World Wrestling Entertainment/Characters/Tag Teams
Lists the notable WWE Tag Team wrestlers throughout WWWF, WWF, and WWE. Please limit associated tropes to that wrestler's time in the WWE.
Teams from the WWWF Era (1963-1984)
The Blackjacks - 1975
Blackjack Mulligan (Robert Deroy Windham) 1971, 1975, 1982, 1985–1987
Blackjack Lanza (John "Jack" Lanza) 1975
- Badass Moustache: Both
- Red Baron: "Blackjack"
- Underwear of Power
- Wrestling Doesn't Pay: Wrestling cowboys.
- Wrestling Family: Two separate families. Mulligan has sons Barry and Kendall Windham, son-in-law Mike Rotunda and grandsons Husky Harris and Bo Rotunda. Lanza has nephew John Bradshaw Layfield.
The Valiant Brothers - 1974-1975, 1978-1980
Jimmy Valiant (James Harold Fanning) 1971-1972, 1973-1975, 1979
Johnny Valiant (Thomas Sullivan) 1969-1970, 1974-1975, 1979, 1985-1987
Jerry Valiant (John Steele Hill) 1979, 1984-1985
- Dyeing for Your Art
- Heel: Throughout their WWE and WWA runs.
- Red Baron: "Handsome" Jimmy Valiant, "Luscious" Johnny Valiant, and "Gentleman" Jerry Valiant.
- Unrelated Brothers: All three.
- Wrestling Family
The Wild Samoans - 1980, 1982-1984
Afa (Arthur "Afa" Anoa'i) 1979-1980, 1982-1984, 1992-1995
Sika (Leati "Sika" Anoa'i) 1979-1980, 1982-1984, 1986-1988
- Action Survivor: Afa became the manager of the Headshrinkers.
- Blood Brothers
- Does Not Like Shoes
- Funny Afro
- Hard Head
- Heel: The prototype of the Polynesian heel.
- The Voiceless
- Wild Samoan: The Trope Namers
- Wrestling Family
Teams from the Rock 'N' Wrestling Era (1984-1993)
The Brain Busters - 1988-1989
Arn Anderson (Martin Anthony Lunde) 1988-1989, 2002-
Tully Blanchard (Tully Arthur Blanchard) 1988-1989, 2006
- Alliterative Name: Both the team name and member Arn Anderson.
- Badass Crew
- Cool Shades: Tully
- Genius Bruisers: Their gimmick.
- Large Hams: But damn if they can't back it up.
- True Companions
- Underwear of Power
The Bushwackers - 1988-1996, 2001
Bushwacker Luke Williams (Brian Wickens) 1988-1996, 2001
Bushwacker Butch Miller (Butch Miller) 1988-1996, 2001
- Crazy Awesome
- Funny Foreigner
- New Zealand: But sometimes they were billed as being from Australia.
- Nice Hat
- No Indoor Voice
- Red Baron: "Bushwacker"
- Silly Walk
- Unrelated Brothers
- Wrestling Family
Demolition - 1987-1991
Ax (Bill Eadie) 1973, 1983-1984, 1986-1990
Smash I (Randy Colley) 1980-1987
Smash II (Barry Darsow) 1987-1993
Crush (Brian Keith Adams) 1990-1995, 1996-1997, 2001
- Breakup Breakout: Crush, who became an upper mid-carder with the company and eventually creating his own stable, the Disciples of Apocalypse, a wrestling biker gang.
- Catch Phrase: Smash (II): "We're gonna kick your stinkin' teeth in!"
- Evil Debt Collector / Wrestling Doesn't Pay: After Demoltion broke up Smash (II) became Repo Man, a repo man in a bandit mask.
- Expy: Of the Road Warriors with a hint of KISS.
- Stealth Pun: When the Road Warrior finally signed with the WWF, Demolition accused them of being immitators.
- Gang of Hats
- I Have Many Names: Barry Darsow, and how. Apart from his stint as Smash, he competed under his real name, as Krusher Khrushchev, as The Repo Man, as truck driver The Blacktop Bully, and under a golfing gimmick as "Mr. Hole-in-One".
- Bill Eadie, to a lesser extent. He portrayed minor characters like Bolo Mongol and Super Machine, but he's notable for having two completely distinct characters which were perhaps equally famous in their respective eras: Demolition Ax and, preceding that, The Masked Superstar.
- Randy Colley also went by Moondog Rex.
- Averted with Brian Adams. Though he competed under other names (most notably his own name at the beginning and end of his career), his WWE career is notable for his having portrayed five distinct gimmicks (Demolition member; neon-wearing Hawaiian good guy; dark-purple-wearing, face-painting bad guy; ex-convict enforcer for the Nation of Domination; and bikergang leader), all named Crush.
- The Other Darrin: Barry Darsow replacing Randy Colley as Smash.
- The Pete Best: Randy Colley as Smash.
- Ironic since Colley came up with the gimmick.
- Power Stable: When Crush became a member.
- Replacement Scrappy: Crush, when Ax's injuries were beginning to catch up with him in 1990.
- Underwear of Power
The Funks - 1985-1987
Terry Funk (Terrence Funk) 1972-1973, 1985-1986, 1997-1998, 2006
Dory "Hoss" Funk (Dory Ernest Funk, Jr.) 1986,1996, 1998-1999, 2006
Jimmy Jack Funk (Ferrin Charles Barr, Jr.) 1985-1987
- Chainsaw Good: Terry Funk as Chainsaw Charlie
- Badass Grandpa / Cool Old Guy / Ring Oldies: Terry, who is still wrestling, well into his 60s.
- Garbage Wrestler: Terry especially in the 1990s.
- I Have Many Names: Dory just went by "Hoss Funk" at first, then by his real name in the 1996 Royal Rumble, Terry briefly used "Chainsaw Charlie" when teaming up with Cactus Jack.
