The first officially sanctioned tag team wrestling match took place in 1901, in San Francisco, California. At the time, California was the hotbed for sudden growth in popularity that wrestling was getting. Eventually, tag team wrestling became a common component to professional wrestling.
As the sport and its popularity grew into the mainstream, wrestling began to evolve from sport, into pure entertainment...sports entertainment. With the new look, there was a new feel to professional wrestling, and while tag team wrestling never went extinct, so to speak, it did take a distant back-burner to singles action. I get that, I really do. Singles competition puts the spotlight on individual performers, rather than collective duos.
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Fast forward to today. We are witnesses to a unique era in the industry. The action inside the ring moves at a much faster pace than ever before. The fast pace certainly favours singles wrestling, but even with the speed turned up to a higher octane, there is a new breed of tag team performers who are capable of keeping up with all of today's daredevils.
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Here is a look at five of the best tag teams who are not under contract to WWE.
#5 Tencozy
New Japan Pro Wrestling has a history of churning out some of the very best in tag team wrestling. In fact, tag team wrestling is celebrated in NJPW with the series of IWGP tag titles being some of the most revered prizes in the industry. When it comes to the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Titles, Tencozy has held those very titles a total of 6 times, for a combined 929 days, which is a feat that only one tag team has been able to top since the belts were introduced in 1985.
Tencozy is made up of two of Japan’s top stars- Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan. Together, these two have a combined 52 years of in-ring experience to their credit.
#4 The Briscoe Brothers
Throughout their 17 year career, Jay and Mark Briscoe have worked for everybody except WWE. However, The Briscoes have had a number of tryouts with the company, but nothing ever materialised for “Dem Boyz.” Several years ago, John Laurinaitis told the brothers that they were simply, "not cosmetically pleasing enough” for their audience. Essentially, Johnny Ace told The Briscoe’s that they were too ugly for the job.
Looks aside, Jay and Mark have been one of the hottest tag teams in wrestling for over a decade now. It’s also important to note that both are equally as impressive in singles action.
WWE officials have truly missed out on a golden opportunity by not signing this sibling duo. They could have helped the company tremendously during some serious tag team droughts.
#3 Killer Elite Squad
The Killer Elite Squad, more commonly known as K.E.S, is undoubtedly one of the most underrated tag teams on the planet. While teams like The Young Bucks and others are constantly in the spotlight, K.E.S. is quietly piling tag team title wins.
Since joining forces in 2012, Lance Archer and Davey Boy Smith Jr. have compiled an impressive list of championships. They are two-time IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, two-time NWA World Tag Team Champions, and two-time GHC Tag Team Champions.
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Archer and Davey Boy both have WWE experience but seem to have found their place in the Japanese wrestling scene. The Killer Elite Squad has also been affiliated with a larger Japanese faction known as The Suzuki-Gun stable.
Both Archer and Davey Boy have had stints in the WWE. In fact, Davey Boy Jr. actually won tag titles twice with Tyson Kidd. Meanwhile, Lance had his best run with WWE and got a pretty decent push on the WWE version of ECW.
#2 Young Bucks
The Young Bucks are actually considered by many as the greatest tag team of this generation. Regardless of your personal feelings toward Matt and Nick Jackson, there's simply no denying the fact that these guys are amongst the very best in tag team wrestling today.
Since breaking onto the scene in 2004, The Young Bucks have accumulated an extensive collection of championship gold. Some of the top titles The Young Bucks have carried include the PWG Tag Team Championships, which they won four times. They have also carried the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Titles an impressive five times, as well as The Ring of Honor Tag Team Titles, which they have held a total of three times, including their current reign as ROH Tag Team Champions.
What makes The Young Bucks so unique, is their ability to turn a simple match, into a spectacle of its own. Each match is a Superkick Party, featuring an array of Meltzer Drivers and 450 Splashes.
#1 War Machine
Finally, we have made it to my top pick for the best non-WWE tag team as of right now. This is a selection that may or may not come as a surprise to some fans, but when you take a step back and look at everything that has happened in order to have War Machine in the place they are right now...it’s hard to deny these guys of being one of the best, or in this case, THE best tag team today.
Ray Rowe came together by way of the 2014 Ring of Honor Top Prospect Tournament. The two were actually opponents in the tournament, which Hanson would eventually go on to become the overall winner for that particular year. If you go back and watch the final match, Rowe and Hanson were both still relatively new to the sport, but they had a good sense of in-ring awareness, as well as a great deal of genuine chemistry with one another.
It was surreal how well they worked together, despite their lack of experience. When it was all said and done, there was no doubt that these two shared something unique and something worth taking a chance on, so War Machine was born.
Since their formation War Machine has evolved into one of the most consistently improving tag teams in the world. These guys possess the power to compete with the big, monstrous teams, but they are also deceptively quick and agile, giving them the discrete ability to upset the likes of The Young Bucks.
Just as War Machine was settling in as a legitimate force in the tag team world, tragedy struck. Ray Rowe was severely injured while being riding his motorcycle in 2014. A car pulled out in front of Ray, giving him no chance to avoid a crash.
Ray flew off of his bike, landing on the back window of the car in front of him. The accident was bad enough that Ray would need to undergo surgery. Many didn't believe Rowe would ever return to wrestling, but he did, and when he did, he brought with him a renewed attitude of becoming the best he could be.
Since returning to action after the accident, War Machine has travelled the entire world, multiple times over. While doing so, they have racked up a number of big-time wins. In late 2015, War Machine defeated The Kingdom to capture the ROH Tag Team Titles. Most recently, War Machine went a step further by defeating Tencozy to become the new IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships. Most consider this to be the top tag team prize in the world.
Following their huge win, I reached out to Ray Rowe, asking his thoughts on this huge accomplishment. Here's what he had to say:
“Winning the IWGP Tag Team titles at Sumo Hall, from Tencozy is a literal dream come true for me. I’ve been watching Tenzan and Kojima matches since I was 18 years old and to compete against them on such a massive level, is truly incredible.”
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