And so begins my elaboration on why WWE is killing their tag-team division and what it can do to not only restore it, but keep it fresh and exciting for many years to come.
Anyone who's been watching WWE programming since the Attitude Era knows that the Tag-Team division was built on teams like Edge & Christian, The Hardy Boyz, and the Dudleys, just to name a few, and tag-team wrestling was actually once something to see and be excited about. I remember being a young lad and mimicking Edge & Christian's 5-second pose. I remember yelling, "D-VON! GET THE TABLES!" as loud as I could, and I can still recite every single word from 'The Road Dogg' Jesse James' in-ring introduction of the New Age Outlaws. But there was something about these teams that made them successful, and more importantly, memorable. It wasn't just the in-ring antics (E&C) or the cool looking finishers (The Dudleys) that made them memorable, it was the fact that WWE put time and effort into making these teams relevant, in addition to making teams that made sense. That's something I can't say about the Tag-Team division today.
Building on what I said about making tag-teams that made sense, the Attitude era had it right. Let's have a closer look at some of the teams during that period:
The Dudley Boyz - A legendary team to anyone who knows ECW or tag-team wrestling in general. D-Von and Bubba Ray won many titles together before they hit the mainstream, so it would only make sense that they were a tag-team in WWE. They also went on to win many Tag-Team Championships in their WWE run.
The Hardy Boyz - Matt & Jeff Hardy, two real-life brothers. Not only were they exciting, but they were perceived as the under dogs most of the time, but that's what made them great. It's obvious why it makes sense to have them together.
Edge & Christian - Two best friends from Toronto, Canada who have been through it all together on their way to the top. They had similar looks and skills, so teaming them together was a no-brainer.
The New Age Outlaws - Road Dogg and Billy Gunn, a great example of WWE teaming up two guys who complimented each other well because while neither of them were well-rounded performers, each of them had one particular skill that the other one lacked. In this case, Road Dogg was gold on the mic but wasn't a great in-ring performer, while Billy Gunn--not the best on the mic--was a solid in-ring performer. Slap those two together and you had one of the best teams ever created.
I get goosebumps watching this.
Fast forward to the PG Era and there's a common trend among the WWE; tag-teams don't last very long. Too many times have I seen a new tag-team created, only for them to disband a few months later. Not only that, but it's too common these days that superstars meant to be singles competitors, are paired together. Take the current Tag-Team Champions, Daniel Bryan and Kane, for example. Both have experienced singles success and are meant to be singles competitors. So why is the WWE pairing them together? What purpose do they really serve together? Their team is already based on the fact that they can't work together, so why would it make sense to make a storyline out of it? In a few months we're going to be back at square one. Daniel Bryan and Kane will disband and go back to singles competition. You could also look at the newly created 'Rhodes Scholars,' consisting of Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow, two superstars who do not need to be a tag-team. So why are they teaming up? Also, whatever happened to Sandow feuding with Brodus Clay? My guess is that WWE creative just had no idea where the Sandow-Clay feud was going. As for Rhodes not being a singles competitor, I'm guessing it's because he came off of a long Intercontinental Title reign and they're not quite ready to push him into the Heavyweight Championship mix, but they need him to do something until then.
Staying on the topic of teams not lasting very long, it's exactly what is killing the Tag-Team division, a division in dire need of longevity and talent injection. What I don't understand is how the division isn't flourishing, considering the number of legitimate tag-teams that are on the roster. Consider the following tag-teams:
The Usos: Following the same formula as the Hardyz, Jimmy and Jey Uso are real life brothers who also happen to be the sons of former WWE superstar/awesome fat guy, Rikishi. Not only do they bring high energy throughout their matches, but they have a fun and exciting intro that encourages fan participation, thus having a hot start to their matches.
The Ascension: Made up of 'Bad Guy #1' Conor O'Brien and 'Bad Guy #2' Kenneth Cameron, The Ascension seems to be a Ministry-esque tag-team. They might not be the best tag-team, but their intro is cool as hell and they're something different, and different is exactly what the WWE could use.
Epico & Primo: Following the family formula, Epico & Primo are cousin and brother of former WWE superstar Carlito, and are pretty solid in-ring performers. Get them to ditch Rosa for a much more hands-on manager (See: Abraham Washington,) and they could be something special.
If there's one tag-team that's got the right idea right now, it's the Prime Time Players, Darren Young and Titus O'Neil. You see, Titus is, in my opinion, a horrible wrestler. For a guy who has 'the look' of a monster, he can't wrestle like one. He's sloppy at times and lacks in-ring charisma, something that a guy his size shouldn't lack. Then there's Darren Young, the obviously better wrestler of the two. You might be reading this and thinking that I haven't justified why I like this team, but I'll back that up by saying that they have a gimmick that works and they're great in the ring together because Titus' lack of wrestling skill is masked by Young's impressive in-ring skill. You only see just enough of Titus O'Neil before he makes the tag to Young, who carries the team. This is why they're successful and deserve more mainstream success.
For the grand finale of this article, what the WWE needs to do to ensure a stronger and more relevant tag-team division, is bring up these NXT tag-teams to the Smackdown & Raw roster to gain some top-level exposure. Keeping them in NXT forever isn't going to do them any good. Yes, it gives them exposure, but it doesn't give them enough. WWE's creative team (And probably Vince) has a habit of scrapping teams almost right away when the crowd doesn't give them a reaction. Have they ever thought that the reason these teams get no reaction is because the audience doesn't see enough of them to gauge a proper interest level? Another thing that WWE needs to do is not make everything revolve around the Tag-Team Championship. Back in the Attitude Era you had teams that feuded over who was better, not just campaigning for a title shot. I understand that being the Champion means you're the best, but what WWE did right during the Attitude Era is they had multiple tag-team story lines at the same time, and they had the top-level singles superstars, and they got it all done within two freakin' hours. Since Raw's time slot increase to three hours, they've done nothing but fill it with a million recaps or 'Slam of the Week' as WWE likes to call it. Call up the Usos. Call up the Ascension, promote Epico & Primo more. I'm 100% convinced that the tag-team division's relevance and reputation will increase ten fold. It's time again that being the Tag-Team Champions is worth something, and that it's not an accessory.
What do you think needs to be done to make the tag-team division more relevant? Who's been getting too much attention? Who hasn't been getting enough? Email me at freitas.j@live.ca and tell me what you think!
Cheers!
