Tag Team Championship was the women's tag team championship of WWE's developmental brand NXT. The title was established on the March 10, 2021, episode of NXT, where NXT General Manager William Regal unveiled the championship, naming Dakota Kai and Raquel González as the first champions, due to the controversial ending of their match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship the week prior and their having won the first Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.[27] It would be a short-lived championship, as two years later on the June 23, 2023, episode of SmackDown, reigning WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler defeated reigning NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn in a unification match where the NXT title was unified into the WWE title, subsequently retiring the NXT title with Fyre and Dawn recognized as the final champions.[28][29]
Champions
Current champions
The following list shows the wrestlers that are currently holding all active tag team championships in WWE.
Won together with the then-WWE Tag Team Championship as the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship. The World Tag Team Championship was retired in favor of continuing the lineage of the WWE Tag Team Championship, which dropped the "unified" moniker.
They won the title as the WWE Tag Team Championship, but midway through this reign, it was renamed to Raw Tag Team Championship following the reintroduction of the WWE brand extension when the title became exclusive to Raw. All three members were recognized as champions under the Freebird Rule.
During this reign, the title was known as the WWE Tag Team Championship. WWE recognizes London and Kendrick's reign as lasting 334 days due to tape delay.
Specific record for each championship
The following list shows the longest reigning champion for each tag team championship created and/or promoted by WWE, with the exception of the WWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship. The team of Perro Aguayo and Gran Hamada won the inaugural championship on January 7, 1991. The title was abandoned at an unknown date, without ever being lost to another team. The length of their reign can thus not be determined.
The title was owned by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) at this time. Originally known as the NWA World Tag Team Championship (one of twenty versions promoted by various NWA members between 1949 and 1982) during this reign, it was renamed to WCW World Tag Team Championship due to issues between the NWA and WCW.
The New Day won the title as the WWE Tag Team Championship, but midway through this reign, it was renamed to Raw Tag Team Championship following the reintroduction of the WWE brand extension when the title became exclusive to Raw. All three members were recognized as champion under the Freebird Rule.
The actual length of their reign is undeterminable as the real date they lost the title is unknown, but WWE recognizes the reign as lasting 497 days (October 17, 2019 – February 25, 2021) due to tape delay for both dates.
Female
Top 10 tag team championship reigns
The following list shows the top 10 tag team championship reigns in WWE history.
The event that they lost the title was taped across two days, and it is currently not known which date they lost the titles. WWE recognizes The Kabuki Warriors' reign as lasting 181 days due to tape delay.
The event that they lost the title was taped across two days, and it is not known which date they lost the title. WWE recognizes The Kabuki Warriors' reign as lasting 181 days (October 6, 2019 – April 4, 2020) due to tape delay.
During their first six reigns, Big E also defended the title, as all three members of New Day were recognized as champion under the Freebird Rule; Big E was split from the team as a result of the 2020 WWE Draft, and thus was not part of the seventh reign.
During their first reign, the title was known as the WWE Tag Team Championship, but midway through their second reign, it was renamed to Raw Tag Team Championship following the reintroduction of the WWE brand extension when the title became exclusive to Raw. During their first two reigns, Big E also defended the title, as all three members of New Day were recognized as champion under the Freebird Rule; Big E was split from the team as a result of the 2020 WWE Draft, and thus was not part of the third and fourth reigns.
During their first reign, Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, Kyle O'Reilly, and Roderick Strong were all recognized as champion under the Freebird Rule. During their second reign, only O'Reilly and Strong were recognized as champions, while during their third reign, only Fish and O'Reilly were recognized as champions.
During his first seven reigns, the title was known as the WWF Tag Team Championship. During his eighth reign, the title was known as the WWE Tag Team Championship. During his following four reigns, the title was known as the World Tag Team Championship. It was also simultaneously known as the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship during his 12th reign.
During their first six reigns, the two were part of a trio with Big E called The New Day and all three were recognized as champion under the Freebird Rule; Big E was split from the team as a result of the 2020 WWE Draft and was thus not recognized as champion for the seventh reign.
During his first three reigns, the title was known as the WWE Tag Team Championship. Midway through his fourth reign, it was renamed to Raw Tag Team Championship following the reintroduction of the WWE brand extension when the title became exclusive to Raw.
The following list shows the wrestlers who have the most tag team championship reigns in total as individuals, combining all titles they have held as recognized by WWE. This list also shows the titles that they won to achieve this record.
All of their tag team championships were won together as The Dudley Boyz.
During their first six reigns with the World Tag Team Championship, the title was known as the WWF Tag Team Championship.
During their one reign with the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship, the title was known as the WWE Tag Team Championship.
During their one reign with the WCW World Tag Team Championship, the title was known as the WCW Tag Team Championship. The Dudley Boyz were the final champions and the second of two tag teams to have held the WWF and WCW Tag Team Championships together.
Although the ECW World Tag Team Championship was never contested in WWE, the company recognizes these reigns for The Dudley Boyz's total number of tag team championships held.
During his first three reigns with the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship, the title was known as the WWE Tag Team Championship. Midway through his 4th reign, it was renamed to Raw Tag Team Championship.
During his first seven reigns with the World Tag Team Championship, the title was known as the WWF Tag Team Championship. During his 8th reign, it was known as the WWE Tag Team Championship. During his two reigns with the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship, the title was known as the WWE Tag Team Championship. During his 12th and 2nd respective reigns as World Tag Team Champion and WWE Tag Team Champion, he held both titles together as the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship.
During his 11th reign with the WCW World Tag Team Championship, the title was known as the WCW Tag Team Championship. During his first reign with the World Tag Team Championship, the title was known as the WWF Tag Team Championship.
During his first six reigns with the World Tag Team Championship, the title was known as the WWF Tag Team Championship. During his 7th reign, it was known as the WWE Tag Team Championship. Midway through this reign, it was renamed World Tag Team Championship.
During his two reigns with the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship, the title was known as the WWE Tag Team Championship.
During his one reign with the WCW World Tag Team Championship, the title was known as the WCW Tag Team Championship. Kane and The Undertaker were the first of two tag teams to have held the WWF and WCW Tag Team Championships together.
During his first reign with the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship, the title was known as the WWE Tag Team Championship. Midway through his 2nd reign, it was renamed to Raw Tag Team Championship.
During his first two reigns with the World Tag Team Championship, the title was known as the WWF Tag Team Championship. During his three reigns with the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship, the title was known as the WWE Tag Team Championship. During his 4th and 5th World Tag Team Championship reigns and 1st and 2nd WWE Tag Team Championship reigns, both titles were held together as the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship.
During his first five reigns with the World Tag Team Championship, the title was known as the WWF Tag Team Championship. During his first reign with the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship, the title was known as the WWE Tag Team Championship. During his one reign with the WCW World Tag Team Championship, the title was known as the WCW Tag Team Championship.
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