5 tag team specialists who are highly underrated as singles stars

Tag team wrestling is a different ballgame when compared with the singles competition. It has been around for ages but over the years it has started to lose its relevance and was slowly becoming obscure. The credit for the resurrection of modern-day tag team wrestling and it becoming popular among the masses goes to tag teams such as The Young Bucks, New Day, The Hardys, The Revival and The Usos who have put in their blood and sweat to make tag team wrestling relevant again.

There have only been a few Superstars who have excelled in both singles and tag team competition. Names like Edge, Jeff Hardy, and Bret Hart will forever be remembered for having great runs both as singles and as tag team superstar. While these Superstars did manage to climb the top in both the formats, there were some who in spite of being great singles stars never got their due.

This led to them being associated with tag team wrestling for the major part of the Carrer. While they have been the pioneers of tag team wrestling and are labeled as 'tag team Specialist', which they are without a doubt, they could've been so more as a singles star had the WWE taken a chance on them. With the company not getting behind as a singles star, they will mostly be remembered for heroics as a tag team wrestler.

Here are 5 WWE Tag team specialists who they are highly underrated as Singles star:

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#5 Christian

Christian is a former World Heavyweight Champion

Christian had lived under the shadow of real-life friend and long-time tag team partner Edge for a long time. While Edge winning multiple world championship in the company, Christian was booked as a mid-carder in spite of having main event Calibre feuds against the likes of Chris Jericho and Booker T.

Even his first world title win at Extreme Rules 2011 was overshadowed by the premature retirement of Edge who was involved in his match against Alberto Del Rio for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship. Captain Charisma would then lost the title mere days after winning to Randy Orton at SmackDown and would then go on to have one of the best world title feuds against Orton.

Christian's stint with TNA in the year 2005 was one of the highlights of his singles Carrer where he would win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship twice during his three-year stint with the company. But in spite of having a run with the world title in the WWE, Christian never really became a great singles star that he could've given the immense amount of talent he had both in the ring and on the microphone. It is really a shame that the company never got behind Christian as a singles star when he had so more to offer than being a tag team wrestler.

#4 Kofi Kingston

Kingston is a four-time Intercontinental Champion

In spite of being one of the most decorated singles performers in the current roster and having won both the Intercontinental and United States Championship on multiple occasions, Kofi Kingston will mostly be remembered for work in WWE's tag team division and his numerous elimination escapes at Royal Rumble.

The New Day member has previously been the tag team Champion with Evan Bourne as part of Air Boom, R-Truth and most famously with former road partner and real-life friend CM Punk. Kingston shocked the entire wrestling world mere 6 months after debuting on the main roster by defeating Chris Jericho and capturing the Intercontinental Championship at Night of Champions 2008. Kofi would then go on hold the Championship numerous times besides winning the United States Championship on three separate occasions.

On July 21, 2014, Kingston with Big E would join forces with Xavier Woods to form The New Day and the rest, as they say, is history. The New Day was received poorly by the fans but they started getting over when they turned heel and starting having excellent matches against teams like The Usos, Prime Time Players and even going toe to toe with one of the greatest tag team of all time, The Dudley Boys. With rumors of the New Day splitting up surfacing every other month, one just hopes that it gives Kofi Kingston to an opportunity to shine again as a singles star.

#3 Matt Hardy

Matt Hardy as the United States Champion

Much like Christian, Matt Hardy has always lived under the shadow of his brother and tag team partner, Jeff Hardy. Jeff was the most popular among the two and pushed to top winning the WWE and World Heavyweight Championship on multiple occasions and headlining multiple pay-per-views while his older brother's crowning achievement as a singles star was winning the ECW Championship. Despite being a great singles star, Matt was never afforded to shine as a solo act.

This was quite evident in his feud against Edge where despite being the clear crowd favorite, Matt was never able to beat the Rated-R Superstar. Matt could never solidify himself as a top-tier singles star and a major share of the blame has to Vince McMahon & Co. not having faith in Hardy's abilities as a singles star and boy how wrong they are.

But in 2016, Matt Hardy conceptualized what would become of the most talked things in all of professional wrestling that year. He debuted his Broken Character which would become a huge success and saved the sinking ship called TNA/IMPACT Wrestling. For the first time in their careers, Jeff took the backseat and Matt lead from the front. The Hardys returned to the WWE last year at WrestleMania and Matt is Currently portraying a toned down version of his Broken Character rechristened 'Woken'. Despite his accolades as a singles star outside WWE, Matt Hardy was never really pushed as a singles star in the company.

#2 Cesaro

Cesaro is a former United States Champion

After winning multiple tag team Championship all across the globe as part of The King of Wrestling alongside Chris Hero (Kassuis Ohno in WWE), Cesaro made his WWE debut on April of 2012 as a heel and would capture the United States from Santino Marella at SummerSlam of that year.

This would be his only singles Championship run in the company till date as the Swiss Cyborg hasn't been to capture any major singles title ever since losing the US Title to Kofi Kingston on an episode of RAW in 2013. Cesaro has tasted success in tag team competition with multiple partners.

First, he won the WWE Tag team Championship with Tyson Kidd and would then form an alliance with foe-turned-friend Sheamus in 2016 with the duo collectively known as The Bar. The Bar has become an integral part of WWE'S tag team division. Despite being of one of the best in-ring performers of this generation, Cesaro was never given a chance to prove himself as a singles star by the WWE.

#1 Bully Ray

Bully Ray is a two-time TNA/IMPACT World Heavyweight Champion

Bully Ray or Bubba Rey Dudley is the most decorated tag team wrestler of all time. Bubba along with his kayfabe brother Devon has won Championships in every promotion they have been in. They are the only tag team to have held the WWE, IWGP, NWA, TNA, WCW and ECW Tag team Championship. They were 1/3 of the greatest tag team feud in wrestling history with Edge and Christian and The Hardy Boyz. Together, these three teams changed tag team Wrestling and gave birth to the concept of TLC Matches.

Bubba Rey was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year along with his partner in crime Devon as part of The Dudley Boys. But what many people may not know is Bubba has also tasted success in singles competition. Bubba Rey or Bully Ray won the TNA World Heavyweight Championship twice as part of the notorious Aces and Eights Faction which he held. His rise to the top of the crop in TNA came as a shock to many as people generally associated him with tag team wrestling.

After leaving the WWE in 2016, Bubba Rey had stated in an interview to Sporting News that we could've Bully Ray in the WWE if they weren't for Vince McMahon & Co. backed out a day before it was supposed to debut. The New York had this to say on being enquired why he never performed as Bully Ray in the WWE:

“When you have something called the 'Be a STAR' program, it's not easy to have a character named Bully.That was one of the reasons. We came really, really close and I know the WWE Universe would have loved to have seen Bully Ray in a WWE ring.”

(H/T - Wrestling Inc.)