- Red Baron: Terry's nickname during his first WWF stint in 1985-1986 was "Terrible".
- Underwear of Power
- Unrelated Brothers: Jimmy Jack to Terry and Hoss.
- Wrestling Family: Obviously Terry and Dory, but Ferrin (Jimmy Jack) is the son to wrestler and promoter, Sandy Barr and older brother to WCW and AAA wrestler Art Barr.
The Legion of Doom / The Road Warriors - 1990-1992, 1997-1999, 2003, 2005-2006
Hawk (Michael James Hegstrand) 1990-1992, 1997-1999, 2003
Animal (Joseph Aaron "Joe" Laurinaitis) 1990-1992, 1997-1999, 2003, 2005-2006
Heidenreich (Jon Heidenreich) 2003-2006
- Badass Crew
- Doomy Dooms of Doom
- Facial Markings
- Psycho Supporter: Heidenreich to Booker T before joining LOD.
- Replacement Scrappy: Depending on how you feel about Droz and Heidenreich.
- Shoulders of Doom
- Spikes of Doom
- Trope 2000: L.O.D. 2000, two years beforehand.
- Underwear of Power: Everyone but Animal at one point.
- Wrestling Family: Animal's brother, John Laurinaitis, wrestled for several years before retiring. He's currently an executive vice president in WWE, as well as an onscreen authority.
The Nasty Boys - 1990-1993
Brian Knobbs (Brian Yandrisovitz) 1990–1993
Jerry Sags (Jerry Sagonovich) 1990–1993
- Eighties Hair
- Garbage Wrestlers
- Jerkasses: As heels and faces.
- The Quincy Punk
- What Could Have Been: During the end of their stint in late 1992, the Nasties were booked into a title feud with Money Inc., which would've culiminated at Wrestlemania IX, but Vince McMahon panicked and brought back Hulk Hogan, who used his backstage politics to shoehorn both himself and Brutus Beefcake into the Nasties' spot.
The Natural Disasters - 1991-1993
Earthquake (John Anthony Tenta) 1989–1993, 1994, 1998–1999, 2001
Typhoon (Fred Ottman) 1989–1993, 1994, 2001
- Badass Beards
- The Big Guy (Face)
- The Brute (Heel)
- Fat Bastards: (Heel)
- I Have Many Names: Both; Earthquake wrestled under the names Avalanche, Shark, and finally his real name in WCW, and as Golga in 1998, while Typhoon wrestled as Tugboat previously and the Shockmaster in WCW.
- Leotard of Power
- Mighty Glacier: Both
- Stout Strength
The Orient Express - 1990-1992
Sato (佐藤 昭雄, Sato Akio) 1990–1991, 1995
Tanaka (Pat Tanaka) 1990–1992, 1993-1994
Kato (Thomas "Tom" Boric) 1990–1993
- Arm Cannon: Kato as Max Moon
- Cool Mask: Both of Boric's aliases Kato and Max Moon.
- Evil Foreigner
- Fake Nationality: Sato is the only member who is Japanese. Kato is actually Caucasian-American (hence why he has to wear the mask), while Tanaka is Hawaiian.
- I Have Many Names: Kato also goes by Max Moon after the Orient Express broke up and Paul Diamond in ECW.
- Sato was the manager Shinja for the wrestler, Hakushi.
Power and Glory - 1990-1991
Hercules (Raymond Fernandez) 1985-1992
Paul Roma (Paul Centopani) 1985-1991
- Alliterative Name: Hercules, as Hercules Hernandez
- The Brute: Hercules, even when he was a solo act.
- Chained by Fashion: Hercules
- The Fighting Narcissist: Roma
- Red Baron: Paul "Romeo" Roma
- Suplex Finisher: Hercules
- Underwear of Power
Teams from the New Generation Era (1993-1997)
The Steiner Brothers - 1992–1994
Rick Steiner (Robert Rechsteiner) 1992–1994
Scott Steiner (Scott Carl Rechsteiner) 1992–1994, 2002–2004
- Badass Family
- Badass Long Hair: Scott, until late 1997 while in WCW.
- Badass Beard: Both men, though Scott had his in his second run with the company.
- Bash Brothers
- Breakup Breakout: Scott returned to the WWE many years later after his first run with the company.
- Hot-Blooded: Both, but Scott cranked it to 11 when he returned.
- Leotard of Power: Both, Scott changed to pants when he came back.
- Lightning Bruisers: In their prime.
- Nice Headgear: Rick
- Red Baron: Rick had "The Dog Faced Gremlin" Scott in his second run had "Big Poppa Pump"
- Wrestling Family
- Unstoppable Rage: Scott's second run.
The Headbangers - 1996-1999, 2000
Mosh (Charles "Chaz" Warrington) 1996–2001
Thrasher (Glenn Ruth) 1991–1993,1996–2000
- Bald of Awesome: (Face)
- Bald of Evil: (Heel)
- Facial Markings
- Freaky Is Cool
- Grunge: Their gimmick.
- I Have Many Names: Wrestled as the Sisters of Love for about two weeks before becoming the Headbangers.
- Real Men Wear Skirts: And eventually breast cones.
- Those Two Guys
Teams from the Attitude Era (1997-2001)
The Dudley Boys The Dudley Boyz]] - 1999-2005
Bubba Ray Dudley (Mark S. LoMonaco) 1999-2005
D-Von Dudley (Devon E. Hughes) 1999-2005
- Acrofatic: Bubba Ray
- Badass Family: Moreso in the original ECW.
- Canon Discontinuity: Reverend D-Von? Nope. Never heard of him.
- Holy Shit Quotient
- Improbable Weapon User: "D-VON, GET THE TABLES!!!"
