Changes: World Tag Team Championship (WWE, 2024–present)

Revision as of 03:34, 21 January 2020

This championship is currently active. This means that this title is still defended in a promotion and needs to be updated regularly.

This article is about the current tag team championship defended in WWE that was introduced in 2002. For the WWE's original Tag Team Championship introduced in 1971 and retired in 2010, see World Tag Team Championship (WWE). For the unified version of both titles, see Unified WWE Tag Team Championship.

The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) RAW Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Wrestling Entertainment. The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants execute scripted finishes rather than contend in direct competition.

History

After the Brand Extension in World Wrestling Entertainment, the WWE Undisputed Championship and WWE Women's Championship became the only titles allowed to be defended on both the Raw and SmackDown! brands, while the remaining titles became exclusive to either brand. During a period of open free agency, the Tag Team Champions were signed to appear and defend the title on the Raw brand. The Tag Team Championship became exclusive to the Raw brand, leaving the SmackDown! brand without a tag team title. As a result, SmackDown General Manager Stephanie McMahon, introduced the new "WWE Tag Team Championship" and commissioned it to be the tag team title for the SmackDown! brand. She stated that the inaugural champions would be determined from an eight-team tournament. On October 20, 2002, the team of Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit defeated Rey Mysterio and Edge at No Mercy 2002 in the tournament final to become the first ever WWE Tag Team Champions.

On October 17, 2007, SmackDown! and ECW announced a talent sharing agreement, where wrestlers of either brand could appear on both shows. From then on, the title had been featured and defended on both brands. The titles first prominently appeared on ECW after John Morrison and The Miz began an eight-month-long reign on November 16, 2007. On April 5, 2009 at WrestleMania XXV, WWE Tag Team Champions The Colóns (Carlito and Primo) defeated World Tag Team Champions John Morrison and The Miz to unify both titles into what WWE referred to as the "Unified WWE Tag Team Championship."

On the August 16, 2010 episode of Raw, then-champions The Hart Dynasty (David Hart Smith and Tyson Kidd) were awarded a new physical representation of championship belts, signifying the consolidation of the unified titles to one championship. WWE confirmed via their website that these tag team titles would succeed the retiring World Tag Team Championship as WWE's only tag team championship. All title history after August 16, 2010 ceased for the World Tag Team Championship while the WWE Tag Team Championship's linage continued.

The Hart Dynasty lost the titles to Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre (later briefly named "The Dashing Ones"). TDO then lost the title to the Nexus team of John Cena and David Otunga. At the orders of Nexus leader Wade Barrett, Otunga then laid down and intentionally gave up the titles to the team of fellow members Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater.

Following the reintroduction of the brand extension in July 2016, then-champions The New Day were drafted to the Raw brand, making the championship exclusive to Raw. In response, SmackDown created the SmackDown Tag Team Championship on August 23, 2016. The WWE Tag Team Championship was subsequently renamed to reflect its exclusivity to Raw. The championship's belt design was given a slight update on December 19, 2016, featuring silver plates on red leather straps, counterpart to the blue straps on the SmackDown Tag Team Championship belts.

Names

Name	Years
WWE Raw Tag Team Championship	August 24, 2016 – Present
WWE Tag Team Championship	October 20, 2002 – April 5, 2009; August 16, 2010 – August 24, 2016
Unified WWE Tag Team Championship	April 5, 2009 – August 16, 2010

2012 Tournament

See also: 2012 WWE Tag Team Championship Tournament

It was announced on the September 28, 2012 edition of Smackdown taping in Buffalo, New York that a tag team tournament will take place to determine the #1 contenders to the WWE Tag Team titles.

2016 Tournament

See also: 2016 WWE Tag Team Championship Tournament

It was announced on the April 11, 2016 edition of Raw in Los Angeles, California that a tag team tournament would take place to determine the #1 contenders to the WWE Tag Team titles.

Past Designs

External links

Current WWE Championships
WWE Championship Universal Championship World Heavyweight Championship Intercontinental Championship United States Championship World Tag Team Championship SmackDown Tag Team Championship WWE Women's Championship Women's World Championship Women's Tag Team Championship
NXT
NXT Championship NXT North American Championship NXT Tag Team Championship NXT Women's Championship NXT Women's North American Championship NXT Heritage Cup Championship

