The Prime Time Players were an American professional wrestling tag team performing in the WWE , composed of Darren Young and Titus O'Neil . The two initially competed on WWE NXT , debuting as a team in January 2012 and were later promoted to the main roster in April of that year.
83-626: After disbanding and a brief feud in 2014, The Prime Times Players reunited in February 2015 and subsequently captured the WWE Tag Team Championship from The New Day , at Money in the Bank before splitting once again in February 2016 and subsequently starting a feud between the two again. Initially, O'Neil (who was then a face ) and Young were rivals on WWE NXT during its fifth season, named NXT Redemption . Early on, O'Neil
166-485: A Florida Gator ), to little success. On February 16 episode of Raw, O'Neil made a save for Young who, along with independent wrestler Kevin Kross (who would later return to WWE under the ring name "Karrion Kross" in 2020), was being attacked by The Ascension . This signified a reunion of the team and face turn for O'Neil. On the February 23 episode of Raw, they officially reunited and gave The Ascension their first loss in
249-586: A Winners Take All match to claim both championships and become recognized as the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions. WWE had billed the match as a championship unification match; however, both titles remained independently active. The Usos had defended both titles together across both brands as the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship , but on a couple of occasions in early 2023, they also defended
332-517: A five-on-five traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team match , in a winning effort. O'Neil and Young appeared as a team on January 15, 2016, at a house show on WWE's India tour. Young teamed with Damien Sandow on the Royal Rumble 2016 Kickoff Show in a Fatal 4-Way tag team match, while O'Neil competed in the Royal Rumble match itself. On the February 2, 2016, taping of Main Event ,
415-532: A ten-man elimination tag team match . In an interview released on August 15, 2013, Young revealed his homosexual orientation in real-life . On the August 19 episode of Raw , the Prime Time Players started to wrestle as faces , due to management's and the fans' support for Darren Young coming out. At the pre-show of Night of Champions , the Prime Time Players won a "Tag Team Turmoil" match and thus
498-461: A WWE Championship match between Punk and Kane to end in a double disqualification, resulting in a triple threat match being set up at No Way Out , where Punk managed to retain the title after AJ distracted Kane. Kane's involvement in the feud would end on the June 25 episode of Raw , when Bryan defeated both him and Punk in a non-title three-way elimination match. After once again failing to capture
581-543: A WWE Championship shot and instead forcing him to face Kane at SummerSlam , where Bryan emerged victorious. Following the win, Kane would go on a rampage and even attacked backstage interviewer Josh Matthews while looking for Bryan. Following their SummerSlam match, Kane became increasingly violent in his demands for a rematch while Bryan, upset with fans for continuing to chant his catchphrase of "Yes!" after he had told them not to, continued to lose his temper and have bursts of anger during matches and interview segments. As
664-440: A backstage altercation with Bob Backlund before Young came to the defense of Backlund by attacking O'Neil. The week after on Raw , Young defeated O'Neil via pinfall by grabbing O'Neil's tights, mimicking the way O'Neil defeated him. On the August 15 episode of Raw , Young and O'Neil reconciled and were placed in an ad hoc tag team match against The Shining Stars . During the match, O'Neil attacked Young, officially turning heel in
747-554: A chokeslam on Bryan, causing him to being hospitalized. On the June 26, 2018 episode of SmackDown Live , Kane turned face and saved Bryan from a post-match assault from The Bludgeon Brothers ( Harper and Rowan ) and afterwards, they shared a hug, officially reuniting Team Hell No as SmackDown General Manager Paige booked them to face The Bludgeon Brothers for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship at Extreme Rules . Their first match in over five years
830-603: A fan from the live audience. He then went out into the crowd and picked 10-year old Nicholas, and the two defeated Cesaro and Sheamus for the title. This made Nicholas the youngest WWE champion in history. Nicholas was also revealed to be the son of WWE referee, John Cone . The following night on Raw , the two relinquished the titles. During the May 20, 2022, episode of SmackDown , reigning SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos ( Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso ) defeated reigning Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro ( Randy Orton and Riddle ) in
