10 WWE Tag Teams That Broke Up At The Best Time

5. Cody Rhodes & Hardcore Holly

Chris Jericho Kevin Owens
WWE

Cody Rhodes and Hardcore Holly's pairing was only ever a bit of knockabout fun - that is to say, Holly knocked the f*cking sh*t out of the young whippersnapper until he developed a modicum of respect for the second generation star's moxie.

It was old fashioned locker room stuff being brought to the screen. The door was opened for Cody because of his last name, but that same benefit was presented as the hardest hurdle when he made it to television. Holly was effectively a gatekeeper, and when he finally permitted the future 'American Nightmare' to pass through, the pair found surprising success.

It was all fairly low status stuff, and that it took them all the way to Tag Team Title glory is mostly an indictment of the doubles division on Monday Night Raw in 2008. Minimal investment on their ascent added spice to the apprentice turning on the master - the timing felt bang on when a feud with Ted Dibiase predictably ripped them apart and Rhodes joined forces with a far more natural accomplice.

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