In honor of WrestleMania 33, members of the PTBN Staff has gathered to create a series of 33 lists, all dedicated to the rich history of WWE’s grandest spectacle. Each contributor assigned a ranking of 1-10 and votes were tallied accordingly. We will be releasing one list per day, with the final list to be posted on April 1, 2017, the day prior to WrestleMania 33! Be sure to share your feedback with us on social media! You can view the complete series here!
Day Fourteen: Best WrestleMania Tag Team Title Matches
Others Getting Votes: Team Hell No vs. Dolph Ziggler & Big E Langston – WM29 (10), Owen Hart & British Bulldog vs. Vader & Mankind – WM13 (9), MegaManiacs vs. Money, Inc. – WMIX (7), Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz vs. APA vs. Billy & Chuck – WMX8 (7), Kidd & Cesaro vs. New Day vs. Los Matadores vs. The Usos – WM31 (6), Natural Disasters vs. Money, Inc. – WMVIII (5), Demolition vs. Powers of Pain & Mr. Fuji – WMV (4), Big Show & Kane vs. Carlito & Chris Masters – WM22 (2), Miz & Morrison vs. The Colons – WMXXV (2)
10. Smoking Gunns vs. Owen Hart & Yokozuna – WrestleMania XI (11 Points)
Highest Ranking: #4 (Neil Trama)
On a quest to finally win WWF gold, Owen Hart issued a challenge to the Smoking Gunns on behalf of himself and a mystery tag team partner. And that partner ended up being Yokozuna, the monster nemesis of his brother Bret, of course. After a surprisingly feisty little match, Yoko flattened the Gunns, allowing Owen the easy cover and win. That led to a fantastic celebration as the King of Harts finally had his gold.
9. Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo vs. Nikolai Volkoff & Iron Sheik – WrestleMania I (23 Points)
Highest Ranking: #5 (Scott Criscuolo & Steven Ferrari)
In the first major upset at WrestleMania, history was made inside MSG as Nikolai Volkoff and Iron Sheik shocked the Tag Team Champions, Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo. Aided by Freddie Blassie’s cane, the foreign legion stole the memorable win and took the gold from the red hot champs.
8. Strike Force vs. Demolition – WrestleMania IV (30 Points)
Highest Ranking: #6 (Glenn Butler)
By early 1988 the increasing popularity of the heel Demolition was getting harder to hide and ignore. Those cheers were only exacerbated when Ax and Smash took home their first WWF Tag Team Titles by knocking off pretty boy Strike Force at Trump Plaza. Strike Force worked their usual quick paced offense but Demolition was able to overpower them before eventually leveraging Mr. Fuji’s cane to grab the victory… to a huge pop. The Era of Demolition had begun.
7. Demolition vs. Colossal Connection – WrestleMania VI (32 Points)
Highest Ranking: #4 (Glenn Butler & Steve Riddle)
And two years after that initial win 1988, Demolition reached their absolute peak in Toronto at WrestleMania VI. Now looking to capture the straps for a third time, Ax and Smash also wanted revenge on the Colossal Connection, who had stolen the belts back in December. The crowd was molten hot throughout the bout, cresting for the wild final moments when Andre the Giant got tangled in the ropes and Demolition put Haku away for the win. The pop for the victory was monstrous and sadly Demolition would never see these highs again. Everything was capped off by Andre’s memorable post match face turn, an all time legendary Mania moment.
6. Chris Benoit & Rhyno vs. Team Angle vs. Los Guerreros – WrestleMania XIX (37 Points)
Highest Ranking: #4 (Steven Ferrari)
Standing out on a loaded card like WrestleMania XIX is not easy, but these six men did their best to deliver a strong, fast paced Tag Team Title bout that in some ways was the capper on the original Smackdown Six Era. Rhyno had just returned from injury and stepped in as Chris Benoit’s partner against the stalwart Guerreros and upstart Team Angle, who had snagged the titles shortly before the show. Hamstrung a bit by time, these guys were prevented from reaching the match’s ceiling but still worked their assess off to deliver one of the best Tag Team Title bouts in Mania history.
