Call to WWE: Just Eliminate Tag Team Wrestling

[Ambiguous Turd]

What I am asking everyone to do, before anything else, is start out by watching one tag team match. This match is The Rockers vs The Orient Express from Royal Rumble 1991. This is truly one of the most under-rated Tag Team Matches in WWE history. When you watch the match, listen to the excitement of the crowd. Listen to the commentators, Gorilla Monsoon and Rowdy Roddy Piper and the passion they put into calling the match. Look at the drama of a third man at ringside who controls his team, in this case Mr. Fuji, can bring to a match. And finally, compare that to what we see on TV today.

In my opinion, this is one of the greatest Tag Team matches in WWE history.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz2Nri3hYp4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_q-4RzX8hI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p5DPv2M7sY



And it is action like this, than can be brought to a great, well-structured Tag Team Division. However, at some point, Vince decided that he didn't think Tag Team wrestling sold anymore, and felt that he could simply slap any two names together, and call them a Tag Team. Vince and Ross say that Tag Team wrestling does not sell. However, they are under the impression that ONLY the Main Event sells.

I know when I purchased their PPV's, I purchased their shows based on the entire card ... the entire package ... not just any one Main Event.

Since then, they have brought that mentality as a whole, that only the Main Event matters, to the Midcard over the years as well. It seems that the only time there is any effort put into building up a show, with pushing other matches other than the Main Event, is when they are building up to Wrestlemania. The rest of the year, it appears as though they could care less, and put very little effort into the other matches.

So, if Vince McMahon feels that Tag Team wrestling does not sell, and nor does it matter in the big scheme of things ... and in return, if he only gives his fans a half-ass product like we see today, why doesn't he simply get rid of the Tag Team Division, period? All he has to do is just ... get rid of it. It's already worthless now. Why not take the next step?

 

[Hyorinmaru]

Because there are people out there who still like Tag Team wrestling. IF Vince got rid of the Tag titles and Tag Team wrestling in WWE all together then he would lose fans, which by itself Vince couldn't care less about, but with those leaving fans goes their money, which Vince desperately cares about.


SO yeah the bottom line is Vince wants as much money as he can get from all wrestling fans. Which is why we have this travesty of a tag Team division

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

Because there are people out there who still like Tag Team wrestling. IF Vince got rid of the Tag titles and Tag Team wrestling in WWE all together then he would lose fans, which by itself Vince couldn't care less about, but with those leaving fans goes their money, which Vince desperately cares about.


SO yeah the bottom line is Vince wants as much money as he can get from all wrestling fans. Which is why we have this travesty of a tag Team division

But that's where we have a discrepancy. Vince claims that Tag Team Wrestling absolutely does not sell. And Jim Ross agrees with him. I happen to disagree with both of them. I am not implying that people purchase WWE products based on Tag Team wrestling, by itself, but I did purchase WWE products, based on the entire package it offered.

But according to Vince, Tag Team wrestling simply does not sell, whatsoever. So my question to Vince is, why not simply get rid of it altogether, if that is the way he feels?

 

[Coco]

Milenko, I think the argument is that Vince wouldn't lose fans. The division isn't built to help draw flies these days, so getting rid of it wouldn't get rid of any fans. Sure, the JoMo/Miz vs. The Colons matches were fine for this day and age and The Colons are becoming a fine team (Carlito has finally found a niche I love), but for the most part the division is not put out there in a way that is meant to inspire us to care. And I don't really know what to say. I love tag wrestling, but I agree that there is no point in keeping about it if nobody is meant to care. So frustrating.

I don't see why it's not out there more, either. You have six hours of original TV per week that they need to fill, talent that they don't know what to do with, and a great pair of champs. How hard would it be to make some new tag teams (real tag teams) and book a strong division? But I don't see that happening.

Good choice of match, Sid. I rewatched that last month. Stellar stuff.

 

[ztwhite]

There will be a lot of people that disagree with me, but I don't think Vince will eliminate tag team wrestling alltogether because of TNA. IMO, he watches their product and has to provide at least a little bit the action and scenarios that his rival provides.

If Vince were to get rid of the tag division (or slapped together teams), TNA would have a major selling point to market the shit out of. They're already stopping just short of saying tag teams mean shit in WWE, so we'll spotlight them and make them a priority.

