GOING SOLO | Tag Team Wrestlers Best Singles Runs!

GOING SOLO | Tag Team Wrestlers Best Singles Runs!
Historically in wrestling, working as part of a tag team has been seen as an entirely different art to that of being a singles performer. And this is exactly why we’ve had lifelong partnerships over the years such as was the case with The Road Warriors, The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, and The Wild Samoans. Of course, in more recent times, the idea of a long-term tag team has largely been destroyed. But that doesn’t mean when those partners inevitably break up, there can’t be a silver lining. Yes, on some occasions one member of a former team will go on to have great success as a singles star. But what are the best examples of this? Well; that’s exactly wat we’re going to be looking at today. So, join us as we take a deep dive into Going Solo: Tag-Team Wrestler’s Greatest Singles Runs.
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[@WRESTLEWITHANDY]

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[@lilghoul8820]

U need to do like a pt 2 cuz where’s Jeff Hardy or matt

[@josephmiller9424]

I totally disagree with the Stevie Ray saying he wasn't a star he was bigger and if Mchman brought him over he couldve been a bigger bad news brown or take Ron Simon's spot on the nation and fight the rock .

[@josephmiller9424]

Scott Steiner was the new superstar Billy Graham even looked like him

[@l3ssth4n36]

You should do times where family have fought in the ring/have had feuds. Ex: usos/Roman

[@dhawanjayswal3870]

Bret Hitman Hart forever remembered as the pioneer to open a door for technical wrestlers and the one who transits the best way from tag team to single star.

[@devingoodson7213]

Bret Hart had a beautiful blend of technical wrestling and brawling. One of the best.

[@RyanRumbles434]

I couldn't agree more. He was a master technician and made everything work so fluidly. Executes excellently.

[@LechECoNCacA]

Warrior was much more technical 😂😂

[@FAMIZ26]

He just wasn't good on the promos

[@ZaklnGritch]

Bret the Shitman Fart was ok I guess

[@jeremywilliams5141]

Honorable mentions: 1. Jeff Hardy. Yes, he and brother Matt both had successful singles and tag careers. Both even held the world title in Total Nonstop Action. But because Jeff was also WWE and World Heavyweight Champion in WWE, I am going with him. 2. Johnny Nitro aka John Morrison. After the breakup of MNM with Joey Mercury, John would go on to win championships in WWE, Lucha Underground, and Impact. These include the WWE Intercontinental title, Impact World title, and LU World title. 3. Eddie Edwards. After the American Wolves split in Impact, Edwards became a Triple Crown Champion, having already held the tag team titles with Davey Richards but now winning the world and X-Division title.

[@gdunknown4037]

That being said it was Matt who completely reinvented himself in TNA and singlehandedly put the Hardys back on the map. It's unfortunate that he is still being underappreciated to this day.

[@arifhussain-dl1vp]

Forgot to mention Sting and his tag team partner Ultimate Warrior.

[@don_kong_1d]

​@@arifhussain-dl1vpthey both went on to become major stars in their own rights.

[@devonalomar9012]

Yeah, not including Jeff Hardy but including Bubba, Davey Boy, and Roode is obviously showing anti-AEW bias.

[@don_kong_1d]

@@devonalomar9012 he just made a new video and included aew guys. No need to cry

[@ellismarquez8410]

Both Sting and The Ultimate Warrior could technically be included on this list, as they started out a tag team.

[@rafaelnavarro5522]

Ok I change what I said. I said Harry's best Tage team that had great solo runs. Totally forgot about Sting and U.W. they both had great singles runs too

[@channelneo7519]

Also had a fantastic name : Blade Runners

[@alaooooy7]

Christian's iconic TNA run made me believe in that TNA was gonna be the most exciting company for years. Unfortunately the company didn't capitalize on it. Glad Christian is still going strong in AEW too! Hope to see Christian vs Edge in a big Wrestlemania match before they're done somehow.

[@matthewchristie2186]

I agree Christian could been pushed to the heights of Edge I thought when he tuned heel after he lost the belt to Orton was really good but they fucked his title run I'm still waiting for ONE MORE MATCH damn he was good he still is on AEW I'm hoping him and Jericho start Team Canada 2.0 with Kenny Omega and Julia Hart maybe as the female

[@gregpaxton3473]

Christian didn’t even have half of the talent of Edge’s shadow! He was midcard at best!

