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As 2020 came to a close, many tag teams in WWE had called it a day. Some of these teams include Heavy Machinery, who split after Tucker turned on his best friend Otis, Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross who ended their time as a duo when Bliss chose The Fiend over her tag team partner, and The IIconics, who were forced to split following a stipulation match against the Riott Squad.
Since then, some fans have been critical of WWE for seemingly throwing together random tag teams and groups, especially with stars who have recently split from their old tag partners.
In a lot of tag teams and factions in WWE, there are superstars with the potential to also do great things in singles competition. Here are five current team members that would thrive as singles stars in WWE.
#5 WWE RAW tag team Superstar Mandy Rose
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Mandy Rose is a star who has never had much of an opportunity to have a singles run in WWE. The popular star debuted with her best friend Sonya Deville as a duo in NXT, before the pair were called up to RAW as the stable Absolution, alongside multi-time WWE Divas Champion Paige.
Once Paige was forced to retire due to ongoing injuries, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville reverted back to being a two-piece, dubbed Fire and Desire. On occasion, Fire and Desire fought in singles matches, but were very much a tag team.
The duo split in 2020, during Mandy Rose's romance storyline with Otis, when it was revealed that Sonya Deville went behind Mandy's back to try and sabotage the relationship. The duo had a brief singles rivalry that illustrated how much the in-ring abilities of both women had improved.
Deville temporarily departed WWE following their singles match at Summerslam, and fans expected Mandy Rose to become a more established singles competitor. However, Mandy Rose was drafted to RAW to partner up with Dana Brooke in a new tag team. Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke work well as a team, but it would be great to see Mandy as a singles star in 2021.
#4 WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Shayna Baszler
Shayna Baszler was one of the most dominant stars of NXT during her run on WWE's Black and Gold Brand, and broke records with her reign as NXT Women's Champion. The Submission Magician moved to RAW following her standout performance in the 2020 Royal Rumble, where she matched the elimination record of Bianca Belair.
After coming to RAW, Shayna Baszler quickly overpowered multiple women in the Elimination Chamber to earn a shot at Becky Lynch's RAW Women's Championship. Baszler was unsuccessful at WrestleMania 36, and seemed to fade into the background somewhat following Lynch's departure from WWE due to her pregnancy.
Shayna Baszler won her first main roster championship after teaming up with former WWE RAW Women's Champion Nia Jax to challenge The Golden Role Models for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships. Despite being in a more odd-couple type partnership, the team gelled well and managed to win the belts for a second time at the Royal Rumble.
Shayna Baszler often outshines her tag team partner in their matches, and it would be great to see her compete for a singles championship in WWE soon.
#3 Former WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champion Montez Ford
Montez Ford is one half of the popular WWE tag team, and former champions, the Street Profits. The duo debuted in NXT in 2016, and after a few years they won the NXT Tag Team Championship at NXT TakeOver XXV after the titles were vacated by the Viking Raiders.
After a few months, the Street Profits dropped the titles to the Undisputed Era. The pair began making sporadic appearances on RAW, reacting to and commentating on matches, as well as taking part in other backstage segments before they were officially drafted to the brand in 2019.
The duo quickly won the RAW Tag Team Championships from Murphy and Seth Rollins, and kept hold of them until the 2020 WWE Draft, where they swapped belts with the SmackDown Tag Team Champions, The New Day.
The Street Profits dropped the SmackDown Tag Team Championship to Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode in January 2021. The Street Profits seem to be firmly a tag team currently, but the in-ring talent, comedic timing and charisma of Montez Ford could make him the breakout star of the duo.
#2 WWE SmackDown tag team Superstar Chad Gable
Chad Gable began his WWE career in NXT, where he was perhaps best known as one half of the tag team American Alpha. The duo won the NXT Tag Team Championships from The Revival at NXT TakeOver: Dallas.
Throughout his WWE career, Chad Gable has been somewhat of a tag team specialist, having teamed up with Shelton Benjamin once he moved to the main roster of WWE in 2017, and after moving to RAW in 2018, he paired up in a new tag team with Robert Roode.
After the duo disbanded, Gable competed in the 2019 King of the Ring tournament and reached the finals, but was ultimately unsuccessful.
Most recently, Gable has opened the "Alpha Academy" and took on Otis as his first client. The pair have often teamed up in tag team competition on SmackDown over the past few weeks, and Gable often accompanies Otis to the ring.
Chad Gable is a very talented member of the WWE roster, but his past few storylines have involved the star putting over others. Gable has the potential to fulfill a great future as a singles star in WWE.
#1 WWE SmackDown tag team Superstar Liv Morgan
Liv Morgan made her WWE debut in 2015 as a crazed fan of Tyler Breeze in NXT, before becoming an in-ring star in the women's division of the Black and Gold Brand. Two years later, Morgan was drafted to the main roster of WWE as a member of the Riott Squad, tag teaming with Sarah Logan and the faction leader Ruby Riott.
After a mixed run on the main roster, the Riott Squad were effectively split by the 2019 Superstar Shake-Up. Morgan was moved away from her tag team sisters to SmackDown, and later in the summer cut a promo claiming that she was going away, and was going to be "real" when she returned, after she was defeated by Charlotte Flair.
Upon her return as the scorned lover of Lana, Liv Morgan debuted a new look and a revamped attitude, showing off her charisma and potential as a singles star. Her singles run was cut short when Morgan reunited with her former teammate Ruby Riott to reform the Riott Squad last summer.
Fans have already seen a glimpse at Liv Morgan's potential as a singles star, and it would be great to see her live up to that potential at some point in the future.
