10 WWE Tag Teams That Broke Up At The Best Time

8. #DIY

Chris Jericho Kevin Owens
WWE.com

There'll come a time where it'll be easier to remember the white hot beginnings of the Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa programme rather than the disparate 2020 conclusion, and flashing back to their TakeOver: Chicago split serves as one of the best ways to relocate that sweet spot.

Having finally managed to win the NXT Tag Team Championships at TakeOver: Toronto in November 2016, the underdog duo were overwhelmed by the mass and muscle of The Authors Of Pain just months later. Any undercurrent of disdain between the pair had been diffused by their incredible victory North of the border, but losing the belts was a quiet reminder that all wasn't exactly well between the hardworking mates.

This all came to the boil at the historic Allstate Arena after yet another heartbreaking defeat by AOP. Over a year of simmering blame and anger from Ciampa was taken out on a Gargano that had never once suspected that so much solitary poison had lingered below their partnership.

The clue had been in the team name from the very beginning. It just took until the bitter end for Ciampa to do it himself.

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