[@alaooooy7]

@@gregpaxton3473 Yes, someone who's one of the absolute best in the ring and on the mic has no talent. Sure, keep speaking things into existence! You're just pulling things out of your ass at this point 😅 Kurt Angle calls Christian the most underrated wrestler ever, says he's on par with Edge and the best match finish planner out of the whole group. But Kurt Angle doesn't know wrestling like you do right? 🤡

[@smac919]

Edge & Christian would be so insanely entertaining in AEW together 😞

[@zemox2534]

​@@gregpaxton3473No he fucking wasn't! If you weren't such a wwe sycophant and actually fucking watched Impact when Cage made he debut you would see that there is nothing mid card about him!!!

[@boston9817]

Jeff Hardy not being on here is insane

[@stingtopoison5864]

Booker T because he shined as a single star a six-time world heavyweight two-time WWE Hall of famer and a triple crown champion in two different promotions come y'all

[@Lemont5236]

Bret Hart did that too

[@LongLiveRockAnRoll]

WWE "For your new gimmick, just be yourself" JBL "Okay..." *Becomes one of the most hated heels in the company*...you almost feel sorry for him when it's said like that 😅

[@Travybear1989]

Massive respect for JBL, guy was so damn good as a heel.

[@stevegokus]

Best single going solo is my hero favorite hbk aka shawn michaels

[@jasons970]

Cool bro

[@horrors-oy9vt]

Nice man

[@Lemont5236]

Hard to dispute that

[@nikolassmith6252]

Also known as Michael hickenbottom

[@victoriasmith8312]

Same!! I still remember like it was yesterday at the Barbershop when he turned on Marty and ran off with sensational Sherri

[@iamthewalruscuckookachoo1372]

Bret Hart was the reason I started watching pro wrestling to begin with. Yes I loved the Hart Foundation and Jim the anvil Neidhart but Bret just looked so cool and his technical ability was never in doubt. It did not surprise me at all when he became a singles star but being the first to win all three major titles in the WWE did.

[@waltercallihan]

I was the same way, I loved Bret Hart. He was always so cool. But, even though they marketed Bret as the first triple crown champ back then, that honor goes to pedro Morales (WWF, ic, and tag titles). In fact, he was the first grand slam champ if you count the old wwwf u.s. title

[@drno87]

Sting and the Ultimate Warrior started off as a tag team. Does that count?

[@inquibubula8693]

The fact that Jeff Hardy isn't a part of this video, baffles me

[@BlakeAustin2011]

Agreed. The trio of tag teams that invented a match style so insane it went on to become a PPV in of itself should have representation here. All 6 of those men had excellent and successful solo careers. People looking back don’t understand how over the HB’z truly were at their pinnacle. Honestly, they are to aerial wrestling what Hitman and HBK are to technical wrestling.

[@RuHunnitGaming]

He didn’t seee the writing on the wallllll

[@ShowTymeDollarS850]

Ultimate Warrior and Sting started as tag partners.. what about them .?

[@Will_Parker]

Scott "A Sack of Bowling Balls Covered in Human Skin" Steiner has a nice ring to it

[@georgegreggs1805]

Scott Steiner reaching his final form 😂😂😂

[@thatboybear]

“When Scott Steiner discovered steroids and started transforming into a sack of bowling balls covered by a thin layer of human skin…” Gaht dayumn. Let that boy live! Bwahahaha

[@annamarieadobas1063]

Shawn Michaels!

[@Teddy42O]

Jeff Hardy!!

[@angelcolon8803]

I'm surprised you guys forgot about jeff hardy😮

[@dizzyparkermusic]

I’d love if someone acknowledged that Scott Steiner wasn’t that much bigger when he went solo. He was MASSIVE even in the early 90’s. By 99 he did grow but the dude was always made of granite.

[@criminalmindsgirl2936]

Each working out worst than the last? Bradshaw had a great tag team with Ron Simmons as the APA. How could you forget that?

[@R3troZone]

JBL wasn't really a tag team wrestler anyway. He became a tag team wrestler because he was the 90s version of Baron Corbin. Vince liked him but he was useless at everything. The JBL character worked so well because Vince just let him go out there and be himself and he's such a giant douchebag anyway, it made for a great heel character.

[@matthewrosenthal753]

Yeah, except it wasn’t a success. His entire solo run, much like Cobin’s later on, had ratings tanking, ticket sales down, and everyone clammering to get rid of him. The only thing JBL’s soli run shows is the secret to being ass at what you do and have look like sucess because you kiss Vinnie Mac’s ass while stroking his ego.

