Oldest Tag Teams In WWE History, Ranked By Combined Age

Back in the Attitude Era, the WWE distinguished itself from WCW and its aging main event talent by emphasizing the youth of its talent. It was not unusual for Jim Ross to give away a wrestler’s age with many wrestlers being in their mid-to-late twenties. And while teams like the Hardy Boyz or Edge and Christian climbed the tag team ranks, WCW’s tag team division was getting older and more sluggish.

But WWE’s tag team division was not always young and vibrant, and there has always been room for experienced tag teams. Following are the ten oldest tag teams in WWE history. This list only includes long-lasting tag teams, not brief alliances – even if those won tag team gold (otherwise the team of Ric Flair and Roddy Piper, who held the Raw Tag Team Title in 2006 for eight days, would be on top of this list).

10 The Retirement Of Ron Simmons And The Birth Of JBL

The APA Was One Of The Oldest Teams Of Its Era

In 2004, Ron Simmons decided to hang up his boots. He was 45 years old at the time. He and Bradshaw, then 37, had been teaming for almost six years in the WWE. Formed out of necessity, the APA had won the tag team titles three times and enjoyed a decent run. With Simmons gone, the question was what would happen to Bradshaw. The previous split, caused by the brand extension in 2002, hadn’t gone well for either Simmons or Bradshaw. But the WWE turned Bradshaw into JBL, one of the best gimmicks of the mid 2000s, and catapulted Bradshaw into the main event.

9 The Current Champions And Veterans

Finn Balor & Damian Priest Are Still On Top Of Their Game

This just goes to show you how much age in wrestling has changed. The team of Finn Balor and Damian Priest have the same age as the Outsiders, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, would have had in late 2000. While the Outsiders had slowed down considerably by the turn of the millennium, Balor and Priest are as good as ever and recently dropped the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania 40 in a ladder match.

8 One Last (Merch) Run For D-Generation X

D-Generation X’s Last Run Didn’t Fit The Bill

In 2006, Triple H and Shawn Michaels had reunited as D-Generation X. At the respective age of 37 and 41, they weren’t exactly fitting the bill of the rebellious youths anymore but a storyline against the authoritative McMahons and a almost ten year absence made it work. Less so in 2009 when the two veterans, now both in their forties, teamed up again against the young team of Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. Worse even, DX kept teaming up into March 2010 (not to mention their one-time reunion in 2018).

7 Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff Were Two Of The Most Hated Heels Of The Golden Era

The Iron Sheik And Nikolai Volkoff Ended Their Run As One Of The Oldest Teams In WWE History

The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff were one of the top teams in the WWE in the mid-eighties. However, both wrestlers were also already veterans, having wrestled since the late sixties and early seventies respectively. The team was broken up when Sheik was fired after being caught in a car with rival Jim Duggan in 1987 and Volkoff went on to team with Boris Zhukov instead.

6 The Good Brothers Have Been Teaming For Over A Decade

The Good Brothers’ Best Days Are Behind Them

Luke Gallows was first seen on WWE TV back in 2006 – even though most people didn’t know, it was Gallows who portrayed the Fake Kane character from the May 19 storyline. Eighteen years later, Gallows is still (or better: again) on WWE television, teaming with Karl Anderson as The Good Brothers on SmackDown.

While the pair won tag team gold back in 2017 and 2019, the two veterans are currently not really involved in any storylines. The fact that they are still active puts them ahead of DX and Iron Sheik & Volkoff, though.

5 The Dirty Dawgs Gave Life To Two Veterans

Dolph Ziggler And Bobby Roode Found Success In Their Last WWE Run

Again, it is amazing to realize that Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Roode were one year older (combined) during their 2022 run as the Dirty Dawgs than the Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff were in 1987. Ziggler and Roode had been floundering for quite some time before teaming up in 2019. The Dirty Dawgs even won the SmackDown Tag Team Titles in the summer of 2021. By September 2022, Roode had to take time away to undergo neck surgery and subsequently retired. While he is currently a producer for WWE, Ziggler was released in 2023 and is wrestling for New Japan and TNA.

4 The Dudley Boyz’s Last Run Earned Them No Gold

Not A Great WWE Return, But It Got Them A Spot On This List

It was a true shocker when the Dudley Boyz returned the night after SummerSlam 2015. It turned into a disappointing run with very few memorable matches or angles. By the time the team departed a year later, the only significant contribution the Dudley Boyz had made was to this last as they climbed to the fourth spot on the list of oldest WWE tag teams.

3 Professor Tanaka And Mr. Fuji Were A Tag Team Dynasty

The Original Foreign Menace

The first ever three-time WWE tag team champions, Professor Tanaka and Mr. Fuji were the company’s top heel tag team for most of the seventies. Managed by the Grand Wizard, and later Freddie Blassie, the team was known for Tanaka’s power and Fuji’s tricks. Fuji wrestled for the WWE until the mid-eighties before turning to managing where he found success working with the likes of Don Muraco, Demolition, and Yokozuna.

2 The Not So New Outlaws

The New Age Outlaws Briefly Returned In 2014 – And Won Gold

In early 2014, the New Age Outlaws made a brief return to in-ring action. While most of their appearances in 2012 and 2013 were for special occasions such as the 1000th episode of Raw or Old School Raw, those surprisingly turned into a full-time schedule by early 2014.

At the Royal Rumble 2014, the pair even won the tag team titles one last time before dropping the belts to the Usos before WrestleMania 30. At that WrestleMania, the Outlaws wrestled their final WWE match in a losing effort alongside Kane against The Shield. While Road Dogg basically retired after the run, Billy Gunn incredibly remains active to this day.

1 The Bushwhackers’ Longevity Earns Them The Top Spot

The Only Team To Reach The Century Mark

Most will remember The Bushwhackers from their run in the late eighties and early nineties. However, the team actually lasted a lot longer. While their last real program was against Well Dunn in 1994 and their last PPV appearance came at the Royal Rumble 1995, Luke and Butch actually wrestled in the WWE as late as September 1996. This longevity earns them the distinction as the oldest WWE tag team in history.