The Hardy Boyz started their run as a popular tag team with a win over Kaientai (Men's Teioh and Shoichi Funaki) on the September 27, 1998 episode of "Sunday Night Heat". Soon after their "Sunday Night Heat" win, they built up a fan base following through their high-flying tag team tactics. They started to become serious contenders for the Tag Team Championship after they became managed by Michael Hayes, formerly a member of The Fabulous Freebirds. On the June 29, 1999, episode of "Raw Is War" (aired July 5), they defeated The Acolytes (Faarooq and Bradshaw) to win their first WWF Tag Team Championship, but they re-lost the title to The Acolytes a little less than a month later at Fully Loaded.