The WWE Tag Team Division: Progress Report

[CM Steel]

A year ago around this time the WWE made a move to resurrect the struggling tag team division. Triple H used his office power to try to fix the dying division with storyline's and even made a tag team torney to highlight some of the newer tag teams in the WWE. Such as...

-The Prime Time Players
-The Uso's
-Tyson Kidd & Justin Gabrial
-R-Truth & Kofi Kingston
-Cody Rhodes & Damian Sandow
-ECT

And now in 2013 we have teams like Tons of Funk and the 3MB.

Team Hell No has had the tag team straps for months now. Since last fall I believe. And is currently feuding with the Shield for the tag team title's (which members we don't know). But with Team Hell No holding on to the WWE tag team title's for so long it took all the attention away from the other teams in the tag team division. The Uso's back to square one, the Prime Time Players back to square one, and Cody Rhodes & Damian Sandow are still trying to figure things out.

So now where is the WWE tag team division and where should the tag team division be right now for the future?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

During the overall build to WM season, beginning really after the Royal Rumble was over, the tag team division lost some steam. I wasn't really surprised by that because I figured that Vince would want to devote as much time to the money matches as possible. There's still work to do but, all in all, the tag team division in WWE is leaps & bounds ahead of where it was at this time last year.

I think that the feud between Team Hell No & The Shield can only mean good things for the future of the tag team division. Outside of John Cena & CM Punk, The Shield has gotten the most consistent push in WWE in quite some time. Interest in the group still seems to be really high among WWE officials and, allegedly, it's been reported that Taker himself has signed off on the group by saying that he sees big money in all three of them. Because of that consistent level of interest and strong booking, I simply don't see WWE wasting The Shield by letting them hang about in a tag team division if they don't intend to take it to the next level.

I think Team Hell No have done a great job as tag champions. They've easily generated more interest in the tag title picture than any other team has in years. In the case of the current WWE Tag Team Championship, which has been around for over a decade since WWE retired the original tag titles, I'd have to say that they're the most interesting team in the history of these current titles. I think Daniel Bryan does have to be given a great deal of credit as he's had the personality to get people to rally behind him. Kane has also done a great job and has shown more versatility than I think most thought him capable of. His chemistry with Bryan and the way he's able to play off him took pretty much everyone by surprise.

As I said, WWE still has some work to do. I personally don't know why Vince allowed the tag team division to lose momentum during WM season, as it's obvious that the fans are very much behind Team Hell No, especially Daniel Bryan. I've little doubt that THN could have kept things hot in the tag title picture and had a big match if WWE hadn't let some of the other teams kinda fade. As I said though, I'm encouraged by the tag team division's future with the extreme probability that The Shield will be the next champs.

 

[Mustang Sally]

The push to resurrect the tag team division has pretty much been put on the back burner, imo. Team Hell No still holds the title, but they rarely defend it since they've gotten involved with The Shield......and Shield isn't really a tag team; they're a vigilante group. I've yet to see only two of them in the ring, engaging in a true tag match. Kane & Daniel have been too busy with Shield to do much of anything else: their official matches with Shield members have been one-on-one affairs, while the rest of the time their confrontations with the three villains aren't matches at all: it's them coming out to make a show of force behind John Cena or Undertaker.

At any rate, all this has stopped them from defending their tag titles in traditional fashion, causing the division to flounder.

Meanwhile, Kofi's tag efforts have been aborted in favor of defending his IC title, the Prime Time Players haven't been seen in a couple weeks, and when they appear, they're functioning as jobbers. Cody & Sandow can't build up momentum as a tag team, not with their booking having them together sometimes....and sometimes not. Brodus Clay and Tensai are a comedy team, more like the Bushwhackers than a team vying for the tag belts.

Only the Uso's seem to be working as a team, but whether it's building toward anything remains to be seen.

So, when the tag champs are involved in things other than defending their titles.....and no other two-man team is gunning for them......what's left of the tag division?

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The Tag Division will always move in fits and starts but the Shield do make sense to be involved in that as the "Freebird" principle would be a good way to elevate the belts long term.

The current crop of teams haven't taken in the way WWE hoped, PTP have almost run out of steam and the Ziggler scare has probably put an end to Rhodes Scholars permanently as WWE need both back in singles.

What having Hell No and the Shield gives time for new teams to come up from NXT and bed in - The Wyatt Family for example or British Ambition.

Ultimately the issue lies with the lack of real choice WWE has, there are so few established or veteran teams that they can use as the cornerstone of the division that they have to create the constant flow of "thrown together" teams or using people better used in singles.

Realistically the best they could do is go for someone like World's Greatest Tag Team if Haas isn't actually retired, but it seems he may have some issues that could prevent it. The New Age Outlaws are fine for the odd outing but not able to go full time and it's highly unlikely that John Morrison will be coming back to prop up the tag division if he ever does.

