Watch Backlash, live on Sky Sports Box Office on Sunday night
Friday 9 September 2016 12:13, UK
In a peculiar turn of events, Rhyno and Heath Slater could become the inaugural Smackdown Tag Team Champions at WWE Backlash.
Not peculiar because they are untalented - Rhyno is a former ECW, Hardcore and United States Champion, while Slater has bagged tag-team gold on three occasions in the past.
No, peculiar because they are extremely different - Rhyno is a man of few words who is running for election for the Republican party and Slater is, well, a loudmouth rock-music lover!
However, should Rhyno and Slater be successful at Backlash - live on Sky Sports Box Office at 1am on Sunday night - they won't be the only odd couple to win tag gold in WWE...
Billy and Chuck
Billy Gunn and Chuck Palumbo became close, real close, during their days teaming together in the early 2000s. So much so that Palumbo dyed his hair blond to match Gunn's and the duo donned matching ring gear. They even came within a whisker of getting married until it was revealed their impending nuptial was just a publicity stunt and their relationship was completely platonic. Palumbo and Gunn's success in the squared circle was tangible, though - they held the WWE Tag Team Titles twice, beating Tazz and Spike Dudley first time around and then Rikishi and former friend Rico.
Booker T and Goldust
Goldust has history when it comes to seeking out tag-team partners - he vigorously pursued R-Truth earlier this year prior to the formation of Golden Truth and did the same to Booker T over a decade ago. Initially sceptical about how his tough-guy image would connect with the more outlandish Goldust, Booker finally relented, leading to the duo enjoying a 22-day reign with the tag straps. Outside of the ring, Booker and Goldust did their best Barry Norman impressions by reviewing films, including The Rock's Scorpion King, while they also fiddled with a lightsaber. Don't ask!
Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov
Marella and Kozlov had little in common - Marella was joyous and humorous, Kozlov joyless and humourless. Yet those polarising personality traits did not stop the pair winning the titles in a Fatal Four-Way elimination match against Slater and Justin Gabriel, The Usos, and Mark Henry and Yoshi Tatsu on an episode of Raw and keeping hold of them for 76 days before shipping them back to Slater and Gabriel. The triumph meant Kozlov enjoyed one reign with A WWE championship, having seen his pursuit of the WWE Championship end in failure at Survivor Series in 2008.
Kane and Daniel Bryan
What happens when a demon teams with a vegan? A 245-day reign with the WWE Tag Team Championships that's what! Kane and Bryan could hardly have started off in worse shape and were forced to attend anger management classes. Somehow, though, Dr Shelby helped them work out their issues, which led to the foes-turned-allies beating R-Truth and Kofi Kingston for the twin straps. The partnership never ran completely smoothly - there was a memorable argument inside a diner in a nod to that iconic Harry met Sally scene - but it took a while for them to be dethroned.
The Rock 'n' Sock Connection
The People's Champion The Rock and WWE's resident scruff-bag Mick Foley/Mankind - it was a match no one saw coming. It was a match The Rock - who had warred with Mankind over the WWE Championship - was reluctant to commit to but it was a match that worked, with the duo winning the first of three WWE Tag Team Titles together by beating Big Show and The Undertaker. Oh yeah, the name! The Rock bit is easy enough to fathom but if your knowledge of WWE past is a bit iffy then you may not know that the Sock bit came from Mankind's puppet, Mr Socko.
Watch WWE Backlash from 1am on Monday live on Sky Sports Box Office.
PHONE: UK viewers can call 03442 410 888 to book WWE Backlash, while customers in the Republic of Ireland should call 0818 220 225. (There may be an additional charge for telephone bookings).
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