World Tag Team Championship (WWE)

Infobox championship

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caption=The Hurricane with the World Tag Team Championship belt
championshipname=World Tag Team Championship
currentholder=Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes
won=August 11 2008
promotion=World Wrestling Entertainment
brand=Raw
created=1971
mostreigns=(as team) The Dudley Boyz (8 reigns)(as individual) Edge (11 reigns)
firstchamp=Luke Graham and Tarzan Tyler
longestreign=Demolition
(478 days)
shortestreign=Edge and Christian (<1 hour)
oldest= Ric Flair
(55 years, 253 days)
youngest= René Duprée
(19 years, 182 days)
heaviest= Owen Hart & Yokozuna
(868 lb Combined
(Yokozuna 641 lb & Owen Hart 227 lb))
lightest= Paul London and Brian Kendrick (380 lb Combined (Paul London 205 lb & Brian Kendrick 175lb))
pastnames=small
*WWWF World Tag Team Championship
*WWF World Tag Team Championship
*WWF Tag Team Championship
*WWE Tag Team Championship
pastlook

The World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Wrestling Entertainment. It is the original world tag team title of WWE. Currently, it is exclusive to the Raw brand.

History

The World Tag Team Championship was originally known as the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) World Tag Team Championship. Following the title's introduction in 1971, Luke Graham and Tarzan Tyler became the inaugural champions on June 3. In 1979, the title became known as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) World Tag Team Championship when the promotion was renamed the World Wrestling Federation. It began to be referred to as the WWF Tag Team Championship for short in the mid 1990s.cite web|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/raw/1997.html|title=WWF World Tag Team title defended on RAW through 1997|accessdate=2007-06-23 |publisher=Wrestling-Titles]

In March 2001, the World Wrestling Federation purchased World Championship Wrestling. Soon after, "The Invasion" took place in which the WCW/ECW Alliance was ultimately dismantled. At Survivor Series 2001, the title was unified with WCW Tag Team Championship in a Steel cage match. The WCW Tag Team Champions, the Dudley Boyz, defeated the WWF Tag Team Champions, the Hardy Boyz, and were named the last WCW Tag Team Champions while becoming the new WWF Tag Team Champions.

After the WWF/WWE name change in 2002, the championship was subsequently referred to as the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Tag Team Championship. Then, during a period of open free agency after the Brand Extension, the Tag Team Champions were signed to appear and defend the title on the Raw brand only, leaving the SmackDown! brand without a tag team title. As a result, SmackDown! General Manager, Stephanie McMahon, commissioned a new WWE Tag Team Championship to be the exclusive tag team title for the SmackDown! brand. With the introduction of the World Heavyweight Championship on the Raw brand after the WWE Championship was moved to the SmackDown! brand, the Tag Team Championship on Raw was now being referred to as the World Tag Team Championship. This was done so that the names of both tag team titles would mirror the names of the top championships on their respective brands. However, when the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship switched brands during the 2005 WWE Draft Lottery, neither of the tag team titles were renamed. The two top championships have since switched back, so the tag team titles names mirror that of their respective brands world title.

Current champions

The current champions are Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, who are in their second reign as a team. Individually this is Rhodes's third reign and DiBiase's second. They defeated Batista and John Cena on the August 11, 2008 edition of "Raw" in Richmond, Virginia. [citeweb|url=http://www.wwe.com/inside/titlehistory/worldtagteam/090820071111|accessdate=2008-08-12|title=DiBiase's and Rhodes's second reign|publisher=World Wrestling Entertainment]

See also

*List of World Tag Team Champions
*List of World Tag Team Championship reigns by length

References

External links

* [http://www.wwe.com/inside/titlehistory/worldtagteam/ World Tag Team Title History]