[@Dr_1212]

Big Poppa Pump is your hook up Holla if you hear him 💪

[@ahmadceasar5484]

Jeff hardy not making this list but Bradshaw made it is crazy borderline outrageous

[@SnipingIsFun]

To be fair it is partially because Matt became a top singles wrestler too and to be fair Jeff kind of floundered along the way.

[@ahmadceasar5484]

@@SnipingIsFun the only time Matt was even considered a top star was TNA Jeff has been the top brother for forever Bradshaw making this list over Jeff hardy is insane

[@ShoaibKhan-wv8zc]

Shawn Michaels is the best example of this

[@michaelroszell8156]

Bout time you did this video. Excellent

[@benmartin7708]

Insane you had 80s tag teams that produced iconic singles stars bret hart, Shawn Michaels and my all time favourite davey boy smith still remembering going to the nec and seeing him beat the repo man

[@rafaelnavarro5522]

Best Tag teams to ever go solo are the Hardys, edge and Christian, the blade runners(ultimate warrior and sting). All went solo and had great singles runs.

[@kennycai8695]

I never got the chance to watch WCW in its prime, cause I didn't get into wrestling till 2003, long after WCW went defunct. However, if there is a missed opportunity that bugs me till today, it's the fact that we never got a proper Rick vs Scott match to definitively answer who is the better brother. The Steiner Brothers had a tough reputation, and their gimmick works cause there was some legitimacy to their real personas. The funny thing was that initially, people were pegging Rick to be the breakout star, but as it turned out, both brothers were able to carve out unique looks, and were able to back it up with their charisma (although for Scott, that is debatable, but you can't deny he had a unique vibe as Big Poppa Pump). Cause of this, a match between the two would not only be good marketing, but WCW botched it by needlessly getting Buff Bagwell involved. One match was all the fans (myself as a late one included) wanted, but we quite got it. And probably never will, cause both Steiner Brothers are in their 60s, and neither are in any shape to wrestle a full match any more.

[@alaooooy7]

Talent wise Edge has nothing over Christian! In the ring and on the mic Christian has always been more capable. It's just that Vince gave everything to Edge and held Christian down. You'll definitely be a bigger "star" if you're given Money in the Bank, King of the Ring and Royal Rumble wins like it's candy! Christian definitely deserved way more than what he was given in WWE. Hope to see him comeback for a big program with and against Edge. These two deserve a Wrestlemania match!

[@mackisbrocklesnar]

Why was Edge given the chance?

[@alaooooy7]

@@mackisbrocklesnar According to Bruce Brichard who was on the creative team whenever they're discussing ideas for Edge. Vince would say: "Oh he's a big good looking sunuvabitch!". Edge also says that in his first Money in the Bank cash in Vince told him: "Go prove me right!". Vince just loved Edge and gave him everything over and over again until he got over.

[@dhall888]

Heh, very blunt about Scott Steiner! When he found steroids, you said it so no big deal. That made me laugh pretty good!

[@miroslavtomic7038]

Booker T was 4-time WCW Champion WHILE IN WCW. His 5th title reign was in WWE in 2001.

[@acceptable1609]

How did Jeff Hardy not make this list? He’s one of the prime examples of a tag team wrestler succeeding as a single wrestler.

[@matthewchristie2186]

Also you could put that best of 7 in WCW with Booker v Benoit and put it up against any series in Japan Mexico or America and it hold up today as prolly the best series of Matches of all time fuck they had some monster matches Booker T is def number 3 behind Bret and Shawn to me easily

[@moffjerjerrod1579]

When Steiner went full on roided out he ruined his potential. He had the size, moves and was popular and with just a little more hard work he could have gotten into the WCW World Title picture. Could, there is never any guarantee. But he as a heel against Sting etc in WCW would have been a breath of fresh air. When he was Big Poppa Pumped up he had no flexibility, no speed and basically had three moves. At least his nephew may finally get to the World/Universal/Raw Championship level. 🤷‍♂️

[@KevinPayton-fq8gd]

The Frankensteiner was his signature move and during his time as "Big Poppa Pump", the maneuver got phased out because like you said he'd gotten bigger and couldn't move around like he used to. I missed seeing him do the Frankensteiner.

[@NvrSeeHim]

Big papa pump had one of the best heel turns

[@JamalTheTitan]

Crazy you didn't put Bret and Shawn in the thumbnail, baybay!

[@RyanRumbles434]

Shawn Michaels leaving the Rockers always comes to mind. Thank goodness. I met him in 97. Glad it was HBK 😂

[@seamb923]

Don't forget diesel

[@thedragonofdalzell]

Here watching this video again after Jimmy turned on Jey at SummerSlam

[@malcolmlewis4480]

Christian should be o here just as much as Edge. Christian had been a champion at every promotion. WWE 3 times Worlds champion , TNA Champion like 4 times including as recently as 2021,Even AEW. Edge what has he done since then only win a Royal Rumble, no titles. Then get kicked out a faction he started.

