# List of WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions
The SmackDown Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship created for WWE's SmackDown brand on August 23, 2016, when [Shane McMahon](https://www.edgepedia.org/shane-mcmahon) and Daniel Bryan unveiled the titles on SmackDown Live following the Brand Extension Draft.[1](https://officialwwe.fandom.com/wiki/WWE_SmackDown_Tag_Team_Championship) The title has since been renamed twice and is currently held by The MFTs ([Tama Tonga](https://www.edgepedia.org/tama-tonga) and Talla Tonga).[2](https://www.thesmackdownhotel.com/title-history/wwe/wwe-smackdown-tag-team-championship)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Established | Unveiled August 23, 2016 on SmackDown Live by Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan[1](https://officialwwe.fandom.com/wiki/WWE_SmackDown_Tag_Team_Championship) |
| Inaugural champions | Heath Slater & Rhyno, won at Backlash on September 11, 2016 after an eight-team tournament[3](https://www.wwe.com/classics/titlehistory/wwe-tag-team-championship) |
| Longest reign | The Usos, 622 days (July 18, 2021 – April 2, 2023)[3](https://www.wwe.com/classics/titlehistory/wwe-tag-team-championship) |
| Most reigns | The New Day's Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, seven reigns each as a team and individually[4](https://findatwiki.com/List_of_WWE_SmackDown_Tag_Team_Champions) |
| Shortest reign | 2 days as recognized by WWE (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods, October 9–12, 2020)[4](https://findatwiki.com/List_of_WWE_SmackDown_Tag_Team_Champions) |
| Name changes | SmackDown Tag Team Championship (2016–2022), Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship (2022–2024), WWE Tag Team Championship (2024–present)[5](https://wrestlingprofiles.com/title-belt/wwe-tag-team-championship/) |
| Current champions | The MFTs (Tama Tonga & Talla Tonga), since August 14, 2026[2](https://www.thesmackdownhotel.com/title-history/wwe/wwe-smackdown-tag-team-championship) |
## Creation and inaugural tournament
The 2016 WWE draft split the roster between Raw and SmackDown and left the long-standing WWE Tag Team Championship on the Raw side of the split. In response, SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon and General Manager Daniel Bryan announced a new championship exclusively for the SmackDown brand on the August 23, 2016 episode of SmackDown Live, together with a tournament that would culminate at Backlash.[1](https://officialwwe.fandom.com/wiki/WWE_SmackDown_Tag_Team_Championship) The first champions were crowned at [WWE Backlash](https://www.edgepedia.org/wwe-backlash) on September 11, 2016, following an eight-team tournament.[3](https://www.wwe.com/classics/titlehistory/wwe-tag-team-championship) [Heath Slater](https://www.edgepedia.org/heath-slater) and Rhyno won the final and held the titles for 83 days, until [The Wyatt Family](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-wyatt-family) (Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, and Randy Orton) took them on December 4, 2016.[2](https://www.thesmackdownhotel.com/title-history/wwe/wwe-smackdown-tag-team-championship)
## Early reigns and The Usos era
The title changed hands frequently in its first years. American Alpha ([Chad Gable](https://www.edgepedia.org/chad-gable) and [Jason Jordan](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-jordan)) won the championship on December 27, 2016 in [Rosemont, Illinois](https://www.edgepedia.org/rosemont-illinois).[6](https://officialwwe.fandom.com/wiki/WWE_SmackDown_Tag_Team_Championship/History) The Usos (Jey and Jimmy Uso) first won the titles on the March 21, 2017 episode of SmackDown Live, beginning a run of five reigns with this championship.[2](https://www.thesmackdownhotel.com/title-history/wwe/wwe-smackdown-tag-team-championship) Their third reign, beginning at Hell in a Cell on October 8, 2017, lasted 182 days, the longest reign the title had in the 2010s.[3](https://www.wwe.com/classics/titlehistory/wwe-tag-team-championship) The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods) also accumulated reigns in this period; during several of them, Big E was recognized as champion under the Freebird Rule even when only Kingston and Woods competed in the title-winning match.[2](https://www.thesmackdownhotel.com/title-history/wwe/wwe-smackdown-tag-team-championship)