So all they can do in the short term is let The Shield hold those titles, Freebird them till Survivor Series, lose them and by then at least one more team should have been broken in.

 

[TempestH]

I think they need to get the belts away from main event guys like Team Hell No.

The problem is that WWE always seems to need Kane and Bryan to fill two random spots in the main event, so instead of temporarily pushing some other star to fill those spots, Kane & Bryan always end up having more important things to do than defend the titles. If/when the Shield gets the belts it will be no different.

 

[nWo2]

If anyone call tell me WTF they're doing with either wrestler then I'll back off this stance, but what the hell are R Truth and The Miz doing since they've been back on TV?

BRING BACK AWESOME TRUTH

This is another angle that WWE guffed when they had Rock and Cena squash them in a useless match and a waste of The Rock's PPV appearance. Put them back together as faces for the first time and they could provide us with the 2013 Degeneration X or at the least a new New Age Outlaws.

I also saw an article about pairing Orton with someone and a thread which placed him with Tyson Kidd.. as heels they could do a LOT to help each other out giving Kidd some TV time and giving Orton something he hasn't had since Legacy, relevancy. Randy Orton & Tyson Kidd

Give The Usos along with Epico & Primo an actual tag team name. Dont let the Shield WIN the tag team titles because no one can beat them. Have The Shield cost Team Hell No the straps against Rhodes Scholars or 3MB. Have The Shield attack The Miz to set up the return of Awesome Truth. Repackage Air Bourne as soon as Evan returns or put Kofi in a fued with Awesome Truth against the Shield.

 

[crazy_lou]

I think a tag team with un tapped potential is Team Rhodes Scholars. Cody Rhodes has a lot of experience tag team wrestling, and he is one of the better, more exciting innovative workers, and he has a great look. His work on the mic is just ok, i dont really care for his lisp, but that is okay because Sandow is just great. Sandow can talk the talk and draw the heat, while cody can do enough, and also do great work in the squared circle. I think this tag team is interesting and has personality, they should have a serious feud for the titles, not some comedy shtick vs the funky fatties or whatever their called today..

Another team I think has the potential to be interesting is Brock Lesnar and Cm Punk. Punk mentioned in a recent interview he would love the chance to tag with brock, and with heyman as the manager, I could see "the Paul Heyman Guys" as a huge heel power team in the same vein as Rated RKO or the Two Man Power Trip.

Santino should be a tag team with a more serious wrestler too. I could see him doing a similiar gimmick to what team hell no has going on. Could be pretty good stuff, sanction is a good actor, funny, and he can get over with the live crowd. perfect for the tag division. but not if his partner is hornswaggle. put him with a big man who is having trouble getting over- lord knows wwe has a ton. that could be a solid face tag team.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think they need to get the belts away from main event guys like Team Hell No.

The problem is that WWE always seems to need Kane and Bryan to fill two random spots in the main event, so instead of temporarily pushing some other star to fill those spots, Kane & Bryan always end up having more important things to do than defend the titles. If/when the Shield gets the belts it will be no different.

I kind of see where you're coming from. I wasn't all that crazy about Bryan being put in the tag team scene at first. It just seemed like it's a waste of his abilities.

However, as I said in an earlier post, Kane & Bryan as champs with their unexpectedly great & unique chemistry have done a lot for the tag titles. I expected them to flop as a team but they've been consistently entertaining to watch. In my opinion, the use of Kane & Bryan has only helped the tag team scene in WWE. Kane's feuded with most of the big names in WWE over the past 15.5 years or so, had a lot of mid-card & tag title runs and is still in great shape and looks like he hasn't lost a step in the ring despite being in his mid 40s. Daniel Bryan is a young guy that's one of the most over faces on the roster. He's one of the overall best in-ring guys in wrestling and people have simply rallied behind him. I see Bryan & Kane as mostly upper mid-card wrestlers that'll make occasional trips into the main event scene, pretty much on the same level as guys like Rey Mysterio & Chris Jericho.

I don't see WWE sticking the titles on The Shield, which I think is almost guaranteed to happen before too long, if they didn't plan on using them well. As I also said in my earlier post, the tag team division has lost some steam since WM season kicked into high gear, but it's still far better than it used to be. I see WWE kicking it up to another level once The Shield gains the titles. It just doesn't make any sense otherwise when you consider how consistently strong WWE has booked The Shield. The only loss they've suffered in any way was when Ambrose lose to Taker, and it's not like he lost any heat because....well it's The Undertaker. Immediately after the match they beat him down and left him laying just like they've done with Cena, Sheamus, Ryback, Orton, Big Show, Jericho, Kane, Bryan, etc.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I remember writing this little number when Bryan and Kane first won the tag team titles.

