10 Recent Tag Team Splits That Ruined Each Member’s Career

5. The Real Americans

randy orton luke harper bray wyatt
WWE

The oft-maligned Marty Jannetty has too often been used effectively as a stick for one tag partner to beat his ex-comrade with following a split, but if there were ever a case for a Rockers-style divide in fortunes between talents, it should have been in the fate of the Real Americans.

Separating on the WrestleMania 30 pre-show after weeks of teases, sentimental fan favourite left Swagger behind to triumphantly dominate the inaugural Andre The Giant Battle Royal and align with Paul Heyman the very next night on Raw.

It was, on paper, a dream scenario for the 'Swiss Superman'. Despite his own talents, Swagger was a lost cause in the WWE system by 2014 but the pairing had rejuvenated 'The King Of Swing' after a listless 2013 saw him struggle for attention on WWE's lopsided shows. His new relationship with Heyman was intended to cement the start of an exciting new singles path, but the run never materialised.

Perplexingly abandoned in the undercard yet again, Cesaro even briefly fell below his ex-partner in the pecking order, thanks to Swagger's feud with Rusev earning him reprise as a patriotic babyface, 'We The People' catchphrase and all.

Jack's push was incredibly short-lived though, and his WWE exit came as little surprise. Cesaro looked certain for a similar fate, until his frenemy partnership with Sheamus evenntually yielded something prosperous in the most unlikely of circumstances.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett