5 WWE Tag Partners That Could Become Huge Singles Stars

Remember back in the 90s when every single performer was a huge superstar? It didn’t matter whereabouts on the card you’d be featured, you could guarantee that every WWF fan would pop for you, because you had that undeniable character and natural charisma. Even tag wrestlers were respectively over as individuals. The Hardy Boyz, Edge and Christian, The Dudley Boyz — each competitor was a star in their own right.

Fast forward to 2020 and the tag division is as stacked as it’s been since that fateful era. With a litany of talented duos each vying for screen-time and the chance to showcase what they can do on the big stage, it’s hard to get a grasp on each performer as an individual when you barely get to see them show their best stuff outside of the 10 minutes they get on TV.

It’s time for WWE to start re-considering how they structure their tag rosters, whether there’s a few hidden gems in amongst those teams that might be worth moving into a solo spotlight to help boost their credibility, while focusing on fewer teams to help build a more consistent division.

With so many tag teams trying to stake their claim as future champions, we break a few down and take a look at who could move away from their partners and strike out on their own. Make sure you throw out your own personal dark horses in the comments section below.

 

1. Kyle O’Reilly

The Undisputed Era has started to wind down their tyrannical reign in NXT, and are starting to rebuild their momentum after losing both the North American and Tag Team Championships. In amongst the UE are some of the most talented individuals under the WWE umbrella, with one in particular showing signs of becoming a megastar in the making.

Kyle O’Reilly quickly became the most popular member of Undisputed Era, next to the leader Adam Cole. His charm and goofy hijinks have helped make him an incredibly personable performer that fans love to get behind. Combining that with his fantastic match quality and you have a superstar that could easily break away from UE and start forming a legacy of his own.

Already a multi-time tag champion, O’Reilly has the potential to start picking up some singles titles to his name. Although many would consider him and Bobby Fish to forever come as a duo, there’s nothing stopping O’Reilly from briefly cutting ties to test the waters in the singles division. O’Reilly has already been used as an ambassador for NXT as part of last year’s Super Strong Style 16 tournament, where he competed for PROGRESS once again as a singles star, picking up some huge wins and plenty of support from the vocal crowds.

Let’s face it, we just need more air guitar in our lives.

 

2. Montez Ford

The Street Profits had a fantastic showing at WWE’s latest instalment of the Saudi chronicles; Ford and Dawkins came within inches of defeating Seth Rollins and Murphy to claim the RAW Tag Titles, but it wasn’t to be. Wherever the Profits go, they always find themselves being two of the most over wrestlers on the card. I believe most of that is down to Montez Ford’s incredible ring-presence, and his ability to rally any crowd behind him with his electric personality.

Ford has demonstrated on several occasions that he has the ability to hang with the very best in and out of the Tag division. The former NXT Tag Champion quickly became a show-stealer and was touted as a future star. Many believed that it was only a matter of time for the Street Profits to dissolve to help push Ford as a singles competitor, but luckily for Angelo Dawkins, that never came to pass.

At this point, I’d say it would be a shame to see the Profits part ways, I mean it’s not like Dawkins has done anything to deserve being pushed to the side, but quite frankly, he’s the Marty Jannetty to Montez’s HBK. Ford has that potential to go on to become the next big underdog in WWE, who could achieve a very similar meteoric rise to prominence like that of Kofi Kingston’s or Daniel Bryan’s.

Whatever he has in that red sippy cup, I want in.

 

3. Trent Seven

We’ve seen ‘The Don’ showcase his talents as a singles star on a few occasions as of late, but still, Trent Seven remains tied down to his Moustache Mountain tandem with Tyler Bate. Seven became one of the foundations of NXT UK, bringing plenty of BritWres fans to the new product as part of the inaugural United Kingdom Championship tournament. Seven has since been battling in the tag team division, being one of the first two teams to compete for the NXT UK Tag Titles alongside the Grizzled Young Veterans.

As we mentioned earlier, Seven has had a few instances lately where he’s been able to shine on his lonesome in feuds with the likes of Eddie Dennis and Noam Dar. If anything, this shows that Trent is a perfectly capable star to headline NXT UK as a future champion. After WALTER deals with the Demon of Dublin, there’s nothing stopping Seven from challenging the big Austrian to a title fight later down the line.

Seven has a strong connection with the British fanbase, not only for being a key member of forging the relationship between WWE and the UK but for also being a very dependable performer in the ring that you can’t help but root for, whether it be in a high-profile championship fight or a gimmicky slapstick affair.

 

4. Kairi Sane

Since the former NXT Women’s Champion debuted on SmackDown Live in 2019, Kairi Sane has been kept tucked away in the Women’s Tag division as part of the Kabuki Warriors. Sane and Asuka have made quite the pairing, eventually winning the Tag Titles from The IIconics, turning heel and putting on a belter of a TLC match against the team of Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch.

All this has helped build Kairi’s reputation with the fans as someone that could easily become a star of her own in either brand’s Women’s divisions. Kairi has a diminutive stature and innovative move-set that could make her a marketable star. WWE loves their smaller, explosive performers, they make for interesting underdogs and ideal curtain-jerkers for live events.

Kairi could easily develop into the women’s Rey Mysterio, should they allow her to flourish as a babyface rather than this brooding heel. As much as I’m loving the Kabuki Warriors being a huge threat, it’s time for Kairi to show the world what she’s made of as a singles star.

 

5. Otis

I don’t think there’s been a single performer in the past few years that has connected with the WWE fanbase as quickly as Otis. Heavy Machinery’s lovable lump has found himself in a love triangle with Mandy Rose and Dolph Ziggler. With Big Tucky by his side, Otis will be heading into WrestleMania to mend his broken heart by breaking ‘The Show-Off’.

Otis might not come across like a serious contender for the World Championship, but there’s nothing stopping the Doz from one day putting together one heck of a babyface run against a dominant champion. Otis has that blue-collar connection with the fans that makes him the perfect candidate for a future singles run.

Heavy Machinery still have a lot to accomplish as a tag team, and with the WWE machine behind them now that they’re pushing merch, there’s nothing stopping them from one day winning the coveted Tag Team Championships. It would be devastating to see him and Tucker break up the band, so hopefully Otis can move away from his partnership without any heel turns or blood feuds with Knight.

Instead, just let Otis ride the wave of momentum, like Daniel Bryan did after his run with Team Hell No, or Kofi with The New Day.