From Evolution to The Hurt Business: WWE Factions Who Have Held WWE and Tag Team Titles Simultaneously

The Hurt Business has blasted its way into the hearts of WWE fans. Starting from an unpopular faction, MVP has spearheaded it into the life of WWE Raw and looks to move even further.

On the latest episode of Monday Night Raw, Bobby Lashley pulled the Hurt Business into the realm of some of the best WWE factions of all time by winning the WWE Championship. 

MVP and his men are now one of the few factions to hold the WWE Tag Team Championship as well as the WWE Championship at the same time. In other words, they breathe rarified air. Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander hold the Tag Team Championship firmly while Bobby Lashley has broken new ground with his win.

Looking back into WWE history, here are the other groups that have managed to achieve the same feat during their heydays. 

1.Ministry of Darkness

One of The Undertaker’s peaks was as head of the Ministry of Darkness era. The faction explored the dark core of Taker’s deep and mysterious person, which got even more twisted with every episode. 

Satanic rituals, occult practices, and even a crucifixion were some of the few things that Taker and his henchmen did during this era. Nonetheless, it was the most feared and successful of his faction ventures. 

At its peak, the Ministry of Darkness has The Undertaker as WWE (then WWF) Champion, and The Acolytes (Farooq and Bradshaw) as WWF Tag Team Champions, held at the same time. The Acolytes went on to call themselves Acolyte Protection Agency, or APA in short.

2.McMahon-Helmsley Faction

It was just one of the many factions Triple H was involved in was in cahoots with the Chairman, who had turned into a huge heel. This was one of the most powerful groups in WWE from 2001 to 2002 at the height of the promotions run. 

During this era, Triple H ended up winning the WWF Championship twice. Even though it had several members, at one point the faction held the WWF Championship while Edge and Christian also went on to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. 

To add to this, Stephanie McMahon also ended up winning the WWF Women’s Championship. Although the faction ended in mid-2002, it reunites several times and may just reunite again.

3.The Authority

A re-envisioning of the McMahon-Helmsley faction, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon were at the height of their powers and began to abuse it in the storyline.

During the 4 year run of this faction, WWE fans saw not one but two simultaneous reigns of the WWE Championship and the WWE Tag Team Championship. 

The first one came in 2013, when Randy Orton won the WWE Championship, while The Shield (Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) clinched the WWE Tag Team Championship. 

The second reign came in 2014 when Randy Orton won the title once more, with the New Age Outlawsclaimed the WWE Tag Team Championship.

4. Legacy

One of the forgotten factions in WWE history is Legacy, which was headed by Randy Orton, with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase pushing the cart. 

Randy Orton won the WWE Championship three times during the two-year run of Legacy. In fact, all three wins came in 2009 itself. At the same time, Rhodes and DiBiase managed to win the WWE Tag Team Championship twice, holding it at the same time as Orton’s Championship reign. 

5. Evolution 

One of WWE’s most star-studded factions of all time was forged when Triple H, Batista, Randy Orton, and Ric Flair decided to group up. This faction is one of the most decorated in WWE history. 

In fact, all 4 members of Evolution ended up winning gold at Armageddon 2004. Batista and Ric Flair won the World Tag Team Championship, Randy Orton won the Intercontinental Championship, and Triple H won the World Heavyweight Championship. 

This made the faction hold all 4 major titles at the time, a feat that has never again been repeated. Although the group reunited later, it was not as good as it used to be in its prime, which was 2004.