10 WWE Tag Team Wrestlers Who Held Their Partners Back

5. Tamina (Nia Jax)

Seth Rollins holds back Dean Ambrose
WWE.com

It's hard to hide from the profiling at play in the Nia Jax/Tamina pairing - the shared Samoan heritage of both women was all WWE needed to put them together long before the sniff of an established tag team division existed for either female league on the main roster. It may well have sabotaged a singles career in the process.

With nine years on the main roster under her belt, it's safe to assume the multi-time second fiddle Tamina won't ever break out on her own in the way Jax still might. The former NXT star has appeared on the card of every WrestleMania since her 2016 call-up, and has to her name a slightly problematic 2018 Raw Women's Title reign that started and ended with a bullying storyline worked backwards alongside Alexa Bliss.

Mixed fortunes for the 'Irresistible Force' thus far then, but it's always abundantly clear how keen the company are to ensure she, somehow, eventually gets over as the division's biggest star. And with all cynicism aside for their reasoning, she's as close now to reaching her prime as she's ever been. Her 2019/2020 return from injury should probably rip the plaster off on this split, too.

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