Remembering Rated-RKO (and other teams like them)

[Midnite Express 2009]

I was just thinking about a forgotten tag team from a few years ago, Rated-RKO, Edge and Randy Orton. What a duo. And both were at the top of their games then, especially Randy Orton. I remember their brief feud with DX and felt like it could really go somewhere. They could really go somewhere. It seemed WWE was onto something big with these two being a team, but alas, like all well put together teams, WWE saw to it to break the duo up and thus it was over.

So, I'm wondering, who do you feel was a great tag team of singles superstars paired together that ended up being torn apart too soon & has since been forgotten? What was your best memory of that team and what made them special? And what do you think would have happened to them had they stayed together?

 

[LegendKiller716]

Rated RKO is a good one. Two of my all time favorites put together, I jizzed myself the night Rated RKO formed.

A team I think could have done big things is Jericho and Miz. They are both very similar and could have gelled very well as a tag team. Also Jericho could have put over Miz on his way out instead of Bourne (that did a lot of good).

Also Jericho and Christian were an amazing comedy team. They worked so well together as a heel tag team, I wish they stayed together longer. I actually enjoyed them more than the team of Edge and Christian.

 

[Duke Droese]

I always liked the Stone Cold/HBK team during the summer of 97. Unfortunately, Shawn and Bret got into a locker room brawl prior to a Monday Night Raw that resulted in Shawn being sent home for a few weeks essentially ending the angle. Anyways, I think that they would have held onto the tag titles a little while longer but most likely would have dropped the belts back to Bulldog and Owen as the Canada vs U.S. angle was white hot at the time.

 

[2Sweet_4Life]

I liked Rated RKO they were great heels beating the crap out of DX & Flair and got alot of heat. They had a great match with a great ending at NYR in 06 against DX.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

Top 3 Tag Teams in the Last Decade that were composed of established stars (not counting people that formed official teams or stables like DX or SES) :

1.) Chris Jericho & Edge

2.) Rated RKO - Edge & Randy Orton

3.) CM Punk & Kofi Kingston

All 3 teams are VERY UNDERRATED IMO, mostly because of their runs being cut short & not being given enough time. All 3 teams won world title gold. Not to mention gained alot of popularity in their respective short stays. They all could have been ALOT more!!!!

Honorable Mention: Jeri-Show was also enjoyable, better than Show-Miz, which was better than Morrison & Truth, good idea but bad execution. / I liked the idea on McIntyre & Rhodes but once again rushed and a bad run. / Ziggler & Swagger I liked and had good matches but with all the time they were given, they never seemed to do anything as a team. / Tyson Kidd & Justin Gabriel atleast seemed to launch Kidd's career, which is nice.

 

[asiatic7]

I don't know if this team is long forgotten, but I really enjoyed JeriShow. I think that was one of the best tag teams in the last couple of years in WWE. They had great promos where Jericho would brag about how many titles him and Big Show won between them. Their in-ring chemistry was terrific. They were the perfect blend of Speed, agility, power and technical skill. Both were solid veterans at the time they formed and just imagine, Jericho picked Big Show for his tag partner after his initial partner, Edge tore his ankle tendons. They would have made a great team too if not for Edge's injury. But I'm going to go with JeriShow on this one.

 

[jeritroll94]

Rated RKO was a great heel team with heels who were at least upper mid-card to main event level. The Two-Man Power Trip was a good one for me as well but was unfortunately cut short due to Triple H's quad tear. I was stunned back in 2001 after WM17 and those two aligned...especially after the storyline of Triple H's plan to get rid of Austin. My other favourite was the Awesome Truth last year which was screwed up big time! Along with CM Punk, this team is what made me tune into WWE at the end of 2011. It was a comical team but also had seriousness with it about the conspiracy!

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Rated RKO: I hope the O stands for overrated. All they did was beat up on Flair and make him bleed. Not a hard task.

Jerishow: They beat up on black guys. Cryme Tyme and the duo of Henry and MVP? Yawn.

Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho is where it's at. Two proud Canadians beating the snot out of people. The double submission on Austin was a thing of pure beauty. Their tag match against the Two Man Power Trip is one of the greatest tag matches ever. Don't forget that TLC match where Benoit went out early and came back to retain the tag titles. Such great memories.

Coming in second is the odd couple known as Benoit and Angle. Why are they second? I didn't like Stephanie McMahon. That's the only reason I have. Sue me. Benoit/Jericho or Benoit/Angle would have ran circles around the others that have been mentioned and make them tap all night long.

 

[Anonymous Indy Wrestler]

I'm shocked nobody has mentioned the 2 Man Power Trip of Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H. When Stone Cold kept hitting Lita with chair shot after chair shot, I have never seen anything so brutal.

 

[Firewall_Philip_Hanan]

I think Big Show and Kane should have stayed together because I feel both have been lackluster since though Big Show was still better with Jericho. Then again, he did get a Championship in 2011.

Also, I think Legacy should have stayed together a while longer after leaving Orton. Mainly for Ted's sake.

I think The Miz and Morrison should have stayed together because The Miz looked like a joke then became a lame Champ, then became a jobber. Morrison wasn't allowed to hold a belt very long after that. I think the duo was an incredibly entertaining tag team and it should have stayed that way. I don't know why tag champs couldn't wrestle for singles belts too. They could have been IC, US, and Tag Champs.

 

[HBsam31]

So, I'm wondering, who do you feel was a great tag team of singles superstars paired together that ended up being torn apart too soon & has since been forgotten? What was your best memory of that team and what made them special? And what do you think would have happened to them had they stayed together?


I have to agree with Little Jerry Lawler. Benoit and Jericho were the best for sure. What a match they had with Austin and HHH when HHH tore his quad. They were still underdogs at the time, and no one expected them to take the tag belts that night. If they stayed together they could have easily held the belts for a while, and helped the tag division a lot which wasn't that bad during that time. One of my favorite put together teams ever.

 

[NotoriousMEAT]

Yep, I too LOVED Rated RKO.
Others mentioned the Two Man Power Trip and the Benoit/Angle pair. Both achieved a great amount of success in their time, and I only wish they each could have stayed together longer and done more.

To throw a new one out there.. I really wish the Brothers of Destruction accomplished more as a unit. More than just tag titles. Just some pure domination. Realistically, nothing could have stopped them from taking what they wanted. The feud between them and the Power Trip that lead to a tag match for all the championships and subsequent singles matches was absolute gold.

 

[jg_awesome1]

I enjoyed Rated RKO and I thought there time as a team was cut too short.

As far as another Superstar tag team, I would have to say the Rock n' Sock Connection. They were a very unlikely team when they were paired but it worked on so many levels. Whether it was the "millions and millions of Rocks fans" or "the dozens and dozens of Mick Foley fans" it was pure gold from the promos to the matches with the McMahon-Hemsley regime. Rock n' Sock were always entertaining and always had great chemistry.