913-608: A feud between the two tag teams. On the July 16 episode of Raw , the Prime Time Players unsuccessfully challenged Kofi Kingston and R-Truth for the WWE Tag Team Championship. O'Neil and Young bounced back with two singles victories over Kingston and R-Truth. On the August 10 episode of SmackDown , they defeated Primo and Epico in a number one contenders match via disqualification when A. W. provoked Kofi and R-Truth (who were doing guest commentary) into interfering in
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#1732779525447996-508: A new design. At the center of the plate is WWE's logo placed over a globe, similar to the World Heavyweight Championship and Women's World Championship belts, albeit with a red background and placed on a shield flanked by two griffins in a similar manner to a coat of arms . Above the globe is a banner that reads "WORLD TAG TEAM" while below the globe is another banner that reads "CHAMPIONS", both in silver and with
1079-508: A no disqualification match on the January 18 episode of NXT . O'Neil then turned heel after the match, verbally ripping on the audience, his former pro Hornswoggle , and NXT itself. O'Neil urged Watson to also turn his back on the fans on the January 25, 2012, episode of NXT Redemption . When Watson refused, O'Neil shoved him and a match between the two was booked, leading to O'Neil defeating Watson. O'Neil continued to attack Watson after
1162-537: A red background. The plates are on black straps with metal endplates, and gold divider bars separate the center plate from the two side plates. The side plates are now customizable with the reigning champions' logo; the default side plates feature the WWE logo on a red globe. As of November 26, 2024, there have been 94 reigns between 72 teams composed of 103 individual champions, and one vacancy. The team of Cesaro and Sheamus and The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) have
1245-479: A result of Bryan and Kane's issues, AJ enrolled them in anger management classes hosted by Dr. Shelby and later forced them to compete in a "hug it out" match. At the arrangement of Dr. Shelby and AJ, the two adversaries formed a team whose constant bickering and infighting even during matches inadvertently resulted in them defeating the Prime Time Players ( Titus O'Neil and Darren Young ) to become
1328-547: A result, WWE introduced the brand extension in March 2002 to divide its roster between the Raw and SmackDown! brands where wrestlers would exclusively perform on their respective weekly television programs. The original World Tag Team Championship initially became exclusive to SmackDown!, but was later reassigned to Raw, leaving the former without a tag team title. As a result, SmackDown! General Manager Stephanie McMahon introduced
1411-487: A second title for tag teams in the promotion to complement WWE's original World Tag Team Championship , which became exclusive to Raw. Both titles were unified in 2009 and were collectively referred to as the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship while officially remaining independently active until the original World Tag Team Championship was formally decommissioned in 2010. As a result of
1494-514: A similar fate. This attack had the effect of uniting Bryan and Kane, and after The Shield and Team Hell No, along with Ryback, attacked each other on the December 3 episode of Raw , all six men were decreed to face each other in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs , where The Shield was victorious after pinning Bryan. On the following episode of Main Event , Team Hell No defeated Team Rhodes Scholars to retain
1577-572: A storyline with Bob Backlund , challenging The Miz for the WWE Intercontinental Championship . When the WWE Draft returned in July 2016, both of them were drafted to the Raw brand . On the August 1 episode of Raw , O'Neil started a slow heel turn when he questioned Young's motives on being "great again". Later that night, he defeated Young when he pinned him while grabbing Young's tights. Afterwards, he got into
1660-468: A team; individually, it is the first for McDonagh and third for Bálor. They won the title by defeating Awesome Truth ( The Miz and R-Truth ) on the June 24, 2024, episode of Raw . The championship was originally established as the WWE Tag Team Championship on October 3, 2002, and the team of Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit were the inaugural champions. It was introduced for the SmackDown brand as
