10 Recent Tag Team Splits That Ruined Each Member’s Career
9. The Lucha Dragons
Responsible for loosening The Ascension's 1980s-style grip on the NXT doubles division in 2014 and a main roster debut on the post-WrestleMania 31 edition of Raw that immediately positioned them as dynamic new additions, The Lucha Dragons looked set to finally break WWE's cursed recent history with masked wrestlers in the post-Rey Mysterio era.
When the company elected to pair AAA's highly rated Samuray del Sol with the second incarnation of Sin Cara following Kalisto's previous failure to snare the doubles straps with El Locale (Ricardo Rodriguez' masked quasi-parody of a luchador), it appeared as though they'd at long last hit upon a winning formula that would emotionally reacquaint the audience with hooded talents.
The 'Sin Cara' gimmick had been severely tainted by Mistico's abysmal run with the character, but the natural union of the two fliers allowed fans to forget prior transgressions. Despite rave reviews for some of their matches and a 'Lu-cha' chant that instantly got over huge, WWE lost interest in the pair within weeks of dazzling the Monday Night Raw audience.
When Sin Cara was shelved with an injury in late-2015, Kalisto's brief run as a solo star convinced higher-ups that he was ready to step into Mysterio's enormous shoes, and the company split the duo ahead of the 2016 Draft.
Despite some passable clashes with Baron Corbin and Braun Strowman, Kalisto's promotion proved premature. An absolutely woeful promo toasting his move to SmackDown Live! has stuck with him too, sadly moreso than any of his most recent in-ring successes.