I remember the tag team titles exist because I actually saw tag teams fighting to become the number one contender. Kofi and Truth were out there on commentary during most, if not all of their matches so you would have to be blind not to know that they were tag team champions. All I've heard is that this will do wonders for the division. In the past decade, when has it ever helped? Didn't help when Kane and Big Show were tag team champions. Didn't help with the almighty Jerishow. I'll believe this will help when I see it and I have no reason to think otherwise given WWE's history.

Here was my progress report five months later.

I'm just smiling at the tag team division scene right now because I knew what was going to happen while everyone was saying that the division was revived. Team Hell No are old news to me and no more Rhodes Scholars. They could have had something with them and/or the Prime Time Players but guess what? They lost ALL the time. Sandow and Rhodes should have won the belts back in October and November but they're trying to milk every last ounce of the Hell No angle that they can. Epico and Primo are basically jobbers which makes me sad inside and Mysterio is being dragged down by the weight of Sin Cara.

I haven't been a fan of the Shield so far. I just don't care about them to be frank, but I hope they take the titles off of Kane and Bryan. Do it for me.

Here is my progress report now.

Why haven't you won the tag titles yet, Shield? I ask you to do one thing just for me and you haven't done it yet. You had all those tag teams supposedly reviving the division and just look. The Prime Time Players are still a dead issue which could have been different if they actually took the damn time to push time and quit having them lose all the time. Epico and Primo are below the bottom of the barrel. For some inane reason, they split Rhodes and Sandow up and quickly brought them back together. What did that get them? A feud with two worthless wrestlers in Clay and Tensai. They should have won the belts ages ago.

Even if the Shield win the titles, where do they go from there? I'm so desperate I actually wish for Mysterio and Cara to team up again after their return from injury or whichever one is injured.

 

[CrazyMatt88]

I think the Shield is the team to reinvigorate the division, they are ridiculously over at the moment, put the belts on them and have them carry the division having meaningful feuds with some of the younger teams.

 

[jg_awesome1]

There is plenty of talent on the roster to buff up the tag team division. We have seen some teams that have shown signs of being good. The Uso's, Primo & Epico, Prime Time Players, Rhode Scholars are already established as teams. There are plenty of guys that are wondering the lower and mid card that have nothing going for them right now like R Truth, Ryder, Kidd, Miz, McIntyre, Gabriel. Plus, guys that don't even get on TV right now like Mason Ryan , Debiase, Bourne, etc. Not to mention the NXT talent, I know that you can't just throw two guys together but I'm sure that some of these guys are friends and wouldn't mind teaming together.

 

[LODemolition]

Once Hell No loses the straps to The Shield, I think the next ones in line to challenge for the titles will be Orton and Sheamus. They've teamed up a hundred times and work decently with eachother. This could eventually lead to Orton turning on Sheamus out of frustration with not being able to win and make the long awaited heel turn. Or even, God forbid, join The Shield.

 

[TempestH]

Once Hell No loses the straps to The Shield, I think the next ones in line to challenge for the titles will be Orton and Sheamus. They've teamed up a hundred times and work decently with eachother. This could eventually lead to Orton turning on Sheamus out of frustration with not being able to win and make the long awaited heel turn. Or even, God forbid, join The Shield.

That doesn't solve the problem with the tag division. The problem is that the belts keep ending up on two uppercarders who are given the belts because they're directionless, and they're booked way above everyone else.

 

[crazy_lou]

That doesn't solve the problem with the tag division. The problem is that the belts keep ending up on two uppercarders who are given the belts because they're directionless, and they're booked way above everyone else.

I agree but it needs to be a slow dispersion. Otherwise the belts (whoops, sorry Vinny, Championships) lose meaning. It can't go from Team Hell No to hell nobodies. Thats why a team of mid card heels (cough cough rhodes scholars) should take the belts off them. That way they can credibly feud with other midcard talent and get them over, having received a nice rub from Daniel Bryan and Kane. DB and Kane however, don't lose much or get buried by dropping the straps, especially if it leads to a good payoff angle with them finally going at it, Kane vs Daniel Bryan once and for all. That way everyone would get over, and two great talents would be free to move up the card to the main event. Unless you have really good personal feuds (and you cant have to many of those otherwise it gets too stale too fast and you end up with crazy gimmick matches that kill your crowd), the upper card and main event should be really fluid with lots of challengers- that way you can build people up with credible wrestlers, as each victory means more and more. That way you can book a long title reign and make the champion look strong, and the challengers get just as over. As opposed to having a 434 day title reign that didn't have one memorable defense until the day it was lost. Whew. As far as the tag teams go, the Usos are not in shape. So their not really that good. I'd rather see Samoa Joe and the ghost of Umaga, that'd be a solid obligatory samoan themed tag team the WWE forces at us. And so will Primo and Epico and the Prime Time Players (who are actually extremely entertaining and funny). I don't see any strong faces, but a team of wrestlers with an exciting style of offense (Kofi, Evan bourne, ect) can easily get over in the tag division. Being a over face tag team wrestler doesn't require mic skills, and if you don't believe that- AAOOOOOOOOH WHADDA RUSHHH!!!!!!