1743-424: A third brand in 2006) announced a talent sharing agreement that enabled talent from either brand's roster to compete on both brands. As a result, the title became eligible to be contended and defended on both brands. In late 2008 through early 2009, reigning WWE Tag Team Champions The Colóns ( Carlito and Primo ) engaged in rivalry with reigning World Tag Team Champions John Morrison and The Miz , which resulted in
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#17327795254471826-600: A title shot by last eliminating the Real Americans ( Antonio Cesaro and Jack Swagger ). Later that night, they lost to defending champions Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns of the Shield . After their face turn they did several comedy segments backstage including selling merchandise and a hotdog eating contest. On the January 31, 2014, episode of SmackDown after Young was pinned in a tag team match against Ryback and Curtis Axel , O'Neil viciously attacked him after
1909-462: A two-on-one handicap match until Kane (wearing a cast) made his way to the ring to join the match, but Team Hell No was still defeated. WWE later acknowledged the injury as a broken ankle, however, the real injury to Kane’s foot was the suffered tendinitis in his left heel. This once again caused the team to disband, which resulted in Daniel Bryan then continuing his feud with The Miz . On
1992-456: Is a men's professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE , defended on the Raw brand division . It is one of two male tag team championships for WWE's main roster, along with the WWE Tag Team Championship on SmackDown . The current champions are The Judgment Day ( Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh ), who are in their first reign as
2075-416: Is the youngest champion at 10 years old (also making him the youngest champion in WWE history), while R-Truth is the oldest champion at age 52. The current champions are The Judgment Day (Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh ). Individually, it is McDonagh's first reign and Bálor's third, and while it is their first time holding the title as a team. They won the title by defeating Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) on
2158-657: The 2016 WWE Draft , the championship became exclusive to Raw and was renamed as the Raw Tag Team Championship , with SmackDown creating their own counterpart, the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. From May 2022 until April 2024, both titles were held and defended together as the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship , with each maintaining their individual lineages. Under the Undisputed banner, both titles simultaneously became
2241-599: The SmackDown Tag Team Championship on August 23, 2016. The WWE Tag Team Championship was subsequently renamed to Raw Tag Team Championship and The New Day were the first champions to hold the title under its new name. In 2019, WWE's developmental territory NXT became the promotion's third major brand when it was moved to the USA Network in September, thus making the NXT Tag Team Championship
2324-495: The Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston and R-Truth . On the June 1 edition of SmackDown , O'Neil and Young named themselves the Prime Time Players. At No Way Out , they won a Fatal-four-Way tag team match to become the number one contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championship following assistance from A. W. who had turned on his clients, Primo and Epico in favor of the Prime Time Players, prompting
2407-635: The WWE Championship at Over the Limit from CM Punk , Daniel Bryan continued to feud with the champion, demanding a rematch following the controversial ending of their match which saw Punk tap out moments after Punk was able to pin Bryan. On the SmackDown prior to Over the Limit, Bryan interfered in a match between Punk and Kane and attempted to frame Punk by attacking Kane with a steel chair. On
2490-459: The "Unified" moniker, received a new single set of belts, and continued to be defended on any brand. The brand extension was discontinued on August 29, 2011, but it was revived on July 19, 2016. The following is a list of dates indicating the transitions of the current World Tag Team Championship between the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands. The original design of the title belt when it was introduced as
2573-413: The "unified" moniker, subsequently became the sole tag team championship in WWE, available to any brand. The first brand extension then ended in August 2011. Following the reintroduction of the brand extension in July 2016, reigning champions The New Day ( Big E , Kofi Kingston , and Xavier Woods ) were drafted to the Raw brand, making the championship exclusive to Raw. In response, SmackDown created
The Prime Time Players - Misplaced Pages Continue
