Sierra, Hotel, India … The Shield has muscled its way into WWE history. The formidable pair of Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns – two-thirds of the guerilla unit that has laid WWE to waste for nearly a year – officially crossed into the top five longest WWE Tag Team Championship reigns this weekend when they notched Day 147 with the titles, dispatching The Hart Dynasty and Air Boom to the confines of a No. 6 tie. The Shield’s time-tested combination of in-ring strategy and pure, brutal efficiency more than earned them their current spot on the all-time list, but as ever in WWE, the hard work is just beginning.
Watch The Shield unleash the Triple Powerbomb | Greatest Tag Teams of All Time
Even though they’re firmly ensconced on the all-time list – and with no end in sight to their current stint as champions – Rollins & Reigns’ path to No. 1 runs through the reigns of four other teams, all of whom were world-beaters in their own right. From bickersome buddies to curious conquerors, WWE.com counts down the rest of the top 5 that The Shield must crack in order to reach that elusive No. 1 spot. So, on behalf of WWE.com, congratulations to Rollins & Reigns, and good luck, you’re going to need it.
(P.S.: You won’t believe who’s No. 1.)
A pair of obstinate rivals who couldn’t stop bickering until the second the bell rang, Kane & Daniel Bryan, aka Team Hell No, quickly proved themselves among the most unlikely – not to mention beloved – WWE Tag Team Champions in history. As dominant as they were, Team Hell No’s true favorite opponents were each other. They’d argue, they’d win, and then, when the final pinfall was counted, they’d go back to arguing until the next unwitting challengers meandered into their path.
Watch: Kane & Bryan in therapy | Goat Faces or Monsters?
This may seem like more of a recipe for disaster than anything else, but give them credit – Kane & Bryan rode their unorthodox formula to a 245-day stretch atop the tag division that culminated with a hellacious title defense against Dolph Ziggler & Big E Langston at WrestleMania 29. Their reign has long since ended – along with, evidently, their partnership, as Kane was steel-step guillotined into oblivion by Bray Wyatt and Bryan is off battling “The Authority” – but hey, we’ll always have the hugs.
This ain’t no make-believe: Tossed together as rivals to challenge then-champions MVP & Matt Hardy, The Awesome One and The Prince of Parkour captured the gold in 2007 and never looked back, swaggering their way through a 250-day reign, not to mention Internet stardom with their own online show (before there was “Z! True Long Island Story” there was “The Dirt Sheet”).
Even though their reign was cut short by the next guys on this list, the awesome bromance lived on, carrying the twosome to a World Tag Team Title stint and a rivalry with D-Generation X (JoMo, it takes a special kind of gall to steal the Superkick). Alas, the friendship eventually flamed out in epic fashion and it was Miz who ultimately pummeled The Monday Night Delight into Laurinaitis-imposed exile in 2011, but the legacy of their better days remains undeniable. Plus, if there’s another team that could successfully pull off the combo of a chinchilla coat and a fedora, we haven’t seen it yet.
Like a cool piña colada on a hot summer’s day, The Colóns’ lengthy reign as WWE Tag Team Champions was a breath of fresh air for a WWE Tag Team division that is often dominated by stolid bruisers. Descendants of wrestling legend Carlos Colón, the brothers Primo & Carlito brought a kind of electric spontaneity to the twin championships that earned them immediate success in the hotly contested division. The two defeated the then-reigning Tag Champs Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder in their first match as a team, and became the first duo to unify the World Tag Team Championships & WWE Tag Team Championships when they defeated John Morrison & The Miz at The 25thAnniversary of WrestleMania.
Watch: The Tag Titles get cool | Full Match: Carlito vs. Ric Flair
Sibling rivalry eventually won out over tag team dominance and the brothers had a big falling out, yet let us pause to reflect on what made these Superstars so special. They weren’t the biggest, they weren’t the strongest, but when it comes down to it, the teams they faced just weren’t as cool. And we all know what happens to people who don’t want to be cool.
Surprise! If Rollins & Reigns ever hope to rack up the longest WWE Tag Title reign of all time, they’ll have to surpass – of all people – these guys, who held the twin championships for just a month shy of a year from 2006 to 2007. Despite the fact that neither of these Superstars was exactly a colossus – London was a former Cruiserweight Champion and Kendrick was among the same class of independent wrestlers that produced Daniel Bryan and CM Punk – their tag team prowess was practically unmatched. They had a preternatural ability to come through in the clutch with their titles on the line, and everyone from William Regal to The Hardy Boyz tried and failed to wrest the titles from London & Kendrick’s hands.
It was ultimately fate that cut their stint at the top short; an injury to London deep into their reign derailed the group’s momentum, and the rookie team Deuce & Domino capitalized by defeating the twosome for their titles shortly after his return. The lesson, as always: Size does not necessarily conquer all, and anyone who says otherwise should take it up in the ring with these two. We’re sure they’d be happy to pin you.