## Unification as the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship
**A single champion across both brands.** [The Usos](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-usos) beat RK-Bro, who held the Raw Tag Team Championship, in a [Winner Takes All](https://www.edgepedia.org/winner-takes-all) bout on SmackDown's May 20, 2022 airing. The two championships remained independently active but were collectively defended on any brand as the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship.[2](https://www.thesmackdownhotel.com/title-history/wwe/wwe-smackdown-tag-team-championship) That same Usos reign, which began on July 18, 2021 at Money in the Bank, ran 622 days, the longest male tag team championship reign in WWE history.[3](https://www.wwe.com/classics/titlehistory/wwe-tag-team-championship) • [4](https://findatwiki.com/List_of_WWE_SmackDown_Tag_Team_Champions) [Kevin Owens](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-owens) and Sami Zayn ended it at WrestleMania 39 on April 1, 2023, and the titles later passed to The Judgment Day's Finn Bálor and Damian Priest.[2](https://www.thesmackdownhotel.com/title-history/wwe/wwe-smackdown-tag-team-championship)
**Separation in 2024.** At WrestleMania XL on April 6, 2024, [A-Town Down Under](https://www.edgepedia.org/a-town-down-under) ([Austin Theory](https://www.edgepedia.org/austin-theory) and [Grayson Waller](https://www.edgepedia.org/grayson-waller)) won the SmackDown titles in a Six-Pack Ladder Match contested for both the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championships, with both sets of titles hung separately.[2](https://www.thesmackdownhotel.com/title-history/wwe/wwe-smackdown-tag-team-championship) The SmackDown-side championship was then renamed the WWE Tag Team Championship, the name it carries today.[5](https://wrestlingprofiles.com/title-belt/wwe-tag-team-championship/)
## Recent champions
The 2020s have seen the title move among several teams. A 2020 draft quirk produced a straight exchange: The New Day were drafted to Raw while the then-Raw Tag Team Champions, The Street Profits, were drafted to SmackDown, so the two teams swapped championships to keep each set of titles on its own brand.[2](https://www.thesmackdownhotel.com/title-history/wwe/wwe-smackdown-tag-team-championship) Later holders include the Motor City Machine Guns ([Alex Shelley](https://www.edgepedia.org/alex-shelley) and Chris Sabin), who won on October 25, 2024, #DIY (Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano), The Street Profits in a second reign, and The Wyatt Sicks (Dexter Lumis and Joe Gacy), whose 196-day reign from July 11, 2025 is the third longest in the title's history.[2](https://www.thesmackdownhotel.com/title-history/wwe/wwe-smackdown-tag-team-championship) • [5](https://wrestlingprofiles.com/title-belt/wwe-tag-team-championship/)
## Records
- **Most reigns:** Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods of The New Day hold the record with seven reigns each, both as a team and individually; their seventh reign is also the shortest in the title's history at 3 days (2 days as recognized by WWE).[4](https://findatwiki.com/List_of_WWE_SmackDown_Tag_Team_Champions)
- **Longest reign:** The Usos' fifth reign at 622 days, followed by their 316-day reign and The Wyatt Sicks' 196 days.[5](https://wrestlingprofiles.com/title-belt/wwe-tag-team-championship/)
- **Scale:** one title-history source counts 38 total reigns by 25 teams through mid-2026,[5](https://wrestlingprofiles.com/title-belt/wwe-tag-team-championship/) while another numbers the most recent change as the 40th reign,[2](https://www.thesmackdownhotel.com/title-history/wwe/wwe-smackdown-tag-team-championship) a difference in how reigns are counted rather than in the underlying title changes.
## References
1. [WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship, OfficialWWE Wiki (Fandom)](https://officialwwe.fandom.com/wiki/WWE_SmackDown_Tag_Team_Championship)
2. [WWE Tag Team Championship | WWE Title History, The SmackDown Hotel](https://www.thesmackdownhotel.com/title-history/wwe/wwe-smackdown-tag-team-championship)
3. [WWE Tag Team Championship, WWE.com](https://www.wwe.com/classics/titlehistory/wwe-tag-team-championship)
4. [List of WWE Tag Team Champions, Find at WIKI](https://findatwiki.com/List_of_WWE_SmackDown_Tag_Team_Champions)
5. [WWE Tag Team Championship | Championship History & Title Reigns, WrestlingProfiles](https://wrestlingprofiles.com/title-belt/wwe-tag-team-championship/)
6. [WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship/History, OfficialWWE Wiki (Fandom)](https://officialwwe.fandom.com/wiki/WWE_SmackDown_Tag_Team_Championship/History)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Combat sports and professional wrestling › Professional wrestling promotions and championships › WWE championships*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license