 

[Henry Hill]

It truly is a travesty what is considered a tag team match in wwe nowadays, however, that is why vince won't get rid of the division. He uses it as a way to spotlight multiple feuds in one match. Nearly every show has two singles guys wrestle two other singles guys in a one night only kind of thing. Apparently the philosiphy is "if we have any tag team matches we might as well have tag team champions" which sucks. there really is only one tag team in wwe now: the colons. sure, Haas and Benjamin team up but as one of JR's blogs said he doesn't expect it to be long term, and really no else did, either. The problem in my opinion, is that as much fun as the odd couple teams like, Angle and Benoit, Rock n' Sock, Kane and X-pac, etc... were they became the standard and with the fast pace of storylines these days, teams are made and broken in wwe in mere months.

 

[Chill]

All I know is that Vince is going to try and 'sell' tag team wrestling with the new 3 DVD set the WWE is bringing out soon which will focus solely on tag teams. But I'm sure that anyone who gets that DVD will probably realize that this style of wrestling is a lost art (at least in modern day WWE anyway) but it should hopefully highlight that this style can be exciting, fun to watch and can sell if effort is put in...who knows perhaps if the release is successful we will see a new emphasis placed on tag teaming much the way the IC title DVD seemingly coincided with the WWE trying to restore credibility to that belt again.

But if not, then perhaps Vince should do away with the division (the one centred around tag titles) because in its current state, tag teaming might as well be extinct. Perhaps even a sabbatical would allow the WWE time to decide what to do with the division, it's a shame really because I for one really enjoyed the tag scene when it was taken seriously....

And yes, the Rockers v Orient Express is a great example of how tag teaming should be done.

 

[JimmyLeviathan]

Tag Team wrestling doesn't sell THESE days because the teams are all complete shit. Tag Teams need to have some sort of common element, the only examples I can think of at the moment are Carlito and Primo (brothers) and Cryme Tyme (gangsters).
In recent years the WWE has just been lumping two superstars together with little in common, there's no backstory to support the division, just two superstars who are stuck together for the short term. I think for the division to matter the WWE needs more long-term tag teams.
The golden days of the division were when they had Edge and Christian, the Hardys and the Dudleys all fighting for the title like it actually MATTERED. Like their purpose was the tag team championship, it wasn't just a little side project they had going until one of them got an Intercontinental championship match or got drafted.
Sidious you are absolutely right in saying that the WWE doesn't build up anything other than the Main Event. It was the same with the Cruiserweight title and look what happened there. Personally I enjoy tag team wrestling but it has to feel like it's important to the business, which is impossible when the WWE refuses to hype it up.

 

[evilshizno]

i really hate to say it but tag team wrestling really does suck these days and i prolly wouldnt miss it all that much...thats sad. its not really just the wwe that is killing the tt division,you could put some of that blame on tna as well.and yes i know tna has LAX and The Brittish Invasion and others but if not for the motercity machine guns and Beer Money tna wouldnt have shit for a tt division either......and i dont wanna hear nothing about the dudleys or 3D whatever,you wanna talk about wrestlers being overrated there ya go team 3D biggest set of overrated ass clowns i have ever seen,they suck,their old,and niether one of them can wrestle.if tna wants to save tt wrestling then they need to drop team 3D.they could also drop sting if they wanted it wouldnt hurt my feelings lol

 

[supersayian]

its a shame that this happened. what pisses me off even more is they will try shoving the 3 disc tag team DVD down our throats to buy when it is often seen at all anymore on their current shows. also your right Vince only keeps it around because he knows TNA relies a lot on this division. if he were to scrape it not only would he lose money but fans as well. they will go watch TNA where they can see descent tag team wrestling. WWE is trying to make tag teams again. but they are all on seperate shows being the problem here. If he can somehow get us to care again like he has the mid card division then i will be shocked. because the mid card has a great feud right now with Y2J and Rey. i just hope tag wrestling is not buried because that to me was a huge part of 1999-2006.

 

[SavageTaker]

I don't think eliminating them is the right solution. There's still a lot or at least some fans who still like and crave tag team wrestling no matter how bad it may seem or how horrible the division has become since other eras. Also, since Vince wants to make sure to keep the ratings as high as he possibly can so he knows that if he completely eliminates tag team wrestling as a whole there will be some fans who will just stop watching the show believe it or not. Even though it is not many who will stop watching a certain show he still wants to keep them to make sure the ratings don't drop much. Even though Vince and Jim Ross say tag team wrestling doesn't sell I think it still sells. Maybe not as much as the main events but it still sells nonetheless and that's my opinion.

