Well, after a fairly long delay, I present to all of you…Lost In The Shadows issue #3! Today’s issue is one that I know is bugging a lot of us wrestling fans and is something that the WWE needs to address sooner rather than later. I speak today of the current WWE tag team division(or lack of one)!
Surely we all remember the days of the classic battles between great tag teams like the Hardy’s, Dudley’s, Edge/Christian, and even the APA. My question to the WWE is, what the hell happened?? Taking an even deeper look at the evoltuion of tag wrestling within the WWE, we see that it goes much further than just those teams I mentioned and their classic battles in TLC matches!
Supposedly, Vince McMahon doesn’t see the money in tag team wrestling with this generation of fans, and the way the current market stands. I don’t know about you, but I STILL enjoy solid tag matches (sometimes even more than one-on one affairs) it’s all a matter of how the matches are booked. I also remember the first team that caught my eye…The Rockers! Let’s face it, the tandem of Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels was amazing!
Gone seem to be the days of cohesive tag teams that actually seem legit. