15 WWE Break-Ups That IMMEDIATELY Backfired

15. Cryme Tyme Become Enemies (2014)

Naturally, a fair number of tag team splits go under the lens here. That age old trope has been done to death, but a predictable schism between former buddies can launch promising singles careers if proper thought is put into a follow-up push. Then, there's the sad tale told by Cryme Tyme (spelling for copyright is important) back in 2010. They were treated with about as much care as a used beer cup at a music festival.

Shad Gaspard attacked JTG following the pair’s 44-second loss to John Morrison and R-Truth on the 2 April 2010 SmackDown. The story to this one was that Shad didn’t think he needed his partner anymore - he could thrive on his own. Standard stuff, right? yeah, well a ’Strap Match’ between them at Extreme Rules was dull, too short to really mean anything to the pay-per-view, and it was obvious to anyone watching that the split wasn’t properly thought out in the first place.

JTG hung around the main roster until 2014, but Shad was released in 2010 and tragically died in 2020. WWE has done a heartfelt job of honouring his memory since. That's worth saying. 15 years ago, the promotion split a fun babyface tag for next to no reason though, then wondered why neither man thrived on his own.

If Gaspard was supposed to be a bruising heel who thought JTG was holding him back, then he looked foolish for immediately being demoted back down to developmental for seasoning. Meanwhile, J drifted around on the 'B' and 'C' shows before spending some time in NXT.

What a fail. Cryme Tyme dwindled in popularity instantly as soon as they went separate ways.