The Vaudevillains

[The Bearded One]

NXT has been home to some interesting gimmicks over the last few years, and none of them have been as unique as Simon Gotch and Aiden English's tag team of the Vaudevillains. What started off as an old-timey dastardly duo morphed into a pair of manly men who seemed to like the "good ol' days." It was a fun gimmick and it caught on huge with the fans, which ultimately led to a face turn and the Vaudevillains capturing the NXT Tag Team Titles.

But their run can't be described as anything short of disappointing, and served as nothing more than transitional reign between Blake and Murphy and The Revival. The poor face run killed their momentum. They've recently turned back heel, but lost a No. 1 contendership match to American Alpha, and the team isn't on the Takeover: Dallas card.

So what do you think of the gimmick and what the future holds for the Vaudevillains? What kind of potential do they have both as a tag team and individual wrestlers? What needs to be tweaked about them, if anything, for them to rise back into title contention?

I find them to be one of the rare cases in NXT of something not working despite having fan support and I'm curious as to what everyone thinks of them.

 

[Azane]

The Vaudevillains' gimmick is great for "NXT's Midcard" They're a fun team that can play both sides of the card, and get one of the best reactions on the show. They've become a staple of the product.

That being said, I have no confidence in the Vaudevillains working on the main roster, the gimmick just seems perfect for the size of NXT crowds.

For the Title contention, I don't think anything needs to be done, they just need to cycle the great tag teams going in now, when the Alpha and Dash and Dawson have moved on, the Vaudevillians will be the gatekeeper team once again.

That being said, Aiden English married into Guerro Royalty, which will probably lead to him making main roster, but I don't think it will be as Aiden English or part of the Vaudevillians

 

[Vanilla Midget]

I think the gimmick could work on the Raw and Smackdown roster, but I have reservations about the look. They clearly do not possess the typical look, which is clearly what lead to the unique gimmick they're running.

Stranger things have gotten over, a man shouting "yes" has gotten over, as has a group of men using the word booty over and over again while dressed in neons. Could Gotch and English get themselves over? Sure. They need a missing piece, that certain indescribable quality that makes stars.

They got over with the small NXT crowd, which is about as hard to get over as your average speed bump (unless you're Eva Marie). Enzo and Cass got a great reaction at Roadblock, Vaudevillians probably could too.

It's really a matter of whether or not they're given a push and promo time, and given their other tag team colleagues coming up the pipe, that seems unlikely. Tyler Breeze had a better look and see how he's doing. You have to tune in to Superstars or Main Event on the Network to find out.

I like the Vaudevillians, but I like most of the things NXT does (except Eva, though she's fun to look at). Realistically, they don't have that must see or once in a lifetime quality. They're quirky looking dudes with an even quirkier gimmick that aren't over 6 feet tall. They could easily be a great midcard talent in NXT, other that that they're most likely enhancement guys on the main roster.

 

[Prince Vee]

I use to think that gimmick is fun to watch. Especially during their entrance, and at the same time, their in-ring chemistry is fun to watch. I would rank that gimmick as the one which certainly will captivate fan for themselves in the Main Roster as well. But let's not forget Vince McMahon isn't a big fan of NXT Rosters. Moreover, WWE does have a lot of Tag Team waiting in the cards, so i reckon, this isn't the right time for them for them to be on the Main Roster. They can afford to stay in NXT for a while before promoting themselves upto the Main Roster when it's time.

 

[JoeFromTomsRiver]

I'd much rather see the Vaudevillains as the main rosters resident jobber-team instead of the Social Outcasts. At least there's something "there" there.

 

[Good Golly It's Ollie]

One of my favourite gimmicks ever, I really love the team. Would like them to be built a bit more though before going anywhere outside of NXT, but I think they could be good in a feud against an antithetical team like face-version Dudley Boyz. A storyline which pushes them beyond their gimmick to show the tough blokes they truly are could be the making of them - a mean, vicious tables match or something like that.

 

[OYDK]

It really doesn't matter because the Crews/Samson match never ended up happening on the main card, but I think Enzo/Cass vs The Vaudevillians would have been a much more worthy match for Takeover Dallas. Both teams needed something to keep their momentum going as they've been spinning their wheels for a while now, it would have been nice to see The Vaudevillians get an impactful win to re-legitimize themselves in the tag division. Enzo and Cass are likely moving up any day now anyway, a loss wouldn't have hurt them at this point.

I've always loved the Vaudevillian gimmick, they were my favorite NXT tag team back when they first started getting over. Right now though, they're stagnant and despite what DDP may tell you, that's not a good thing, that's... a bad thing. This is what, the third "transformation" English and Gotch have gone through without really changing much of anything? Either move them up or make them impact players in the NXT tag division. This in between stuff is hurting them and slowly forcing them to the back of the pecking order.