5. Cactus Jack & Chainsaw Charlie vs. New Age Outlaws – WrestleMania XIV (49 Points)
Highest Ranking: #3 (Jason Greenhouse)
When Road Dogg and Billy Gunn were put together as a team in late 1997, expectations were not very high. Then they shocked everyone by willing themselves to get over thanks to an abrasive, aggressive style filled with catchphrases and innuendo and a little bit of in ring action. Thus, they were the perfect team for the burgeoning Attitude Era. They immediately targeted Cactus Jack toward the end of the year and Cactus responded by importing his old pal Terry Funk, now known as Chainsaw Charlie for some reason. After weeks and weeks of brawls and attacks, everything was paid off in a Dumpster Match at WrestleMania. All four men unloaded hard weapon shots and stiff strikes, capped by a feel good win for the Hardcore Legends. It may have only lasted for one night, but it was a great payoff to weeks of antagonizing by the Outlaws.
4. Hart Foundation vs. Nasty Boys – WrestleMania VII (56 Points)
Highest Ranking: #3 (Neil Trama & Tim Capel)
With Bret Hart finally lined up for that breakthrough singles push, he and Jim Neidhart had one last big tag match left on their plate as they had to defend the Tag Team Titles against the brash Nasty Boys in Los Angeles. The Nastys hadn’t been legitimized as much of a threat so their eventual win came to a shock to many fans. Also, the match itself was pretty damn good considering there was no real plunder or nonsense involved and the Nastys went toe-to-toe in the ring with the Harts.
3. British Bulldogs vs. Dream Team – WrestleMania 2 (72 Points)
Highest Ranking: #2 (Steven Ferrari & Chris Jordan)
In 1985, Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake began teaming with regularity as an opportunity to give Valentine something useful to do while also allowing Beefcake the chance to learn and grow while tagging with one of the best in the business. They soon won the Tag Team Titles and were looking pretty unstoppable until running into the buzzsaws known as the British Bulldogs. In a hard hitting bout filled with brutal strikes and power moves, the Bulldogs edged the Dream Team and took home the gold thanks to a nasty finishing sequence that left Dynamite Kid knocked out cold.
2. Edge & Christian vs. Dudley Boyz vs. Hardy Boyz – WrestleMania XVI (89 Points)
Highest Ranking: #1 (Neil Trama)
Ever since the heyday of the tag team division in the late 80s, the WWF was constantly struggling to restock the roster to recapture that depth. In late 1999, they stumbled into the renaissance thanks to a couple of teams comprised of young, hungry up-and-comers willing to destroy their bodies for the fans. Add in the Dudley Boyz from ECW, another team looking for a weapons filled brawl, and suddenly the division was teeming and once again a highlight of WWF programming. The three teams were given a big showcase spot at WrestleMania XVI when they got to battle over the straps in a triangle ladder match. And much like the ladder match six years earlier had launched Shawn Michaels into stardom, this edition established Edge & Christian as the unlikely kings of the division, a dominant heel duo and allowed them to open up their personalities as well, making two stars in the process.
1. Edge & Christian vs. Dudley Boyz vs. Hardy Boyz – WrestleMania X7 (99 Points)
Highest Ranking: #1 (Scott Criscuolo, Glenn Butler, Mike Eller, Tim Capel, Steven Ferrari, Chris Jordan, Jason Greenhouse, Brian Payless & Steve Riddle)
And one year later, the three teams went at it again, this time in a TLC rematch from SummerSlam. By this point, all three teams were now well established as top of the card stars and their roles in the division were well defined. The ante was upped with interference from Lita, Rhyno and Spike Dudley and the spots and bumps got bigger and crazier as well. Edge & Christian would win yet again, truly setting themselves as a run above but all three teams were key parts of the rebirth of the Tag Team legacy WWF had been missing for a decade. It was the perfect bookend from the year before and an easy choice as a near consensus top choice.