[@robmartin5556]

That was fire 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@arthopkins1715]

This focus only on WWE teams and wrestler's who worked for this Federation there are teams from every Federation from 80's,90's, 2000's,2010's and 2020's who had great single run the list is long but they would never tell us or show us

[@BCZ21]

Edge won his first championship in 2006 not 2004

[@yadielenielbellecolon982]

I Know I late but Thank For the Video 🙊🤯🥰😍💐🌟🥇🏆

[@Craigentinny_Truths]

That "younger sibling" comment about Jey Uso had to be a lucky save from a mistake surely? But as I write this I wonder if this is to tease engagement, so if its the latter well done it worked. Incidentally Jimmy is older of the twins by 9 minutes.

[@anthonyanthony1947]

Booker t = Legendary

[@brentskeene1042]

You mention here that the entire lineage of modern high-flying wrestling can be attributed to The Dynamite kid, but in your aerial assassin video that I recently watched, he doesn't even get a mention. What's up with that?

[@BlackFabioNetwork]

You never miss Andy 👍

[@devonalomar9012]

Jeff Hardy disagrees.

[@ShowTymeDollarS850]

Did I miss Jeff Hardy..?

[@thomasdr08]

I was so heartbroken when HBK put Janetty through the mirror at the barber shop (pun intended).

[@michaelpennington7681]

Why did you leave out the Hollywood blondes ???

[@michaelpennington7681]

Who can give me a hell yea 316 forever 😂

[@SteveShaha]

You can go ahead and use the word "steroids" when describing Scott Steiner's transition from tag to singles.

[@LeenSZN]

Respectfully should the shield not be on this list? At least Seth and Roman right?

[@algorhythm83]

Once he discovered steroids and started transforming into a sack of bowling balls covered by a thin layer of human skin. CLASSIC!

[@Will_Parker]

Best has to go to HBK, dude had two full careers. Most improved has to be JBL, he had no right to be champ but he made the most of it as a pretty great heel.

[@lilghoul8820]

It should be a crime that the jeff Hardy ain’t on here or even matt

[@DrHDoofenshmirtzphd]

But only one of these guys also went on to create their own branch of mathematics.

[@tanaka7341]

Jey uso for undisputed champ😊

[@claymathewselevator8121]

Matt Cardona

[@rickisilver]

Bully is class

[@matthewchristie2186]

Bret Hart is the best singles run from a Tag Team him or HBK

[@slarita9]

11:45 Edge became WWE champion in 2006 not 2004

[@robertarnold9573]

Jeff Hardy should have been on this list.

[@projectgraham414]

Bret and Shawn are the absolute best examples of tag team specialists breaking out. Both of them are in the goat conversation as a result

[@justincoulson2307]

Best ever tag team breakout was clearly Sting!

[@rashawmcclure6793]

Jeff hardy and Shelton Benjamin

[@CowboyPrestige101]

Unrelated. I miss Eddie Guerrero.

[@ynotefil]

Shawn Michaels! Enough Said 🤜🏽🎤

[@itlentertain]

classic

[@billylevelsup5634]

Bret shoulda been one of the GOATS. Sad he went to WCW and had Goldberg ruin his career.

[@meekgoc]

You forgot the hardy boys

[@rbiii1771]

No mention of Jeff Hardy?

[@jossynda]

Yeah, how is that even possible?

[@ddjsoyenby]

there's plenty you could have.

[@TheFilamind]

That's funny he said Brian Danielson and Kurt Angle but forgot to mention Brock lesnar What better wrestler than Brock lesnar could there be

[@outhereq1]

Another video another opportunity to talk about shawn Michaels n Bret hart

[@AMGDropEmOff]

Replace Bully Ray with Jeff Hardy

[@j03k0oldyer]

RICKY MORTON.

[@lovenicated]

Jeff hardy should also be covered

[@darkviolet]

I guess JBL is good at his job. I absolutely detest him, always have.

[@drswag0076]

what does sabatical mean?

[@ice_springtrap8225]

Paid leave

[@drswag0076]

@@ice_springtrap8225 i see.

[@chilenopsycho]

You forgot Jeff Hardy

[@djmeduna2009]

Hulk hogan

[@aaronnorth5334]

Jimmy Uso may have been injured but he got pulled over for a second DUI that's why he wasn't on the card

[@nastynastke]

Steve Austin!?!? Jeff Hardy!?!? Sting and ultimate Warrior!?!?