- Lightning Bruisers
- Nice Hat: Bubba Ray wore a backwards baseball cap during his ill-fated solo run in 2002.
- Non-Identical Twins
- Salt and Pepper
- Tag-Team Twins
- Unrelated Brothers
- Wrestling Family: With Spike in WWE
- Xtreme Kool Letterz
The New Age Outlaws - 1997-2000
"The Road Dogg" Jesse James (Brian Gerard "B.G." James) 1994-2001, 2011-
"Bad Ass" Billy Gunn (Monty "Kip" Sopp) 1993-2004
- Badass Crew
- Badass Mustache: Billy Gunn, from 1993 to 1995, when he was in the Smoking Gunns.
- Breakup Breakout: Billy who wins one more Hardcore title, two more Tag Team titles (with Chuck Palumbo) and lasts two more years after the Road Dogg's gone. Also applies to him and Bart Gunn as well.
- Camp Straight: Billy Gunn
- Catch Phrase: "YOUR ASS BETTER CAAAAAAAAALLLL SOMEBODY!"
- Crowning Moment of Funny: James received a legitimate larynx injury that was going to prevent him for several weeks from talking louder than a whisper. Given that he always did the intro, this was a problem, as evidenced when in their first post-injury match Sopp tried to give the "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls" spiel, but kept blowing the lines because he'd never said them before. On that week's Smack Down, they went to the ring with James carrying several pieces of posterboard under his arm. He proceeded to kneel by the ropes and toss them aside one at a time, cue card style, and Sopp gave a flawless rendition of their intro.
- Different As Night and Day: One was a showman-esque wrestler and member of an illustrious wrestling family who wore street clothes to the ring and had a voice of velvet. The other had an unrelated brother who is a power wrestler who wore just wrestling shorts and boots and had average mic skills. Together they win tag team titles.
- Do-It-Yourself Theme Tune: "Oh, you didn't know?"
- Moral Event Horizon: When they tossed Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie off the stage in a dumpster.
- Nice Hat: Both of them, when Billy was in the Smoking Gunns, and when Dogg was "The Real Double J" Jesse James.
- Red Baron: The Road Dogg had "Roadie", "The Real Double J", and "Road Dogg", Billy had "Rockabilly", "Bad Ass", "Mr. Ass", and "The One"
- Underwear of Power: Billy Gunn.
- Unrelated Brothers: Billy Gunn with Bart Gunn.
- Wrestling Doesn't Pay: Before teaming with each other, James was Jeff Jarrett's roadie, and Gunn was a cowboy with his "brother" in The Smoking Guns.
- Wrestling Family: Road Dogg is a member of the Armstrong wrestling family.
Too Much / Too Cool - 1998-2001
Brian Christopher / Grand Master Sexay (Brian Lawler) 1997–2001, 2004, 2011
Scott Taylor / Scotty 2 Hotty (Scott Ronald Garland) 1991-2007
- Ambiguously Gay / Camp Straight: As Too Much
- Ascended Fanboy: At, 14 or 15 years old, Scotty 2 Hotty wrote to the WWF asking what professional wrestling school the WWF recruited their wrestlers from, helped assemble a WWF ring and attempted to call Vince McMahon himself.
- Breakup Breakout: Scotty served as a Jobber long before Sexay got there and outlasted him six years after he was let go. Also, the fact that the fans loved the Worm helped.
- Combined Energy Attack: The Worm from Scotty is used this way, but not nearly as effective as the People's Elbow)
- Dance Battler: Both, although, the Worm by Scotty was the only dance move that was actually an attack.
- Gorgeous George: As Too Much
- Evil Laugh: Brian Christopher in Too Much
- Kid Appeal Character: As Too Cool
- Nice Hat: Scotty 2 Hotty
- Red Baron: As Too Much, "Too Sexy" Brian Christopher and Scott "Too Hot" Taylor.
- Fun Personified: As Too Cool, they would dance after matches with Rikishi.
- Power Stable: With Rikishi
- Pretty Fly for a White Guy: Both Scotty and Sexay
- The Goggles Do Nothing: Grandmaster Sexay
- Two First Names
- Wrestling Family: Grand Master Sexay is the son of Jerry "The King" Lawler.
Teams from the Invasion (2001)
Teams from the Brand Extension Era (2002-2011)
Cade and Murdoch - 2005-2007
Lance Cade (Lance Kurtis McNaught) 2003-2008
Trevor Murdoch (William Theodore Mueller) 2005-2008
- Deep South
- Different As Night and Day: Cade was a smooth-talking cowboy, and Murdoch an angry, Southern trucker.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Murdoch red, Cade blue.
- Underwear of Power
- Wrestling Doesn't Pay: See Different As Night and Day above.
Cryme Tyme - 2006-2007, 2008-2010
JTG (Jason Anthony Paul) 2006-2007, 2008-
Shad Gaspard (Shad Chad Javier Romane Chittick Gaspard) 2006-2007, 2008-2010
- Delinquents: So, so very much.
- Demoted to Extra: JTG is hardly ever seen on TV. He is mainly on Superstars or NXT.
- Face Heel Turn: What dissolved their partnership in 2010, when Shad turned on JTG after a loss.
- Jive Turkey: In a skit with Shawn Michaels and Triple H, who were trying to get in the arena. Hilarity Ensued.
- Put on a Bus: Shad was sent back developmental and then released.
- Xtreme Kool Letterz: They were called Cryme Tyme.
La Résistance - 2003-2005
René Dupree (René Goguen) 2002–2007
Sylvain Grenier 2002–2007
Robert Conway (Robert Thomas "Rob" Conway) 2000–2007
- Evil Foreigner: Duprée and Grenier were, Conway was an American liaison.
- Fake Nationality: None of them are even from France, Conway surprisingly is American, and Duprée and Grenier are Canadian, French-Canadian, but still.