 

[Hyorinmaru]

i really hate to say it but tag team wrestling really does suck these days and i prolly wouldnt miss it all that much...thats sad.

it is sadI love tag team wrestlig but with the way it is now I probably won't miss it either

its not really just the wwe that is killing the tt division,you could put some of that blame on tna as well.and yes i know tna has LAX and The Brittish Invasion and others but if not for the motercity machine guns and Beer Money tna wouldnt have shit for a tt division either.

actually it is pretty much the WWEs fault TNA has had some of the best teams in AMW and xXx they have some of the currently best tag teams in Beer money, LAX (When hernandez comes back) and the MCMG

and i dont wanna hear nothing about the dudleys or 3D whatever,you wanna talk about wrestlers being overrated there ya go team 3D biggest set of overrated ass clowns i have ever seen,they suck,their old,and niether one of them can wrestle.if tna wants to save tt wrestling then they need to drop team 3D.

This I disagree with 1,000,000%. Team 3D are what they say they are and that is the best Tag Team in the world today. They've tagged together all of their career outside Vince tryin to push them both as singles stars (which failed miserably BTW). They have won Tag Team Gold in ECW (Multiple times) WWE Multiple times) WWE owned WCW, TNA (multiple times) and Japan. they are also dual Championd right now holding both the TNA tag titles and IWGP Heaveyweight Tag titles. What TNA is doing is basing their Tag Team division around the last actual Tag Team (not just 2 guys thrown together for lack of anything else to do) in the business today.

 

[Dre Guevara]

Peace, how's everybody doing? allow me 2 introduce myself, I'm Dre Guevara. anyhoo, Vince needs 2 put some type of spark back in the tag team division with new tag teams. & split the belts back up also.

 

[kmkjunky25]

wwe has totally destroyed their tag team division no question. when was the last time any tag belt was defended on a ppv? maybe october or september of 2008? thats horrible! wwe has 3 shows and can not come up with a tag team divison?

i think havng unified titles being defnded on all shows is a step in the right direction due to their lack of a division. i believe wwe should make their shows more distinct by the titles on the show. hence, raw and smackdown have their own champion (heavyweight or world) and then u.s. or i.c champion. ecw can have the ecw champion and bring back the crusierweight belt. it is called ecw, with the e for extreme right? why not have the likes of jimmy wang yang, jamie noble, evan bourne (for now) and others on this show add excitment and give it that diversity.

the tage belts can be defended on any show. so now teams can be made and work their way up. raw would have more of a story based line tag teams like regal and matt hardy, or the brian kendrick and whoever he finds this week, and smackdown can be more wrestling based such as the worlds greatest tag team etc. and ecw is where some of the younger lesser known guys can try to get airtime with their unique style of matches.

i know this is not gonna happen. but its a hopefull thought.wwe is not gonna change for one reason. they don;t have to cuz they have no true compepetion. sorry tna

 

[JimmyLeviathan]

when was the last time any tag belt was defended on a ppv? maybe october or september of 2008?

Try Wrestlemania 25, Colon's vs Miz and Morrison. Although technically the titles haven't been defended AND televised on a ppv since Unforgiven 2008, half marks for you there.

raw would have more of a story based line tag teams like regal and matt hardy

Hopefully not. Hardy is way past tag team wrestling and pairing him with Regal doesn't even make sense. The two have nothing in common save for the fact that they are heels and have done Piggy Guerrero's dirty work. Like I said before, the WWE needs tag teams that actually feel like tag teams and not just two superstars lumped together because creative can't think of anything else for them to do.

there ya go team 3D biggest set of overrated ass clowns i have ever seen,they suck,their old,and niether one of them can wrestle

Team 3D are an example of success in Tag Team wrestling. They have been together for a long time, WWE tried to push them as singles competitors, when it didn't work they went back to doing what they do best: Tag Team. They CAN wrestle despite their AGE (at 36 and 37 they are hardly ancient), their promos are memorable and TNA considers them important enough to have them hold their own Tag Team tournament.
The Dudleyz were an incredible loss to the WWE because they were a team who made the tag division matter. At the moment there are no tag teams in the WWE who can say the same. Credible tag teams like the Colon's and Cryme Tyme are criminally underused and although the belts have been' 'unified' there are still two separate belts for some reason which is only causing confusion.
For an example of a solid tag team division, see TNA. For an example of a tag division resembling a trainwreck, see the WWE. The tag belts are following the same path as the Cruiserweight championship: slowly disappearing from television until they are quietly retired, which I think would be a huge shame because there is only so much single's wrestling one can watch.