2656-576: The April 18 episode of NXT Redemption , it was announced that O'Neil and Young had been moved to the main roster. The team made their debut for the SmackDown brand on the April 20 episode of SmackDown with a victory over The Usos. They started on a winning streak defeating the likes Ezekiel Jackson and Yoshi Tatsu and Santino Marella and Zack Ryder . However, on the May 18 edition of SmackDown , their winning streak ended when they were defeated by
2739-484: The April 22 episode of Raw, Team Hell No and The Undertaker were defeated by The Shield in a six-man tag team match. The Shield went on to take out Undertaker and continuously rack up wins over Bryan and Kane in both singles and tag matches that also included WWE Champion John Cena . On May 19 at Extreme Rules , Bryan and Kane lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to Shield members Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, ending their reign at 245 days. As Bryan being pinned led to
2822-543: The Bank in a stretcher match, but because of his injury Bryan was later stripped of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by Stephanie McMahon, thus prematurely ended their feud. Kane and Bryan's feud reignited on the January 12, 2015 episode of Raw , which saw the first action Bryan was a part of in almost a year. A match between the two was scheduled for the return to Thursday episode of SmackDown , which Bryan won by disqualification. On
2905-400: The Bank . At Money in the Bank , the Prime Time Players defeated The New Day to capture the WWE Tag Team Championship , their first ever titles in WWE. At Battleground , the Prime Time Players successfully retained their titles against The New Day. At SummerSlam , The New Day defeated The Prime Time Players in a Fatal-4-Way tag team match to become the new WWE Tag Team Champions . On
2988-480: The February 3 edition of Raw . The following week, Bryan attacked Kane and on February 17 edition of Raw they faced each other one more time, with Bryan winning by disqualification. On the April 21 episode of Raw , after Bryan married Brie Bella , Stephanie McMahon announced that Bryan would face Kane at Extreme Rules for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Kane (now masked) ended up attacking Bryan afterwards, executing three Tombstone Piledrivers to Bryan on
3071-563: The January 17, 2020 episode of SmackDown, Kane returned to do a promo regarding his dominance in the Royal Rumble match , but was interrupted by Bray Wyatt . The Fiend would emerge from inside the ring but Bryan would attack the Fiend with a running knee. The two would subsequently have a brief reunion afterwards. At the 2021 Royal Rumble event, Kane and Daniel Bryan were both entrants in the Royal Rumble Match. Both of them teased
3154-503: The July 29 episode of Raw , Bryan and Kane faced each other in a match, which was won by Bryan. After the match Kane attacked Bryan, but was interrupted and attacked by The Wyatt Family . Meanwhile, Bryan's determination to prove himself led to a winning streak, culminating in him winning the WWE Championship at SummerSlam . When Kane returned on October 28 of Raw , he became "Director of Operations". Kane chokeslamed Bryan at
3237-521: The June 24, 2024, episode of Raw in Indianapolis, Indiana . Team Hell No Team Hell No was a professional wrestling tag team in WWE consisting of Kane and Daniel Bryan . The team's name is a reference to the two wrestlers' personas: Kane is portrayed as a violent pyromaniac and described as "The Devil's Favorite Demon" while Bryan's character at the time of their original formation
3320-617: The Rhodes Scholars via disqualification, but retained their titles as a result. This was followed by a rematch on the November 14 episode of Main Event , where Team Hell No defeated the Rhodes Scholars to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship. On the November 26 episode of Raw , after Kane lost to WWE Champion CM Punk in a non-title match, he was assaulted by The Shield ( Dean Ambrose , Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns ); Bryan and Ryback , who both attempted to save Kane, suffered
3403-476: The September 7 edition of SmackDown , O'Neil and Young defeated Primo and Epico and The Usos in a triple threat tag match to once again become the number one contenders to the Tag Team Championship. The following week of Raw , they were defeated by Daniel Bryan and Kane , who became the new number one contenders. At Survivor Series , the Prime Time Players took part in a losing effort in
The Prime Time Players - Misplaced Pages Continue
3486-411: The September 7 episode of Raw , it was announced that The New Day would defend the titles against The Prime Time Players in a rematch the following week, and the winners would defend the titles against The Dudley Boyz at Night of Champions . On the September 14 episode of Raw , The New Day defeated The Prime Time Players, thus setting up The New Day vs. The Dudley Boyz for Night of Champions. Towards