[@DaviniaHill]

Did you say all time GOATs? All time greatest of all time?

[@chevarcoleman]

The belief out there that Jey can replace Roman after a historic modern-day run proves that Wrestling fans, and Wrestling marks who pose themselves as media, react, but don't think.

[@kadharefinley224]

“ Main Event “ Jey Uso was cool because we are so used to him and Jimmy teaming together. It’s cool that Jey got his own spotlight for a bit

[@Lance-wn9dc]

That bit of spotlight has turned into a whole lot

[@paranoidewok6772]

HBK and Bret 😮Hart. They didn't just breakout as single stars they went on to become the two greatest.

[@pBruantt]

Scott Steiner's transformation was bloody insane .. Nobody expected that out of him..

[@Bsfnelz20]

Too big!! dude was already huge he got huger 😂😂😂 even his bro was big he made him look normal

[@LibraJohnny]

Even David Cronenberg wouldn't have written such a script. :)

[@Travybear1989]

Scott Steiner was fucking wild when I was younger. Seeing that specimen on a weekly basis was quite the spectacle. Dude had muscles on his muscles and had one hell of a personality and could carry a show himself. hell, the guy made late WCW and TNA must-see TV honestly.

[@RiggsHB]

"A sack of bowling balls covered in a thin layer of human skin." gave me a legitimate laugh out loud moment over lunch today. F A N T A S T I C phrasing. That's head canon now and will be referenced anytime my friends and I bring up Steiner in our wrestling convos.

[@steverj2742]

The big poppa pump

[@davidparkes7741]

Emphasis on the pump.

[@jamalvargas6146]

I Know Edge Was The Better Out Of Edge & Christian but I kinda prefer Christian Cage due to his mid 2000's TNA run and current AEW run and It was cool he retired the TNA World Heavyweight Title

[@caleshidler7033]

Edge became world champion in 2006 not 2004

[@Fred_Die]

That Scott Steiner description was both hilarious and truthful

[@danielhess1082]

You got Booker T's WCW accolades out of order. He became a 5 time WCW Champion, AFTER the buy out. And Technically before the buy out, he was only a 3 time WCW champion, he won his 4th on the final Nitro which was under WWE ownership at that point Also you said Edge "come 2004, would be WWE Champion"....his first win of the WWE championship was the first Money in the bank cash in, being done in 2006

[@waltercallihan]

I believe you're correct, sir

[@pepito2847]

Christian and Bully Ray are so great at being trash talking heels Amazing how they had so much history with eachother and were both tag team guys And went on to achieve so much outside of WWE

[@zemox2534]

Here are a few honorable mentions: Christian Cage: In wwe he was a mid card, but when he apoeared in impact wrestling, he proved that he was main event material, by winning the NWA championship 2 times, and having great matches against AJ, Joe, Kaz and even Sting. Josh Alexander: An underrated pick but someone who proved himself. After his tag team with All ego ethan page ended, Josh began a successful singles career, going from winning the X division championship to winning the Impact world championship two times. His second reign was even better, as he became the longest reigning champion in the history of Impact wrestling. Prince Devitt: After he split from his tag partner Taguchi in njpw, he became the leader and founding member of Bullet Club, which would become the most influential faction in modern wrestling and lead to the birth of AEW. And when he signed with wwe, Devitt became Finn Balor and would become a two time nxt champion, 2 time IC champion, one time US champion, the first Universal champion and the leader of the Judgment day.

[@Not_Brandino]

People don't bring this up enough but holy Davey Boy Smith's braids were CLEAN

[@TobiasRohde]

What about the Skyscrapers? That team appeared in WCW in 1989/1990 in three forms. The first form included Sid Vicious, the second a guy called Mark Calaway in real life. I think Mark also had a nice solo career later. 🙂

[@joeshar.]

After breakup Scott Steiner turned into Rick Steiner. Maybe they merged into 1 wrestler, who knows.

[@dylanbryant3547]

Main event jey uso

[@Teddy42O]

JBL is in the WWE heel GOAT conversation Mexican border segment was hilarious 😂

[@shutup2751]

i am a wrestling gawd !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@allencollins5666]

Didn’t Overrated JBL Have That Go Away Heat.

[@Travybear1989]

He was a solid 9/10 hell, reminded me of Rick Rude in some ways. Probably not the greatest but anyone who claims he didn't piss them off back in the day is lying.