- Misplaced Nationalism
- Nice Hat: Their Berets
- Patriotic Fervor
- Power Stable: Until René became...ThePeteBest.
- It Is Pronounced Ro-Bear: How Conway wanted people to pronounce his first name.
- Underwear of Power: All three when the group split.
London and Kendrick - 2003-2004, 2005-2007
Paul London (Paul Michael London) 2003-2008
Brian Kendrick (Brian David "Spanky" Kendrick) 2002-2004, 2005-2009
- And the Fandom Rejoiced: Armageddon 2006: Ok, so we have London and Kendrick fighting against Regal and Taylor, that's fine. Wait, what's Teddy Long doing out? A LADDER MATCH?! YES! Wait, there's MORE?! Two more tag teams?! MNM's back...and SO ARE THE HARDYS?! *Cue 28 minutes of Holy Shit moments*
- Badass Beard: London spotted one for a while.
- Badass Long Hair: Both of them have it, but would then return to having their hair cut short.
- Book Ends: In the Armageddon match, when the Hardys and London and Kendrick were alone in the ring, only Matt and Paul were standing after they traded blows. More than 20 minutes later on a ladder, Matt and Paul were the ones fighting to get the championship, but with Paul winning.
- Captain Ersatz: They look and act similar to Bill and Ted from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventures, and even dressed up as them for one of the WWE Magazine interviews. Heck, they were even addressed as them [1]
- Catch Phrase: One of their best known quotes--which was printed on their T-Shirt--was known as "We're here, but we're not all yet there."
- Cloudcuckoolander: Definitely. Who else goes in the ring with masks, strange struts and joke about wearing fairy costumes and just be plain happy go lucky?
- This was lampshaded by JBL for a while; he kept telling Cole that the kids weren't normal and that they came from Pluto.
- Color Coded for Your Convenience: Their ring-gear had different colors but each represented something during their career.
- Their first outfit was purple which could add to their Red and Blue personalities.
- They soon had separate red and blue outfits, but red was the most significant as it was worn when they won the tag team championship and defended them. Blue was significantly seen when they had their six victories against MNM.
- Their most famous one is their Black (Brian)/White (Paul) ensemble which was worn when they had big shifts in the team. In No Mercy 2006, they gain an ally in Ashley Massaro, and in Armageddon 2006, they had the famous Ladder Match. It was later used up until April 2007 This outfit was even shown in their wrestling action figures for a while.
- The soon had a sky blue/gold ensemble with an improved joker face and another which was purple/green, but they're the least remembered out of the outfits.
- Combination Attack: The two were known to work together very well, double teaming with kicks and tossing each other at their opponents. They also were known for their creativity in the combination attacks. These include:
- Sunset Flip from a Dropsault (Paul would dropsault the opponent as Brian would sunset flip them)
- Brian would do his Sliced Bread #2 and Paul would use Shooting Star Press with Brian as a platform)
- Brian would do his Sliced Bread with Paul underneath his opponent. The elevation added to create a powerbomb.
- Their finishing move, "get well soon". Paul would pass the opponent and enziguri the back of his head while Brian hit a reverse STO
- Cool Mask: As part of their ring entrance attire that went along with their new costumes. They ranged from Phantom of the Opera masks, purple fencing hoods and harlequin masks. This was lampshaded one time by commentary:
Cole: What is the deal with the masks that London and Kendrick wear? |
- They even had a entrance video with a floating mask and masks being part of the video.
- Crazy Awesome: Suicide Dive through the ropes? That's fine. Shooting Star Press using your partner as a stepping stone? Sure! Climb a ladder and hurl you and your opponent onto the ringmat? Okay! A Shriranui/Power Bomb Combo? Hell yeah!
- JBL--back when he was commentary--heaped praise on them being this. He once called a strategy that they pulled off a 'Northern Light', meaning that they did something that no one has ever thought of before. (He also noted that they were both talented and weird kids that came from Pluto)
- Crowning Moment of Awesome: They had many during their reign as WWE Tag Team Champions.
- They defeated MNM in Judgement Day 2006 after defeating them in 5 straight victories (which included a regular tag team match, singles matches, a six-man tag team match and a six mixed-tag team match). The match went on for around 18 minutes, and it was only the beginning of their road to fame.
- Of course, we also cannot forget Armageddon 2006. Teddy Long comes in feeling the Christmas Spirit and turns the Tag Team Match into a Ladder Match. THEN he tops himself with adding both MNM and the Hardy Boyz. The result? A near half-hour ladder match with everybody and anybody going at it, which ended with Brian putting his finishing move on Regal from the top of the ladder (someone screams 'Oh my god!' after it was executed) and then had London fight against Matt to win the Championships. The match is said to be one of the best matches of 2006, and one of the best Ladder Matches of all time. JBL stated that the two got his respect and exclaimed that they were 'It'.
- They're also World Tag Team Champions; during their tour in South Africa, they won the championship and held it...for the short reign of three days. They are the only tag team in the WWE to still have that privilege.
- They've also had the fourth longest reign of holding a Tag Team Championship (the first three are all World Tag Team Champions)
- Crowning Moment of Funny: Before fighting MNM, Melina was doing her infamous split ring entrance. London and Kendrick decided to be funny and rush into the ring mid-split and parade her around the ring, with golden masks.
- After a sneak attack from MNM a few weeks before Judgment Day, they get their revenge...by pantsing them.
- Dynamic Entry: They based their entrance on the Warlord's dash to the ring. After they do their dash, they then slide into the ring, climb up onto the ring posts, point to each other, back flip and then grasp their hands. Once they got their masks, they remove them and pose for the fans.
- When Ashley was with them, she would motion the boys to do their back-flip and remove the masks for them.