3569-484: The Tag Team banner read "World Wrestling Entertainment" in small print. On both sides of the center plate were two side plates. The inner side plates featured the WWE scratch logo and were encircled with the meander pattern, while the outer side plates featured a single Spartan helmet facing inward. A version with two name plates on the center plate, one for each champion, had been created but was not used. In August 2014,
3652-712: The Unified WWE Tag Team Championship on any brand until August 2010. That month, the Anonymous Raw General Manager announced that the World Tag Team Championship would be decommissioned in favor of continuing the WWE Tag Team Championship, which received a new, single set of championship belts, which were presented to reigning champions The Hart Dynasty ( Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith ) by Bret Hart . The WWE Tag Team Championship, which dropped
3735-592: The WWE Championship at Money in the Bank , Bryan proposed to AJ the following night on Raw , which she accepted. On Raw 1000 , Bryan's wedding ended in failure when AJ left Bryan at the altar and instead accepted Mr. McMahon 's offer of the position of permanent Raw General Manager. Bryan's night turned from bad to worse as he was later attacked by The Rock and insulted by celebrity Charlie Sheen . AJ's rejection of Bryan turned him into an angry and bitter individual and resulted in Bryan lashing out at audiences. AJ continued to exact her revenge on Bryan by denying him
3818-463: The WWE Tag Team Championship and commissioned it to be the tag team title for the SmackDown! brand on October 3, 2002. She also announced that the inaugural champions would be determined from an eight-team tournament. At No Mercy on October 20, 2002, the team of Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit defeated Rey Mysterio and Edge in the tournament final to become the inaugural WWE Tag Team Champions. On October 17, 2007, SmackDown! and ECW (which became
3901-421: The WWE Tag Team Championship featured a design that was similar to the 1985 to 2002 version of the original World Tag Team Championship, with gold plates on black straps. It featured a similar center plate with an eagle and crown designs alongside a blue globe at the center. On top, it featured the company's scratch logo on a blue background. The gold text in the blue ribbon read "World Wrestling Entertainment" while
3984-454: The WWE Tag Team Championship. On the December 31 episode of Raw , Team Hell No successfully defended their titles against 3MB ( Drew McIntyre and Heath Slater ). On January 27, 2013, at the Royal Rumble , Team Hell No once again retained the WWE Tag Team Championship against Team Rhodes Scholars. During the Royal Rumble Match, Bryan eliminated Kane and was in turn thrown out of the ring by Antonio Cesaro ; Kane caught Bryan before he touched
4067-547: The WWE. They once again defeated The Ascension on March 14 episode of Main Event . They then participated in the André the Giant Memorial Trophy Battle Royal at WrestleMania 31 , which was won by Big Show . After WrestleMania, they began performing comedic skits that poked fun at other tag teams including The New Day , The Ascension, Los Matadores and Tyson Kidd and Cesaro . They became one of
4150-458: The World Tag Team Championship with the SmackDown title becoming the WWE Tag Team Championship. From 1971 until 2002, WWE 's original World Tag Team Championship was the primary men's world tag team championship of the professional wrestling promotion. Following The Invasion storyline, WWE's roster doubled in size due to the influx of wrestlers from the former promotions, World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling . As
4233-466: The announcement on the March 17 episode of ECW that at WrestleMania 25 , both teams would defend their titles against each other and the winning team would hold both titles. The Colóns defeated Morrison and Miz, and thus unified the titles into what became known as the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship , the umbrella term for what officially remained two active championships that were now collectively defended. The championships would be defended as
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#17327795254474316-552: The belts, along with all other pre-existing championship belts in WWE at the time, received a minor update, replacing the scratch logo with WWE's current logo that was originally used for the WWE Network that launched earlier that year in February. According to well-known belt maker Dave Millican, who designed and created the belts, he wanted to go with either nickel, silver, or gold for the plates, but WWE, in particular Stephanie McMahon, wanted copper to do something different that