But since WWE is steadfast in think that the only thing tag team members need to have in common is their race, I'd really love to see Sin Cara and Dos Caras. Thats right Alberto, you grinning idiot, time to put your mask back on. Now that would be interesting.

 

[Wald]

They really just need to sort out who they want to be teams for this Wrestlemania season and stick to that, they also need to get the straps off Bryan and Kane as everyone is just waiting for them to go back to the singles divisions.

I'd honestly have the Shield take it off them but make sure they defend it Freebirds style. That would generate some interest from fans as they wouldn't know which two members they were going to get every show. They're undefeated now of course but it won't stay that way forever, plus it gives them a chance to finally sort out what this 'justice' business is all about it while keeping the Shield relevant.

In the meantime the Wyatt Family are surely only weeks away from getting called up to the main roster. Bray is good to go as a singles star and Rowan & Harper have great chemistry together as a big man team. I'd call them up now and have them feud with a team Air Bourne or Rey & Sin Cara to get them over as hated heels with the crowd. That way they'd be ready to take the straps from the babyface team that eventually take them off the Shield.

After those four teams if you could have a division backed up with the Prime Time Players, the Usos, 3MB and two new thrown together teams for good measure (something like Zack Ryder & Alex Riley for example) then you'd be set.

But I'd use the launchpad of the Shield to reignite the division with a view to having the Wyatt Family take over around Survivor Series time

 

[boywithbluehanger]

I'm so sick of this inaccurate conclusion that Team Hell No is helping elevate the Tag-Team Division. When they first started teaming together, people assumed that they would be feuding with other teams in order to help bring relevance back to the division and the championship titles. Months went by without them having solid storyline feuds with any of the teams and after 8 months or so, none of the teams is better off than they were before! Hell the titles aren't even more important than they were before Team Hell No. You'll even notice that in often cases, they don't even bring the titles with them in their matches!

There seems to be this stigma with saying anything negative regarding any of the beloved internet fanboy-loved wrestlers like Daniel Bryan. And at the middle of the tag-team's continuous failure in the past 10 months is Daniel Bryan being misused. On one hand, he shouldn't even have been demoted as a player in the Tag-Team Division immediately after being the most "over" guy in the company. On the other hand, he's not even being misused properly!! If you're going to rely on his star power to elevate interest in the tag-teams, then it's only logical that you show a slew of them constantly caring about the titles and the importance of defeating Team Hell No. They even seem to miss the mark with this feud with The Shield in that the titles (for the most part) seem to be the last thing on The Shield's mind. They care more about exacting whatever undefined form of justice they can on random star babyfaces. Meanwhile, actual tag-teams that have been around for a year or more are all essentially jobbers now. There's no interest in the division or the titles. The only tag-team related interest from the majority of crowds is in Daniel Bryan and maybe Dean Ambrose.

So what's the need in acting as if Team Hell No has done anything for the division and the championship titles if it's not really the case?

 

[Trill Co$by]

Randy Orton & Tyson Kidd

For starters, Tyson Kidd is injured and won't be back for another few months. Second, why are you so hung up on this duo as a tag team? There is nothing about them that makes sense except that they have lineage to big time wrestling names. Randy is far past that stage and putting him in another team that has that principle will hurt his current standing. Plus, he's in a program with the Big Show right now.

--

Personally, I don't mind how the tag team titles are being handled. I'm more so worried about where the titles will go once the WWE takes them out of focus from the Shield and Team Hell No. I mean, Team Hell No basically has mauled over everybody already so there's no legitimate tag team to put the titles on. And when they do find someone, who's to say that they won't relegate them to Superstars status?

So no, the tag division isn't any better at all. If anything, it's worse because now WWE has nowhere else to go with the tag titles. Even if they give the belts to the Shield, who will take the titles from them?

In order for WWE to revive the tag division, they're gonna need to put focus on legitimate tag teams and put teams in the spotlight. Prime Time Players are a great start, they're recognizable with the crowd, and can easily work with high profile teams like Team Hell No while also working with teams like The Usos. WWE could also try to put Otunga and McGuillicutty back together. To me, they were a pretty decent tag team and worked for the most part. But until then, the tag division in WWE is pretty much done.