- Fan Nickname: Londrick (based on their last names). They also have 'Hooliganz' on their boots along with a harlequin face. Unfortunately, the name never caught on.
- Fingerless Gloves: Their ring gear had these type of gloves with question marks on them.
- Fragile Speedster: London and Kendrick are pretty fast, but they can't take a lot of hits.
- For a time, London used the Shooting Star Press to finish off opponents. One could only imagine the pain he'd be in if he botched it.
- Hair of Gold: Brian
- Heterosexual Life Partners: They both trained together in Shawn Michaels' Wrestling Academy, fought as a team (They only fought one on one four times), their entrance has them pointing to each other before back flipping before grabbing hands, and they like hugging each other a lot.
- Hilarious in Hindsight: Brian's rap against John Cena in 2003. 'Nuff said.
Brian: "When I say Cena, you say sucks! Cena.." |
- Holy Shit Quotient: And how. Suicide dives are always a specialty when these two clear the ring. Let's also not forget the ladder match
- I See London: Pun aside [2] these two gave it to MNM just weeks before their Judgement Day clash in 2006.
- Spell My Name with a "The": The Brian Kendrick.
- Keet
- Kid Appeal Character
- Long Runner: They have the fourth longest reign as Tag Team Champions.
- Man in White/MIB: One of their most famous outfits with Brian wearing black and Paul wearing white.
- Motif: A main trend for London and Kendrick were them being rebels, pranksters and jokers. Their outfits had harlequin faces and fleur-de-lis on them, they were known wearing masks, were very happy-go-lucky and crazy, and once pantsed an opposing team.
- Real Men Wear Pink: Every now and then, Brian was shown to wear pink leg warmers. They've also been known to have two sets of ring gear that's purple. Oh, and they pretty much can bowl over most guys with suicide dives.
- During their time with Ashley, Ashley was dressed as a fairy for a Trick or Treat Divas Battle Royal. Paul jokes around that Ashley 'stole his costume' and that was the costume he was going to wear for Halloween (for those who want a description, the costume has a black corset and has purple fairy wings)
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: It was hard to tell but Paul was more Red while Brian was more Blue.
- Rescue Romance: Not necessarily romance, but London and Kendrick first became a team in the WWE when Brian (known as Spanky back then) saved London from becoming Brock Lesnar's personal punching bag. Of course Brock pummeled Brian for being in the way, but it brought them together.
- Show Within a Show: More like "video within a video", their 2nd Entrance Video (the one with the masks) shows a floating masks and then zooms out to show the two rushing into the ring.
- Two Guys and a Girl: For a while, they were the team of London, Kendrick and Ashley with Ashley considered as their manager/friend/love interest. Then it got dropped.
- White Dude, Black Dude: Subverted with the black as Paul is actually Mexican.
The Usos - 2010-
Jey Uso (Joshua Fatu) 2010-
Jimmy Uso (Jonathan Fatu) 2010-
- The Artifact: For a while, they were the only real serious Tag Team in WWE.
- Ass Kicks You: They both use running corner hip splashes in homage to their father.
- Badass Long Hair
- Berserk Button: Tread with caution on Naomi, as The Miz discovered the hard way.
- Cool Big Sis: Although she was referred to in passing as their 'cousin' at the time of their partnership, Tamina played this role to the Usos during the early parts of their WWE career.
- Dance Battler: Well, they dance before they battle.
- Department of Redundancy Department: "Uso" means "brother". Which is why the official name was shortened to just "the Usos" after they got called up to the main roster.
- Generation Xerox: Averted. While they did adopt a couple of moves in homage to their father, Rikishi, neither brother is anywhere near as big, and a close examination of their movesets reveals that they actually owe more of their wrestling style to Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka.
- Getting Crap Past the Radar: Tamina berates then on NXT for using some non PG Samoan.
- Playing with Fire: For a pair of bit players that don't get a lot of screen time, their entrance and accompanying pyro is awesome.
- Screaming Warrior
- Tag-Team Twins
- Wild Samoan: Subverted. They don't dress the part, and the few aspects they do use, such as performing Polynesian wardances, are used to both intimidate their opponents and pay homage to their Samoan heritage.
- Would Hit a Girl: Downplayed and was for laughs as they got Lana during a food fight. To be fair, in a fight food, women were pretty much fair game.
- Wrestling Family: Members of the large Anoa'i family, specifically the sons of Rikishi, and the nephews of Umaga and Tonga Kid. If you were to count the Anoa'i family's "blood brothers", you could throw the Maivia family (and therefore one Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) in there as well.
The World's Greatest Tag Team - 2002-2004, 2006-2007, 2009-2010
Charlie Haas (Charles "Charlie" Doyle Haas II) 2002-2005, 2006-2010
Shelton Benjamin (Shelton James Benjamin) 2000-2010
- Bald of Awesome: Shelton, but only after...
- Black Best Friend: Shelton to Charlie in Real Life.
- Breakup Breakout: When Haas and Benjamin were forced apart, they both did well initially, but Shelton did better.
- Demoted to Extra: Charlie, once Shelton started his mega-push.
- Ditto Fighter: In his singles career, Charlie mimics the styles of other wrestlers and public domain characters. Even Great Khali, despite being two feet shorter!
- Ensemble Darkhorse: Shelton was hugely popular with the IWC but didn't get over with the casual fans.
- Finishing Move:
- Pay Dirt: Shelton hits it, match ends.
- Haas Of Pain: Haas' submission finisher.
- Hair of Gold: Shelton when he became the "Gold Standard", and didn't have to share bald with Bobby Lashley.
- Holy Shit Quotient: At least one per match. Literally.
- Hot Dad: Haas
- It Runs in The Family: Charlie's younger brother Russ died in 2001, but he's still motivated to be a world tag team champion.
- Jack of All Stats: All American Collegian Folk style Wrestler, All American Track And Field, good brawler...
