The rivalry between DX and Rated-RKO was a rare tag team rivalry in WWE that featured four main eventers. Triple H and Shawn Michaels got the band back together again in the summer of 2006, and Edge and Randy Orton formed an unholy alliance a few months later. This tag team rivalry was superb, and it featured on Monday Night Raw with both teams getting the upper hand on each other. Their rivalry only lasted for three months, but it came to a halt in January 2007 because of a legitimate injury.
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DX and Rated-RKO both had successful tag team careers with Triple H and Shawn Michaels a more established duo, this feud helped get Edge and Orton back on track as they both won World Championships in 2007. There was a lot of action in their feud, but there are some facts that blew over the WWE Universe's heads.
10 DX Reunited In The Summer Of 2006
There were signs that Triple H and Shawn Michaels were going to reunite as they both did the crotch chop in their respective matches at WrestleMania 22. In the summer of 2006, Triple H and Michaels finally reformed D-Generation X with the Game turning face.
Triple H and Shawn Michaels caused havoc as DX and they feuded with the McMahons. DX was successful as they beat the McMahons at SummerSlam 2006 and they followed it up with another win in a handicap Hell in a Cell match at Unforgiven 2006 with the ECW World Champion Big Show as their tag team partner.
9 Edge Drops The WWE Championship To John Cena
Edge and John Cena headlined Unforgiven 2006 in a TLC match for the WWE Championship in front of Edge's hometown fans in Toronto, Canada. The odds were not in Cena's favor as Edge had the advantage by having the Torontonian crowd by his side and a TLC match was his specialty.
They knocked it out of the park in a brilliant match, but the Rated-R Superstar's two-month WWE Championship reign was curtailed by Cena after Edge tumbled through a couple of tables with Cena retrieving the WWE Championship, which he would go on to hold for 380 days.
8 DX Cost Edge The Chance At Regaining The WWE Championship
Edge was looking to regain the WWE Championship from John Cena in a steel cage match on the October 2, 2006 edition of Raw. This bout is often forgotten about because of the number of times that they have faced off in high-profile matches.
When the referee was knocked down former World Tag Team Champions Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch attacked Cena. Cade and Murdoch were close to helping Edge escape through the cage door but DX intervened. Shawn Michaels nailed Murdoch with Sweet Chin Music, and the cage door slammed into Edge's face. Cena executed the AA and he continued his run as WWE Champion.
7 Rated-RKO Officially Form On The Cutting Edge
In the fall of 2006, Edge and Randy Orton began teaming up in several tag team matches and their alliance was official on the October 9, 2006 edition of Raw. Edge invited Randy Orton as a guest on his Cutting Edge talk show.
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Edge gave Orton a timely reminder by pinpointing Triple H's selfishness cost him from staying at the top as a World Champion. Furthermore, Edge blamed Michaels for his WWE Championship loss, but Orton and Edge shook hands with Orton saying that they have two words for DX, "It's Over."
6 Edge And Randy Orton Impersonate DX
Rated-RKO opened up Raw on October 9, 2006, with the WWE Universe screaming for DX's arrival as soon as their music hit. However, it was a ruse as Edge and Orton impersonated DX. Edge portrayed Triple H, and the Legend Killer dressed up as Shawn Michaels.
It was a hilarious moment but Triple H and Shawn Michaels managed to get the last laugh. They mocked Rated-RKO with Triple H laughing at Edge and Lita's live sex celebration from January 2006. After traded jibes on the mic, there was a physical altercation between the two teams.
5 Rated-RKO Hand DX Their First Loss
Finally, Rated-RKO and DX had their first major match against each other at Cyber Sunday 2006. There was a caveat as former Raw General Eric Bischoff got 60% of the vote to be the man in the middle as the special guest referee.
This match lasted 18 minutes and it was a back-and-forth match between the teams. However, Bischoff was biased and he aided Rated-RKO in registering a huge win over DX. With the victory, Rated-RKO became the first team to defeat Triple H and Shawn Michaels as DX.
4 Rated-RKO Win The World Tag Team Championship
Rated-RKO had a second chance at dethroning Ric Flair and Roddy Piper for the World Tag Team Championship on the November 13, 2006, edition of Raw in Manchester, England. Before the match began, Edge laid out Piper with a con-chair-to.
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It was a handicap match with Flair having to defend the titles on his lonesome. The numbers game proved to be too much for Naitch to handle as Edge speared Flair which was enough for Rated-RKO to become the new World Tag Team Champions with Orton becoming a Triple Crown Winner in the process.
3 Team DX Clean Swept Team Rated-RKO At Survivor Series 2006
Team Rated-RKO came into Survivor Series 2006 full of confidence on the back of a strong result against DX at Cyber Sunday 2006. Nevertheless, representing Team DX were Triple H, Shawn Michaels, the Hardys, and CM Punk. Team Rated-RKO was comprised of Edge, Randy Orton, Gregory Helms, Mike Knox, and Johnny Nitro.
Team DX was in cruise control of proceedings but it was a pitiful performance from Team Rated-RKO. They had no answers with Team DX wiping the floor with Team Rated-RKO by registering a clean sweep after Triple H executed the Pedigree on Orton.
2 Triple H Tears His Quadriceps
One of the biggest Tag Team Championship matches in WWE history took place at New Year's Revolution 2007. Rated-RKO put their titles on the line against DX. Michaels and Triple H were still looking to win the World Tag Team Championship for the first time as a tandem.
Unfortunately, the Cerebral Assassin tore his quadriceps which ruled him out of action for seven months until he returned at SummerSlam 2007. Their Tag Team Championship match was brutal and it was fascinating to watch the match but there was no definitive winner.
1 Shawn Michaels Sees Off Rated-RKO In A Handicap Match
With Triple H on the shelf, Shawn Michaels ran the show on his terms for a bit. Rated-RKO was a fantastic cohesive unit and the former WWE World Champions were determined to inflict another loss for the Heartbreak Kid.
On the January 15, 2007 edition of Raw, Edge, and Orton cut a promo in the ring with Edge mocking Triple H's mannerisms and voice. The bad news for Michaels was that he had to face the two former World Champions in a handicap match. Rated-RKO failed to use the numbers game to their advantage and Michaels' face was a crimson mask. Michaels won the handicap match, but he made a statement afterward by paying homage to Triple H as he laid out both Edge and Orton with a sledgehammer. The punishment didn't end there as Michaels laid out Orton with a con-chair-to.