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+{{Active Championship}}
+{{About|the current tag team championship defended in WWE that was introduced in 2002|the WWE's original Tag Team Championship introduced in 1971 and retired in 2010|World Tag Team Championship (WWE)|the unified version of both titles|Unified WWE Tag Team Championship}}
 {{Tabs
 |backcolor=#FFE93E
@@ Line 11: / Line 13: @@
 |tab4=Champion gallery
 }}
-{{Active Championship}}
-{{About|the current tag team championship defended in WWE that was introduced in 2002|the WWE's original Tag Team Championship introduced in 1971 and retired in 2010|World Tag Team Championship (WWE)|the unified version of both titles|Unified WWE Tag Team Championship}}
 {{Infobox Championship
 | championshipname = WWE Raw Tag Team Championship
 | image = [[File:WWE Raw Tag Team Championship.jpg|200px]]
-| currentholder = [[Cesaro & Sheamus]]
+| currentholder = [[Seth Rollins]] & [[Buddy Murphy]]
-| won = January 28, [[2018]]
+| won = January 20, [[2020]]
 | promotion = [[World Wrestling Entertainment]]
 | brand = ''[[RAW]]''
@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 | titleretired =
 | pastnames = Unified WWE Tag Team Championship<br>WWE Tag Team Championship
-| mostreigns = [[MNM]]<br>[[Heath Slater]] & [[Justin Gabriel]]<br>[[The Bar]]<br>{{small|(3 reigns)}}
+| mostreigns = [[Cesaro & Sheamus]]<br>{{small|(4 reigns)}}
 | firstchamp = [[Kurt Angle]] & [[Chris Benoit]]
 }}
@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
 After the [[WWE Brand Extension|Brand Extension]] in World Wrestling Entertainment, the [[WWE Championship|WWE Undisputed Championship]] and [[WWE Women's Championship]] became the only titles allowed to be defended on both the [[WWE Raw|Raw]] and [[WWE SmackDown|SmackDown!]] brands, while the remaining titles became exclusive to either brand. During a period of open free agency, the Tag Team Champions were signed to appear and defend the title on the Raw brand. The [[World Tag Team Championship (WWE)|Tag Team Championship]] became exclusive to the Raw brand, leaving the SmackDown! brand without a tag team title. As a result, [[Professional wrestling authority figures#General managers 2|SmackDown General Manager]] [[Stephanie McMahon]], introduced the new "WWE Tag Team Championship" and commissioned it to be the tag team title for the SmackDown! brand. She stated that the inaugural champions would be determined from an eight-team tournament. On [[October 20]], 2002, the team of [[Kurt Angle]] and [[Chris Benoit]] defeated [[Rey Mysterio, Jr.|Rey Mysterio]] and [[Edge]] at [[No Mercy 2002]] in the tournament final to become the first ever WWE Tag Team Champions.
 On [[October 17]], 2007, SmackDown! and [[ECW (WWE)|ECW]] announced a talent sharing agreement, where wrestlers of either brand could appear on both shows. From then on, the title had been featured and defended on both brands. The titles first prominently appeared on ECW after [[John Morrison and The Miz]] began an eight-month-long reign on November 16, 2007. On April 5, 2009 at [[WrestleMania XXV]], WWE Tag Team Champions [[The Colóns]] ([[Carlito]] and [[Primo Colón|Primo]]) defeated World Tag Team Champions [[John Morrison and The Miz]] to [[Championship unification|unify]] both titles into what WWE referred to as the "Unified WWE Tag Team Championship."
 On the August 16, 2010 episode of ''Raw'', then-champions [[The Hart Dynasty]] ([[Harry Smith|David Hart Smith]] and [[TJ Wilson|Tyson Kidd]]) were awarded a new physical representation of championship belts, signifying the consolidation of the unified titles to one championship. WWE confirmed via their website that these tag team titles would succeed the retiring World Tag Team Championship as WWE's only tag team championship. All title history after August 16, 2010 ceased for the World Tag Team Championship while the WWE Tag Team Championship's linage continued.
@@ Line 63: / Line 63: @@
 ==2016 Tournament==
 *{{See also|2016 WWE Tag Team Championship Tournament}}
-It was announced on the [[April 11, 2016 Monday Night RAW results|April 11, 2016 edition of Raw]] in [[Los Angeles, California]] that a tag team tournament will take place to determine the #1 contenders to the WWE Tag Team titles.
+It was announced on the [[April 11, 2016 Monday Night RAW results|April 11, 2016 edition of Raw]] in [[Los Angeles, California]] that a tag team tournament would take place to determine the #1 contenders to the WWE Tag Team titles.
-==Current champions==
-{{Main|List of WWE Tag Team Champions}}
-The current champions are [[The Bar]] ([[Cesaro]] & [[Sheamus]]) who are in their fourth reign as a tag team. They defeated [[Seth Rollins]] & [[Jason Jordan]] at the [[Royal Rumble 2018|Royal Rumble]] on January 28, 2018 to win the championship.
 ==Past Designs==
@@ Line 79: / Line 75: @@
 ==See also==
 *[[World Wrestling Entertainment]]
-*[[/Champion history|Champion history]] - History of the wrestlers who have held the belt.
+*[[WWE Raw Tag Team Championship/Champion history|Champion history]] - History of the wrestlers who have held the belt.
-*[[/Title matches|Title matches]] - Matches in which the title was defended.
+*[[WWE Raw Tag Team Championship/Title matches|Title matches]] - Matches in which the title was defended.
-*[[/Champion gallery|Champion gallery]] - A gallery of all champions.
+*[[WWE Raw Tag Team Championship/Champion gallery|Champion gallery]] - A gallery of all champions.
 ==External links==
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 [[Category:World Wrestling Entertainment championships]]
 [[Category:Tag team championships]]
-[[Category:WWE Tag Team Champions]]
 [[Category:Tag team wrestling championships]]