4399-410: The bottom read "TAG TEAM" in a blue background and "CHAMPIONS" in blue text. The inner side plates were gold and featured two wrestlers grappling with the WWE logo at the top on a blue background, while the outer side plates were simply the company logo on a blue background. In August 2010, the WWE Tag Team Championship received a redesign, replacing the previous design that had been used in tandem with
4482-409: The concrete, steel steps, and on the announce table, resulting in Bryan being carried out on a stretcher. The following week, Bryan had suffered a neck and arm injury, and had surgery the next week. Kane and Bryan's feud ended with Bryan winning his title match against Kane at Extreme Rules in an Extreme Rules match in the main event. Bryan and Kane were booked to face each other in a rematch at Money in
4565-528: The duo returned to team with The Usos , to defeat The Ascension , Stardust and Tyler Breeze . They have since quietly disbanded when O'Neil received a 60-day suspension after the February 8 episode of Raw after an alleged physical altercation with Vince McMahon. After O'Neil's suspension, both Young and O'Neil returned to singles competition. O'Neil began a feud with Rusev for the WWE United States Championship while Young started
4648-610: The end of 2015, O'Neil and Young began focusing on singles careers. On the November 9 episode of Raw , O'Neil competed in the first round of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament against Kevin Owens , in a losing effort. At the Survivor Series pre-show, O'Neil teamed with a returning Goldust , Dudley Boyz and Neville against The Cosmic Wasteland , The Miz and Bo Dallas , in
4731-527: The first tag team championships to be defended in the main event of WWE's flagship event, WrestleMania , which occurred as the main event of WrestleMania 39 Night 1 in April 2023. The titles would again be defended in the main event of a pay-per-view and livestreaming event at Night of Champions the following month. The titles were then split at WrestleMania XL in April 2024 with the Raw Tag Team Championship subsequently renamed as
4814-594: The five teams to challenge the New Day for the Tag Titles at Elimination Chamber , and eliminated The Ascension and Tyson Kidd and Cesaro, but lost after all of The New Day pinned Titus O'Neil. The following week on SmackDown , they won a triple threat tag team match against the Lucha Dragons and The Ascension, to become the number one contenders for the tag team championship against The New Day at Money in
4897-888: The floor and despite Bryan's begging, dropped him to complete Bryan's elimination. In February, both Bryan and Kane qualified for the number one contender Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship, but were both eliminated by Mark Henry at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. Team Hell No then began a feud with Dolph Ziggler when he defeated both Bryan and Kane in singles competition due to interference from his enforcer Big E Langston . On April 7 at WrestleMania 29 , Team Hell No defeated Ziggler and Langston for another successful title defense. The following night on Raw , Team Hell No rekindled their rivalry with The Shield after they saved The Undertaker from an attack. On
4980-460: The following Raw , Bryan faced off against Kane and was set up in a similar way by Punk, which resulted in the situation nearly reversing itself. Afterward, Kane started attacking both Bryan and Punk indiscriminately after being a pawn in each of their plans, beginning a three-way rivalry. During this time, Bryan's jilted ex-girlfriend AJ turned her affections to both Punk and Kane. On the June 1 episode of SmackDown , Bryan's interference caused
5063-405: The loss of the tag titles, Bryan became obsessed with proving that he was not the weak link of Team Hell No. As a result, Bryan became even more aggressive, but his overzealous behavior led to Team Hell No losing their rematch against Reigns and Rollins on the May 27 episode of Raw . When Kane tried to reassure Bryan, Bryan replied with harsh rebukes that alienated Kane from him. As a result, Bryan
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#17327795254475146-558: The main event of a pay-per-view and livestreaming event at Night of Champions the following month on May 27 when Owens and Zayn retained the titles against The Bloodline ( Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa ). At WrestleMania XL Night 1 on April 6, 2024, The Judgment Day ( Finn Bálor and Damian Priest ) defended the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship in a Six-Pack Tag Team Ladder match in which both sets of championships had to be retrieved for
