Since its launch in 2019, an aspect that AEW has tried to impress on fans compared to WWE is that the company cares and will always have a strong emphasis on tag team wrestling. This was seen from 2019 through much of 2022, with a stacked split that saw fight of the year candidates appear regularly.
With the tag team division in AEW in a strange place right now, and with The Gunns officially becoming the 10th pair of AEW World Tag Team Champions, now is a good time to look back on AEW’s first four years and first 9 years. Tag. Team champions and how they rank against each other.
9 the gunns
Despite being quite green, Tony Khan and AEW have gambled on ending The Acclaimed’s reign in favor of putting the titles on Austin and Colten Gunn. Shocking the world by becoming AEW World Tag Team Champions, The Gunns are now in the midst of their first reign as champions and have even just re-signed with AEW, seemingly signaling a future as major players in the tag team scene.
While his in-ring work isn’t quite up to par with some of AEW’s greats, The Gunns have shown a lot of promise recently, with his match against FTR in late 2022 and the subsequent funeral for the FTR segment both being pretty outstanding performances. of the young brothers. While their reign is in its infancy, many expect this to be a full transitional run as champions, so it’s likely they’ll remain in the bottom rung of former AEW Tag Team Champions.
8 ECU
The first AEW World Tag Team Champions, Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky, will forever remain in the AEW history books as they proved to be a surprise pick as the first champions.
While their reign would be short, the duo would have big feuds against The Lucha Bros and The Young Bucks, successfully retaining their titles until losing to Kenny Omega & Hangman Page in early 2020.
7 FTR
After leaving WWE in favor of AEW’s tag team division which was on fire at the time, Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler would come to AEW under the new name FTR. The duo would originally arrive as faces, though they would quickly turn heel and name Tully Blanchard their manager in the process. By defeating Kenny Omega and Hangman Page to win the belts, FTR would have a surprisingly short time with the titles.
Reigning from September 2020 to November 2020, FTR would not go on to have the longest reign with the tag titles, though notable matches would include their title win over Hangman & Omega, a title defense against Best Friends, and their first match against The Young Bucks at AEW Full Gear 2020, where they would be defeated.
6 jurassic express
One of the bright young acts to come to AEW as the company launched in 2019 would be Jurassic Express, with Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus as two future stars for the company. While they had a hard time putting things together in the early days of the company, by 2021 things would start to change for them.
With Jungle Boy breaking out as a singles star in 2021, more emphasis was added to teaming and in January 2022, the duo would defeat the Lucha Bros to become AEW World Tag Team Champions. Their reign saw Jurassic Express hold their own against less-stocked teams, including The Acclaimed, Dark Order, and The Gunn Club, though some big matches would elevate the reign, with a defense against reDRagon, a triple threat against reDRagon, and The Young Bucks, another triple. threat against Swerve In Our Glory & Team Taz, and finally a ladder match in which they would lose the titles against The Young Bucks.
5 fight bros
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After remaining one of the most popular acts in AEW since the company first launched in 2019, The Lucha Bros would finally achieve the success they were destined for in the fall of 2021. Facing off against their longtime rivals, The Young Bucks, at AEW All Out 2021, Fenix & Penta would defeat the champions in a Steel Cage Match that many considered an instant classic.
From there, their title reign would suffer less than a huge booking, though The Lucha Bros would maintain high-quality performances to help elevate each of their matches. His reign would be highlighted by a pair of matches against FTR before losing the belts to Jurassic Express in early 2022, though by the end of the year, Lucha Bros would once again hold gold, becoming the second AEW World Trios. Champions with the PAC.
4 drift in our glory
A tag team that most fans assumed wouldn’t last long would be formed in 2022, as both Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland would make their debuts for All Elite Wrestling earlier in the year. With both men lacking any real direction in the spring, they would come together as a team at AEW Dark before going on to a string of big wins.
In one shocking moment, Swerve In Our Glory would defeat The Young Bucks to become AEW World Tag Team Champions at Fyter Fest 2022 before going on to have a pretty fun reign as champions. Their reign would ultimately be highlighted with a pair of matches against The Acclaimed, who would ultimately defeat Swerve & Lee at AEW Grand Slam 2022, ending a surprisingly fun tag team title reign.
3 the acclaimed
After having a meteoric rise in 2022 with the introduction of Daddy Ass to their group, The Acclaimed were one of wrestling’s biggest emerging acts of 2022. After working their way from AEW Dark to regular television appearances, Max Caster and Anthony Bowens would finally get a shot at the AEW World Tag Team Championship at AEW All Out 2022.
Failing to defeat Swerve In Our Glory on their first attempt, the duo would find success at Arthur Ashe Stadium to great fanfare. From there, the young duo would go on to put on great performances, with a great defense against Keith & Swerve on Full Gear, a fantastic TV match against FTR, and two surprisingly great title defenses against Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal in early 2023 before lose. the belts to The Gunns.
2 Hangman Page & Kenny Omega
After both men had big stars in their AEW careers, with Hangman failing to win the AEW World Championship at All Out 2019 and Omega losing their first three PPV matches to Chris Jericho, PAC and Jon Moxley, the two would team up. like a shot -Together as a team towards the end of the year. Putting together a string of victories, Omega and Page would eventually earn the right to challenge SCU for the AEW World Tag Team Titles, defeating them at the Jericho Cruise.
From there, Omega & Hangman would have a series of stellar matches, including a match at AEW Revolution 2020 against The Young Bucks that is considered one of the greatest tag team matches of all time. The pair would reign for much of 2020 until dropping the belts to FTR at All Out 2020 in September.
1 the young bucks
Taking the crown as the best AEW World Tag Team Champions pairing thus far, as well as the only team to have 2 reigns, The Young Bucks’ first reign with the titles would be a truly sensational run for the legendary tag team. By defeating FTR to win the belts at the end of 2020, Matt and Nick Jackson continued their incredible reign, which lasted from November 2020 to September 2021.
During their time as champions, The Bucks would transition from babyfaces to heels, joining The Super Elite alongside Kenny Omega & The Good Brothers, a polarizing choice for some. Regardless, the Young Bucks would elevate others and regularly deliver some of the best tag team matches during their time with the belts, including notable matches against The Acclaimed, SCU, Eddie Kingston & Jon Moxley, and The Lucha Bros.