- Jerk Jock: Haas as a Heel.
- Le Parkour: Haas has flashes of this, but it's mainly Shelton.
- Momma's Boy: "Quiet Shelton! Grown people are talking!"
- Smug Snake: Benjamin as a Heel.
- Underwear of Power
- Unknown Rival: After the 2008 Olympics some tabloid referred to Michael Phelps as the gold standard, Shelton was not pleased.
Teams from the WWE, Inc. Era (2011-2014)
Primo and Epico (Los Matadores 2013-)
Primo (Edwin "Eddie" Carlos Colón) 2008-2012, Diego 2013 -
Epico (Orlando Colón) 2011-2012, Fernando 2013
- Annoying Older Sibling: How Primo views his brother Carlito.
- Backstabber: Their Finishing Move.
- Badass Latino
- Evil Foreigner
- Expy: The Colons, obviously. They just switched out Carlito for Epico and added Rosa as a valet.
- Meaningful Name: Didn't make much sense when he was teaming with Carlito, but "Primo" is Spanish for "cousin", so in the way the name of their team reads: "Epico & Cousin." Oh, and Rosa.
- Nerds Are Sexy: Primo was once in a relationship with uber-nerd AJ.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Subverted. Won the Tag Team Championships at a live event, but the replay was shown on the following televised show, explaining what had happened.
- Real Life Writes the Plot: Epico & Primo won the titles when they did and the way they did (see Offscreen Moment of Awesome above) because Evan Bourne (who was one half of the champions along with Kofi Kingston) got suspended for a second Wellness Violation. Ironically, they would later lose the titles back to Kofi, who found a new partner in R-Truth, who had just returned from a Wellness Vacation stemming from the exact same incident where Evan Bourne got busted.
- Sibling Team: Despite annoying him, teaming with his brother was a dream of Primo's and they were the first Unified Tag Team Champions.
- Sibling Triangle: Primo and Carlito to Brie Bella.
- Two Guys and a Girl: With Rosa Mendes.
- Villain Team-Up: Epico was with Hunico at first. He's now tagging with his cousin Primo.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Epico and Primo lost their championships to Kofi Kingston and R-Truth. In almost all cases where a competitor drops a title, they have a rematch clause. They're still yet to invoke it even several weeks later.
- Wrestling Family: The two are Real Life cousins from one of the well known Mexican wrestling families - also add Carlos, Jr. (Primo's brother, known as Carlito in the WWE), Carlos Sr. (Carlito and Primo's father) as well..
El Torito (Mascarita Dorada) 2013-
- Bull Seeing Red: Summer Rae’s mistake on Smackdown was wearing a RED DRESS and El Tortio has already been known to trying to get near women.
- David Versus Goliath: Unless he’s dealing with Hornswoggle, Tortio is the David whenever he’s in the ring as a wrestler when one compares to the other opponents, who are avenge height. Keep in mind, the average height of a professional wrestler is 6 feet and 6 inches (1.98 meters) and El Tortio is 1.34 meter (4 feet 5 inches) in height, even Rey Mysterio is the Goliath in compassion.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: This was the response when he managed to pin Heath Slater.
- This is the reaction whenever he able to defeat an “avenge size” wrestler, even if it’s Rey Mysterio. Just image the reaction would be if he manages to defeat The Undertaker and/or the Great Khali, who are often the Goliaths.
- Masked Luchador: Mini-Estrella… to be exact due to his dwarfism
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: As Seth Rollins, The Miz, Fandango, and Heath Slater all found this out the hard way.
The Shield (2012-2014)
As a whole
- Arc Words: JUSTICE… what else
- Bullying a Dragon: A former Olympian weightlifter was fair game and none too happy.
- Taker was also fair game.
- Beat Them At Their Own Game: Most wrestlers delivered this method in order to outmaneuver the Shield.
- Blatant Lies: This was the case in the beginning when they claimed to be “hounds of justice” when they’re really doing to the dirty for Triple H… well, until they had change of plan when they spare a king.
- Even the Shield Has Standards:
- March 17th, 2014 episode of RAW, they were ordered to Triple Power Bomb one of the announcers for “his role” in the YES Movement. However, considering the health history and knowing he was an innocent bystander, the Shield opted to go after with the Triple Power Bomb THE GUY WHO ORDERED IT.
- Military Alphabet: The name of the Shield is spelled out like this.
- Oh Crap / You Have Got to Be Kidding Me!: This was their reaction on 9/23/13 RAW when they were ordered to take on Kofi Kingston, Rob Van Dam, Prime Time Players, Dolph Ziggler, Zack Ryder, R-Truth, Justin Gabriel, Daniel Bryan, and Reigns’ cousin, The Usos… all in a match ordered by The Game.
- Ambrose also have the “Are You Kidding” reaction when he saw El Tortio take on Rollins during the Royal Rumble… he wasn’t the only one with that look. He also got this reaction when someone accepted his challenge for WWE United States Championship.
Dean Ambrose (Jonathan Good)
- Ax Crazy: You thought the Wyatt Family and Randy Orton was this… they’re at sane most of the time.
- Dangerously Genre Savvy Even as face, Ambrose is often like this.
- Despair Event Horizon: Likely due to Rollins's betrayal, only for Bray Wyatt to egg him on.
- Determinator: It's kindly hard to make him quit. Just ask anyone who fought him.
- Enforced Method Acting: Rollins was the only one told in advance about his fate with the Shield, making the reaction Ambrose had real.
- Ironic Name: Ambrose’s birth surname is “good”, and he’s mostly a Heel though he later made a Heel Face Turn.
