The year 2002 birthed the era when competition in WWE was cutthroat. With the dawn of The Ruthless Aggression era, the WWE roster was filled with exceptionally talented athletes. Both brands of WWE were constantly battling for bragging rights and supremacy. When the tag team of Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin got the spotlight, it was impossible for their chemistry in the ring to go unnoticed. They were dubbed as The World’s Greatest Tag Team and because of their talent, their team moniker was no misnomer.
When the tag team of Benjamin and Haas joined forces with the Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle, they began to dominate the entire tag team division on SmackDown.
Having won the World Tag Team Championship about a month after their debut, Team Angle cemented themselves as the most superior team in WWE. The faction won multiple accolades under its belt with the guidance of the Olympic Hero.
On the other hand, on Raw in 2003, another villainous faction was formed that was mentored by Ric Flair, Evolution. The Triple H-led faction Evolution was a team of four that included Randy Orton and Batista.
Their rise to prominence somehow affected the tenacity of Team Angle to remain at the top as the most dominant Tag Team in WWE. WWE veteran Charlie Haas believes it was Triple H who pulled some strings to split up Team Angle.
Charlie Haas believes Triple H was involved in splitting up Team Angle
The birth of Evolution on Monday Night Raw was intended to supersede any faction in WWE. The stable’s rise to the top caused the downfall of Team Angle. During an interview with WrestlingNews.co, a former Team Angle member speculated that Triple H may have been involved in causing Team Angle to split up because he looked at the faction as a potential threat to Evolution.
“Hunter at the time was thinking that we’re too much competition for them instead of raising the bar to see who is better, we can just dismantle one team.” Said Haas.
Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin-11 years
2-time WWE tag team champs
2-time Ring Of Honor tag team champs @CharlieHaas @Sheltyb803 #tagteamtitles pic.twitter.com/iUwlJ0jUkx— Jesse Velasquez (@JesseCVelasquez) June 24, 2020
Despite their undeniable talent and prominence, Team Angle broke and all members went their separate ways in 2004. Further in the interview, Haas speculated that Triple H must have had the support he needed from Vince McMahon to break up the faction.
Kurt Angle regrets that Team Angle split up too soon
Speaking on The Hannibal TV, the wrestling machine Kurt Angle expressed his regret that he could not enjoy a longer run with Team Angle. According to him, the team should have lasted at least three years but, the company ordered them to break up and turn on each other.
Me and Dave DeCicco meeting Team Angle (Kurt Angle along with Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin), at a wrestling show in NJ, a few years ago. pic.twitter.com/I7mDFNOiGX
— Solomon Chertok (@ChertokSolomon) November 12, 2021
“We should have a good three year run but the company wanted to break us up and have us wrestle each other.”Said Angle.
Charlie Haas: “Il Team Angle fu diviso da Triple H per gelosia, l’Evolution doveva dominare” https://t.co/LlEcv7GLvr#CharlieHaas #Evolution #KurtAngle #SHELTONBENJAMIN #TripleH #WWE pic.twitter.com/o5DBTDJHzr
— Zona Wrestling (@Zona_Wrestling) November 17, 2022
Despite their run as a team being short lived, there was a time when all members of the team were Champions. While Kurt enjoyed a run as the WWE Champion, Haas and Benjamin were SmackDown Tag Team Champions.
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