5229-488: The match to end. As a result, the championships were split with Awesome Truth ( The Miz and R-Truth ) winning the Raw Tag Team Championship while A-Town Down Under ( Austin Theory and Grayson Waller ) won the SmackDown titles. A week later on the April 15 episode of Raw , the Raw Tag Team Championship was renamed as the World Tag Team Championship with a new set of championship belts. The SmackDown Tag Team Championship
5312-432: The match, leading to Alex Riley saving Watson. O'Neil then formed an alliance with former enemy Young, and the duo teamed up to defeat Watson and Riley on the February 1 and February 29 episodes of NXT Redemption . O'Neil also faced and defeated Riley on the February 22 episode. On the March 7 episode, Watson received his rematch against O'Neil and defeated O'Neil. O'Neil and Young then moved on to feud with The Usos . On
5395-483: The match, turning heel and officially disbanding the team. They would have a match at Elimination Chamber , with O'Neil getting the victory. A rematch took place on the February 26 episode of Main Event , which was won by Young. In April, Young underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee that would take him out of action for several months. Meanwhile, O'Neil formed a dysfunctional tag team with Heath Slater , known as Slater-Gator (a reference to O'Neil being
5478-445: The match. That same day, A. W. was released from his contract. On the August 13 edition of Raw , it was announced that the Prime Time Players would receive their championship match at SummerSlam . That same night, after R-Truth defeated Heath Slater , O'Neil and Young ambushed R-Truth and left him laying in the ring (Kingston was away on an international tour). At SummerSlam , O'Neil & Young were defeated by Kingston and R-Truth. On
5561-483: The most reigns as a team at four, while individually, Kingston and Seth Rollins have the most with six. The New Day's second reign is also the longest reign at 483 days and they are the only team to hold the championship for over one consecutive year—Big E is also credited for this reign as during New Day's first two reigns, Big E, Kingston, and Woods were all recognized as champion under the Freebird Rule (Big E
5644-530: The next week's SmackDown , despite more interference by The Authority, Bryan defeated Kane in a no disqualification main event to keep his Royal Rumble match spot. The feud between Bryan and Kane finally ended on the January 29 episode of SmackDown , where Bryan defeated Kane in a casket match. On the October 30, 2017 episode of Raw , the lights went out backstage as Bryan had a phone call during discussing Survivor Series with Kurt Angle . Kane then performed
5727-407: The number one contenders to the WWE Tag Team Championship on the September 10 episode of Raw and then defeating defending champions Kofi Kingston and R-Truth to win the WWE Tag Team Championship at Night of Champions . Bryan and Kane made their first successful title defense the following night on Raw , defeating the former champions in a rematch. The following week on Raw , "Team Hell No"
5810-466: The original World Tag Team Championship to represent the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship since April 2009. The belts were on black straps with copper plates. Taking inspiration from Greece , the center plate was dominated by two Spartan helmets facing outward and it was encircled with a meander pattern. At the top of the center plate was the WWE scratch logo and at the bottom was a banner that read "Tag Team" on one line and "Champions" below that; above
5893-442: The process for the first time since 2015. On October 29, 2017, Darren Young was released from his WWE contract thus ending any possibilities of a reunion. Former WWE wrestler Shad Gaspard has accused the team of basing their gimmick off his former team Cryme Tyme , albeit without the "gangster style" and bling-bling fashion. WWE Raw Tag Team Championship As an individual (6 reigns): The World Tag Team Championship
5976-427: The silver plates on blue straps design of the SmackDown Tag Team Championship belts. While all other WWE championship belts were updated to feature customizable side plates for the champion's logos, the Raw and SmackDown tag titles lacked these features. On the April 15, 2024, episode of Raw , in conjunction with the Raw Tag Team Championship being renamed to World Tag Team Championship, the championship belts received
6059-417: The third major tag team title for men in WWE. However, this recognition was reversed when NXT reverted to its original function as a developmental brand in September 2021. At WrestleMania 34 on April 8, 2018, reigning Raw Tag Team Champions Cesaro and Sheamus were scheduled to defend the title against Braun Strowman and a partner of his choosing. At the event, Strowman revealed that his partner would be
