10 Crazy Wrestling Partnerships That Shouldn't Have Worked (But Did)

9. Heath Slater & Rhyno

Broserweights Matt Riddle Pete Dunne
WWE.com

Left behind in the 2016 WWE draft, Heath Slater was the only performer to not be selected by Raw or SmackDown. He entered a fun little "free agent" storyline in the aftermath, leading to a series of matches against other wrestlers with a contract on the line. One by one, match by match, Heath fell, but he was getting over, with "we want Slater!" chants breaking out during shows he wasn't even booked on.

The "I got kids" shtick caught on huge and Slater's in-ring fortunes turned around when he connected with Rhyno, who'd ambushed him weeks prior. Suddenly, the duo were on a role. Heath scored his sought-after SmackDown contract and they were flying between the ropes, defeating The Usos to becoming SmackDown Tag Team Champions, riding a wave of momentum as one of WWE's most popular midcard acts.

Pairing a returning ECW bruiser with a guy previously typecast as an undercard comedy act made little sense on paper, but Slater and Rhyno crushed it. 'The Man-Beast' himself became an unlikely source of laughs, whether he was filling his face with crackers in Heath's trailer or getting uncomfortably close to Renee Young as Santa on Talking Smack, though the tandem's fall from focus was almost as swift as their rise.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.