- Psychopathic Manchild: Even as Face
- Wouldn't Hit a Girl: On Jan. 02, 2017, episode of Smack Down, he got slapped by Maryse while dealing with her husband. This would ended in a DQ win for Ambrose but meant he couldn't get the title that was on the line. Ambrose simply talks some sense into the referee, rather than hitting Maryse back. Instead, Ambrose opted to allowed the match to continue and just get Maryse removed from the ring. The tactic worked.
Roman Reigns (Leati Anoa'i Jr.)
- Determinator: There are two words that he's less likely to say... "I Quit". Just ask Kane.
- Major Injury Underreaction: This guy had to put up with a chock-slam on to a cab by The Big Show, and yet he calmly walks away.
- Kiai: His roars… that can only mean one thing for anyone in his way.
- Lightning Bruiser
- I Know Madden Kombat: He used to play American football during his high school and college years, which explain his spare technique.
- What Could Have Been: In real life, he was considered during the NFL draft pick for Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars. He wasn’t the only one who tried for the Vikings.
- Kick the Son of a Bitch: He was only able to hold off his anger for so far it was only a matter of time before he acted it out. That was the case for Triple H, who kept on making his life hell for the rest of 2015.
- Real Life Writes the Plot: Back in 2014 for the Night of Champions, Reigns was forced to bail out of a match against Seth Rollins due to legitimate Hernia surgery.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: When it comes to the Shield, Reigns seems to be this, after all he did put Rollins and Ambrose in their place during an augment. When the duo had an augment at the Royal Rumble, Reigns made them two of the twelve guys to fall victim.
- Wrestling Family: Reigns is a member of the Anoa’i, which also includes The Rock, Rikishi, The Usos, and Tamina Snuka. Unlike the Usos, Snuka seems to be spared, but to be fair… Snuka is a Diva, so… yeah.
- Wild Samoan: His dad, Sika, and uncle, Afa, are Trope Namers.
- Worthy Opponent: Just ask Kane, Brock Lensar, and even Mark Henry
Seth Rollins (Colby Lopez)
- Arch Enemy: Dean Ambrose, and most recently, John Cena
- Beard of Evil: As a heel, of course
- Face Heel Turn: A day after Payback, he turned his back on Ambrose and Reigns, then joining the Authority.
- The Heart: He seems to take this role.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: He did this on RAW in March of 2014 during a match against the Wyatt Family, which forced Reigns to chase Rollins while Ambrose knew he was screwed.
- Getting Crap Past the Radar: September 29 edition of Raw, after getting his Money in the Bank briefcase back from Dean Ambrose, who stole it, there was a buzzing sound. When the Authority checked their phones, they noticed the sound was coming from the briefcase. Rollins explains it’s an electric razor, since he shaves his underarms like many other wrestlers.
- Funny Aneurysm Moment: This seems a bit more awkward when nude photos of Rollins were leaked online during the week of February 9th.
- Oh Crap: He had a fair share amount of this.
- When he tried to curb stomp Roman Reigns, Reigns manages to escape and take one of the cinder-blocks that would've been used. Rollins was in Reigns' path when the cinder-block was thrown, forcing Rollins to duck out of the way. Once the cinder-block broke apart upon hitting a turnbuckle, Rollins had the look of shock on his face.
- After denying Brock Lesnar a rematch for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Lesnar went insane. When Rollins decides to kick Lesnar in the face, he quickly discover his mistake when Lesnar just stood there.
- Wouldn't Hit a Girl: During his tenure at Ring of Honor as Tyler Black, he rejected the order to fight none other than Kia Stevens, aka Kharma or Awesome Kong. Stevens was the ONE WHO DEMEANED HE FIGHT.
- Wife-Basher Basher: Rollins also won't take kindly to anyone beating up a woman in front of him. Just go ask Baron Corbin.
The Reality Era (2014-)
Other Notable Tag Team Wrestlers
The WWWF Era (1963-1984)
Chief Jay Strongbow (Joseph Luke Scarpa) 1970–1977, 1979–1984, 1993–1994
- Action Survivor
- Captain Ethnic
- Fake Nationality: He's an American of Italian decent.
- Leotard of Power
- Red Baron
- Nice Headdress
Dominic DeNucci 1967-1972, 1974-1982
- Alliterative Name
- Badass Teacher: Taught Mick Foley, Shane Douglas and and the late Brian Hildebrand how to wrestle.
- Cunning Linguist: Speaks English, French, Spanish, and Italian.
- Finishing Move: The Airplane Spin
- Underwear of Power
Ivan Putski (Josef Bednarski) 1976–1987
- As Long as It Sounds Foreign: Putski isn't a real Polish name.
- Fake Nationality: He's American, but pretended to be a Polish concentration camp survivor.
- Pec Flex
- Red Baron: "The Polish Hammer"
- Underwear of Power
- Wrestling Family: His son Scott, who wrestled for the company in 1997 and WCW in 1998-1999.
Larry Latham (Larry Booker) 1981–1985
- Badass Beard
- Badass Long Hair
- Blond Guys Are Evil
- Captain Ersatz: As Moondog Spot, he replaced Moondog King (Ed White) (see below) in the WWWF when he was denied re-entry to the U.S. from Canada in 1981 after winning the Tag Team Championship with partner Moondog Rex (before he became Smash I of the Demolition tag team, see above). White since went on to become a wrestler with various local independent promotions in his birthplace of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, and has ran twice for the House of Commons in ridings in the province, first in a 2000 special election as a candidate in the "Canadian Extreme Wrestling Party" and a second time in the 2004 election as a Green Party candidate; he died the year after.
- Deep South
- Red Baron: "Moondog Spot" and "Iss Spot"
Mikel Scicluna 1965–1970, 1972, 1975–1983
- Combat Pragmatist: They don't give just anyone the name "master of the foreign object".
- Improbable Weapon User: A roll of coins.
- Malta
- Red Baron: "Baron".
