Tag team wrestling is in an interesting position at the moment. Independent promotions, NXT and NXT UK have shone a bright light on tag team wrestling today, however, the WWE main roster continues to fail the tag team division despite the talent being stronger than ever! Fans recently witnessed the Revival joining Randy Orton and more teams rise to the surface but moving forward how can the company ensure the future of the division is strong and just how can the WWE turn things around to create a buzz around tag team wrestling once again on the main roster?
One Set of Tag Team Titles
The biggest change the WWE need to make in terms of the tag team division is getting rid of one set of titles and making the tag team division as one. While this goes against everything, I love about the brand split it’s clear this is a decision the WWE must go ahead with if we are to see things better for the tag team division on the main roster. Allowing there to be only one set of tag team champions will create a bigger feel of competition amongst the tag teams, more to fight for and a bigger range of matches from the division. This change will also put a stop to repeated storylines, the same teams chasing after gold and rand alliances being created simply to add something to the division.
More Time
Another important step moving forward for the tag team division is, of course, giving more time to them. At the moment despite the five hours from RAW and SmackDown Live, we are seeing the bare minimum when it comes to the tag team division and it’s hindering the talent massively! Because of this, we are seeing weaker storylines, poor build to PPV matches, and a lack of consistency which leads to minimal interest from fans. It’s vital we begin to see more from the division on a weekly basis and this means longer matches, more time spent developing storylines and generally more investment in a division that is so incredibly stacked!
Using the Talent You Already Have
As we just mentioned, the current tag team division is massively stacked! From the likes of the Usos, the New Day, AOP, The Revival, Anderson & Gallows, Heavy Machinery and Viking Raiders, there is so much variety, so many different styles and characters that it’s safe to say the WWE currently has one of the strongest and most stacked tag team divisions in the companies history yet they just aren’t being used. It’s time the WWE stopped focusing on calling up more teams and look at the names they currently have on both RAW and Smackdown LIVE. It’s time to stop putting to singles stars together to create a new team and push the talent already there. There are so many names not being used as of right now including the Ascension and some of the names mentioned above. Moving some of the typical tag teams we see pushed with title reigns aside slightly and focusing on the other talent on the roster is yet another key step!
The Use of Factions
If there is anything the WWE main roster is missing its tag teams, it’s factions. NXT and NXT UK are currently seeing The Undisputed Era, British Strong Style and Imperium show the world how it’s done and the impact factions can have on a brand. This is something the WWE is massively missing out on and failing over on the main roster. Including factions is a vital step in improving the general feel of the tag team division, just look at what the Undisputed era have done for the division over on the black and gold brand. It means stronger storylines for not only tag teams but shows altogether, a shift in power control and more creative angles. Factions are something the main roster has been missing out on massively and adding factions to RAW and Smackdown LIVE will greatly benefit the tag team division all around as we have seen in recent months from the likes of The OC and The Revival & Randy Orton.
Longer Matches
We have already touched on the importance of time within the tag team division truly is but what we really need to see is longer matches! Using NXT as yet another example, we are constantly seeing lengthy tag team bouts across the NXT scene including the division main eventing both TV events and TakeOver shows. Over on the main roster, we occasionally see a tag team contest that will go past fifteen minutes, but it continues to be a rare occasion. Improving the landscape of the division moving forward will include giving these men more time to actually compete and not only in tag team title matches. We need to see weekly bouts from the division that genuinely have us entertained, that get us talking and that showcase the division as the strong and amazingly talented area of the roster that it is. It’s important we begin to see lengthy, brilliant matches that don’t just come from title bouts on PPV cards.
Out with the Comedy in with the… Viking Rule
Stepping away from the comedy angles is something I really do want to see the WWE focus on when it comes to moving the tag team division forward. This doesn’t mean banning laughter from the division but there have been several angles and duos that have at times taken away the seriousness of angles as well as the division itself and in the process taken even more away from other tag teams, characters and their momentum. As we focus in on improving the tag team division as a whole we need to see a balance between comedy and the more intense and serious angles. A great way to do that is to introduce the Viking Rule. If you are aware of the Viking Raiders’ career prior to the WWE, you will know of some of the standout bouts these two took part in and the unique angle they added to some of their matches. Adding this to some of the WWE matchups and looking at what other teams can bring to the table that’s different and exciting will improve things all around.
The frustrating thing about the tag team division on the main roster right now is a simple fact that the talent really is right there! There are so many fantastic teams on both RAW and SmackDown Live the WWE is failing them. Moving forward there is a lot of work to be done but with talent so strong and the division so strong it’s not impossible to completely turn things around.
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