6142-481: The titles separately. In the main event of WrestleMania 39 Night 1, The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) defended the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship against the team of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn . This subsequently made both the Raw and SmackDown titles the first tag team championships to be defended in the main event of WWE's flagship event, WrestleMania . At the event, Owens and Zayn defeated The Usos to become champions. The titles would again be defended in
6225-485: Was against The Usos on the July 3 episode of SmackDown Live , in which Kane and Bryan emerged victorious. The following week on SmackDown Live , Bryan and Kane teamed with The New Day in a 10-man tag team Match. At Extreme Rules , Team Hell No were assaulted by The Bludgeon Brothers backstage before their match, resulting in Kane's ankle being (kayfabe) injured. Later in the night, Bryan initially faced Harper and Rowan in
6308-558: Was chosen as the official team name via a Twitter poll and the Rhodes Scholars ( Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow ) immediately began a feud with them. During this period, both Kane and Bryan made the transition from villains to fan favorites, aided by the audience's enjoyment of their bickering over which one was (by himself) the WWE Tag Team Champions. On October 28 at Hell in a Cell , Team Hell No lost to
6391-438: Was established, in which select members of WWE's roster are reassigned to a different brand. After the WWE Tag Team Championship was unified with the World Tag Team Championship as the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship, the champions could appear and defend the titles on any WWE brand. The World Tag Team Championship was decommissioned in August 2010, leaving the WWE Tag Team Championship as WWE's sole tag team title, which dropped
6474-411: Was not done elsewhere. In August 2016, after the reintroduction of the brand split and the creation of the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, the WWE Tag Team Championship was renamed to Raw Tag Team Championship. The belts then received an update on December 19 that year to reflect the name change. They featured the same physical design, but the plates were silver and the straps changed to red, countering
6557-527: Was paired with Randy Orton despite their poor relationship to face a common enemy in the Shield, while Kane began to go on his own. On the June 14 episode of SmackDown , Bryan, Kane, and Orton teamed up to end the Shield's undefeated streak in televised six-man tag matches when Bryan forced Rollins to submit to the Yes! Lock . Bryan and Kane then went their separate ways on the June 17 episode of Raw , as both announced their intention to become WWE Champion. On
6640-408: Was paired with then-friend Percy Watson against Young and his NXT pro, Chavo Guerrero . The feud was put on hold when Guerrero was released and Young was suspended. On the November 16, 2011, episode of NXT , O'Neil was assaulted by a returning Young. Young was then able to get the better of O'Neil twice in tag team matches. The conclusion to O'Neil's feud with Young came when O'Neil defeated Young in
6723-446: Was split from the team in the 2020 WWE Draft ). John Cena and The Miz's sole reign is the shortest reign at 9 minutes, due to The Corre invoking their rematch clause immediately after losing the title. As a team, The New Day (across its two different variants of team members) also have the longest combined reign at 627 days, while Kingston individually has the longest combined reign at 912 days (910 days as recognized by WWE). Nicholas
6806-458: Was that of a spiteful pessimist whose catchphrase was to loudly exclaim "No!" (a reversal of his "Yes!" catchphrase). Originally portrayed as bitter enemies, the two were forced to work as a team during an angle in which they were made to attend anger management classes by then Raw General Manager AJ Lee and—though billed as a dysfunctional team—they were subsequently able to win the WWE Tag Team Championship . In May 2012, after failing to win
6889-434: Was then renamed as the WWE Tag Team Championship with its own new set of belts on the April 19 episode of SmackDown . The WWE Tag Team Championship Tournament was a tournament held to crown the inaugural WWE Tag Team Champions for the SmackDown brand. It concluded at No Mercy on October 20, 2002, and was won by the team of Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit. Following the events of the WWE brand extension , an annual WWE draft
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