- Underwear of Power
Moondog King (Edward J. "Ed" White) 1980–1981
- Badass Mustache
- Canada, Eh?
- I Have Many Names
- Nice Hat: As Sailor White
- Red Baron: "Sailor White". Also wrestled in South Africa as "Big John Strongbo".
Tony Garea (Anthony Garcia) 1972-
- Action Survivor
- Demoted to Extra: As a WWE road agent.
- New Zealand
- Underwear of Power
- Wrestling Family: His brother, John Garea, who wrestled in the NWA.
The Rock 'N' Wrestling Era (1984-1993)
Dynamite Kid (Thomas "Tom" Billington) 1984-1988
- Boisterous Bruiser
- Domestic Abuse: In Real Life to his first wife Michelle (the sister of Bret Hart's ex-wife Julie).
- Genius Bruiser
- It Runs in The Family
- Underwear of Power: And by extension, Wearing A Flag As A Wrestling Attire.
Marty Jannetty (Frederick Marty Jannetty) 1987, 1988-1992, 1992-1994, 1995-1996, 2005-2007, 2009
- The Bus Came Back: Every year and a half or so after WCW folded. He's usually on the wrong end of a match involving someone with a grudge against Shawn Michaels or a young superstar with a push or winning streak.
- Butt Monkey: Naming the least successful person of a Tag Team after they break up as the Jannetty.
- Garfunkel: To Shawn Michaels, and one of the most famous wrestling examples of the trope.
- Holy Shit Quotient
- Ring Oldies: Pushing 50 and still wrestling, and he's not half bad.
- What Could Have Been: He could have been as popular as HBK, but he sabotaged his own career with his drug use.
Raymond "Ray" Rougeau 1985-2002
- Action Survivor: Worked as the play-by-play announcer for the French syndicated WWF programming distributed to Quebec, Europe, and Africa from 1992-2002.
- Alliterative Name
- Badass Mustache
- Canada, Eh?
- Evil Foreigner
- Sibling Team: With his younger brother Jacques as the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers.
The New Generation Era (1993-1997)
Bart Gunn (Michal Burton "Mike" Polchlopek, Jr.) 1993-1999, 2007
- Badass Mustache: From 1993 to 1996.
- Garfunkel: To Billy Gunn
- Never Live It Down: Getting KO'd by heavyweight boxer, Butterbean in the Real Life Shootfighting tournament, "Brawl for All" at Wrestlemania XV.
- Nice Hat
- Red Baron: "Bodacious" Bart as part of the new Midnight Express.
- Unrelated Brothers: With Billy Gunn.
- Wrestling Doesn't Pay: A wrestling cowboy with his "brother" in The Smoking Guns.
The Attitude Era (1997-2001)
Bull Buchanan (Barry Buchanan) 1997-2001, 2002-2003, 2011
- Alliterative Name
- Bald of Evil
- I Have Many Names: Recon, Bull Buchanan, and B2 (B-Squared).
- I Have the High Ground
- Jerkass Woobie: He came back one night in 2011 to tell John Cena that he ruined his life after blaming him for getting fired, divorced, conned in a Ponzi scheme, and attacked by his dog, contracting rabies and not able to wrestle anymore.
- Why Do You Keep Changing Jobs? / Wrestling Doesn't Pay: He was a wrestling militant, a wrestling SWAT officer, a wrestling activist, and a wrestling rapper.
InVasion (2001)
Chuck Palumbo (Charles Palumbo) 2001-2004, 2007-2008
- Badass Biker: During his final run with the WWE.
- Camp Straight: While teaming with Billy Gunn.
- Dyeing for Your Art: First bleach blonde in Billy and Chuck, then jet black for the Full Blooded Italians.
- Smoking Is Cool: During his FBI gimmick.
- Underwear of Power: Until his biker gimmick.
The Brand Extension Era (2002-2011)
David Hart Smith (Harry Smith) 2007-2008, 2009-2011
- Badass Family: He's the son of the British Bulldog and nephew to the Hart Family.
- The Big Guy (Face)
- The Brute (Heel)
- Evil Brit
- It Runs in The Family
- Real Men Wear Pink: As part of the Hart Dynasty.
- Wearing a Flag on Your Shorts: Union jack, post-Hart Dynasty.
- Wrestling Family
- Underwear of Power
Evan Bourne (Matthew Joseph Korklan) 2008-
- Black Best Friend: With both Kofi Kingston and Mark Henry.
- Fragile Speedster
- I Have the High Ground
- Keet
- Mr. Fanservice
- Named by Democracy: How Evan's and Kofi's Tag Team name was created. They held a contest on Twitter were their fans could vote for their name. Air-Boom won.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse
- Put on a Bus: For both of his suspension.
- The Bus Came Back: Came back immediately after his first suspension was up. Has yet to come back from his second, this is due to him being in a car accident and breaking his foot, just days after his suspension was up.
- Red Baron: "Air" Bourne.
- Weak but Skilled
Vladimir Kozlov (Olyeg Olyeksandrovich Prudius) 2008-2011
- The Brute: As a Heel.
- The Big Guy: As a Face.
- Fake Nationality: He was born in the Soviet Union, but he's Ukrainian, not Russian.
- Hard Head
- Husky Russkie
- Mother Russia Makes You Strong
- Put on a Bus: One of the victims of having his leg broken by Mark Henry after the latter took to the habit of folding people's ankles into chairs then body-splashing them. He never returned to TV after that and was released by the WWE not long afterward.
- The Quiet One
- Straight Man: To Santino.
- Those Two Guys: With Santino Marella.
- Underwear of Power
- Unperson: Surprisingly averted. After his release, his name has been invoked a fair few times for a guy that (save for a lengthy and fairly entertaining Tag-Team reign with Santino Marella) was mainly a mid-carder, usually to put over Mark Henry.