10. RADICALZ (5)

Titles Held: Intercontinental Championship- Chris Benoit (21 days), European Championship- Eddie Guerrero (20 days), Light Heavyweight Title- Dean Malenko (72 days). Top Ten Finishes: 5. Highest Ranking in 2001: 6.

It wasn't easy coming up with 10 different teams that made an impact in the year 2001, so I had to do some research. I had to go through my rankings throughout the year and figure out what tag teams were together long enough to make an impact. After all that, I still didn't come up with 10 teams that made an impact for the year 2001. Failing that, it was a numbers game, and that's how the Radicalz came in at number 10, after pretty much playing their usefulness out earlier in the year. When the year began, The Radicalz had just reunited with Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko, with Terri hanging around as Saturn's girlfriend. A solid group of guys, but not a tag team in the tradition sense. They had a feud with the Hardy Boyz which centred around Malenko's lust for Lita, which allowed them to get into tag team and three man tag matches (generally involving The Radicalz weaker members- Saturn and Malenko). Eventually, the group lost strength as Benoit abandoned the group over mistrust surrounding his joint pursuit of the Intercontinental Title along with Guerrero. The group was further weakened by Guerrero's abandonment to hang with The Hardys after losing his European Title to Matt Hardy. This left Saturn and Malenko as charismatically-challenged duo which eventually broke up when Saturn went loopy and fell for Moppy. Not a bad year when you view the amount of storylines the team found itself involved in, but not all that great when you consider that they never once were serious challengers for the tag team titles.

9. KAI EN TAI (-)

Top Ten Finishes: 8. Highest Ranking in 2001: 5.

Neither were Kai En Tai, true, but these guys were ranked three more times and around together as a duo longer than The Radicalz. Part of that is because Taka and Funaki can not stand on their own the way Benoit, Guerrero, or even Saturn can, but give these guys credit, for a brief moment of the year, they were over. Sure, few of it had to do with what they themselves were actually doing, and even less had to do with what they did in the ring, but the "evil" voiceovers were funny as hell (at first). I did INDEED look forward to their appearances on WWF television appearances from week to week (until the novelty wore off) and rose to my feet when they appeared on the pre-RAW taping of Metal when I caught the WWF live. That's a testament to the creativity of their gimmick, given that a year ago these two would have been tied for first in a vote for most useless members of the WWF roster. Sadly, the gimmick did wear thin (as did Taka's shoulder strength, as he succumbed to injury), and now, if one were to hold the same vote, Funaki would stand a good chance in finishing first (or at least he could tie Dean Malenko).

8. RIGHT TO CENSOR (9)

Titles Held: Women's Championship- Ivory (92 days). Top Ten Finishes: 6. Highest Ranking in 2001: 5.

These guys became quite forgettable, but in the beginning of 2001, they were still players. As annoying as they were, the RTC was actually a pretty ingenious idea by the WWF. Created in 2000, the RTC was to be a direct parody of the Parents Television Council (the PTC), who were attacking the WWF for its content and blaming it for the deaths of children. So the WWF responded by using lesser characters to portray a heel group that was exposed for its hyprocrisy (much like the real-life PTC). However, much of the RTC's best work was done in 2000 (including the winning of the tag titles by Bull Buchanen and the Goodfather, which is seen in this photo), so their impact on 2001 was slight. The advantage the RTC has over the groups below them on this ranking (and no, it wasn't Ivory's "legendary" bouts with Chyna for the WWF title) was their appearance at Wreslemania, where Steven Richards, Bull Buchanen and the Goodfather faced the APA and Tazz, and lost. Still, they did tag at Wrestlemania, so they rank eighth.

7. X-FACTOR (-)

Titles Held: Intercontinental Championship- Albert (28 days); Light Heavyweight Title- X-Pac, 2X (176 days), Cruiserweight Title- X-Pac (41 days). Top Ten Finishes: 8. Highest Ranking in 2001: 5.

It was supposed to be their time, two young guys in the WWF with something to prove in Albert and Justin Credible, and X-Pac proving what he could do as a leader. Mission accomplished. X-Pac proved he couldn't lead a salmon to its spawning grounds, Justin Credible proved that he sucked, and Albert proved he was better off without these losers. So I guess you could say that 2001 was a mixed success for X-Factor. Despite all that ineptitude, these guys rank seventh, for the entire year. Kinda shows you that this wasn't exactly a banner year for the tag team division.

6. TRIPLE H AND STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN (-)

Titles Held: WWF Championship- Austin, 2X (238 days); Intercontinental Championship- Triple H, 2X (43 days), WWF Tag Team Titles (23 days). PPVs main-evented (as a team): 1 (All-Titles on the Line vs. Undertaker and Kane, Backlash). PPV Tag Team Title Matches: 1 (All-Titles on the Line vs. Undertaker and Kane, Backlash). Top Ten Finishes: 2. Highest Ranking in 2001: 2.

How good must it feel to be one of the teams ranked tenth through seventh? You work hard to create a team, you tag with a guy for a better part of a year, then the two biggest names in the WWF tag together for just over two months and get ranked ahead of you for the entire year. Nice. But really, can anyone provide a good argument (other than longevity) why the teams ranked below the Power Trip Duo should be ahead? No, because there isn't one. Sure, Triple H and Austin weren't a team for a long, and even when they were a team they didn't wrestle together that frequently, but they did have the tag team titles, which puts them ahead of all the teams below them on this list. However, having the titles is not enough. Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho and The Rock, and Booker T and Test all held the tag titles in 2001, yet you haven't seen their names on the rankings (and here's a hint: you won't see them in the top five either). The reason Austin and Triple H rank so high despite only posting 2 rankings earlier in the year is they dominated the WWF in terms of storylines when they were partners. They demolished The Rock, Chris Jericho, Jim Ross, The Hardy Boyz and Lita, and then turned their attentions to the tag titles when challenged by The Undertaker and Kane. When they defeated the Brothers of Destruction at Backlash to win the tag titles, it seemed as though they were unstoppable (partially because they had no challengers for their tag titles, instead they fought challengers for their individual titles). Finally, a new team emerged to beat the team that ran the WWF in Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit, who took the titles from the Power Trip Duo in a memorable match that Triple H valiantly finished despite tearing his quadriceps muscle. With Triple H out, he and Austin was unable to continue their dominance, leaving their time as a team short but memorable.

For more WWF content on this site, click on any of the following:

THE YEAR 2000- YEAR IN REVIEW- See how the superstars of the WWF stacked up using my rankings system for the entire year 2000. Who was number 1, The Rock or Triple H? Who were the top tag teams? Also, the title pictures for each belt from the WWF Championship all the way down to the Light Heavyweight Title, with my own commentary on each reign.

LITA- ONE MAN'S OBSESSION- I admit, I am in love with Lita. I also admit that this behaviour has become a bit of an obsession. See pictures of the Team Extreme Diva, biographical info and random career facts, while I attempt to come to terms with the fact that I am in love with someone I see on TV.

PREVIOUS RANKINGS- Ranking archives dating back to November 2000. Missed a posting? Want to track my biases? Find all past information here.

READER RESPONSES- Got an opinion? Share it with me by e-mailing me, and see your opinion posted, along with my response, here.

SITE AWARDS- Here I list the multitude of awards (who knows? Maybe one day there will be a multitude of awards) that WWF Rankings has received.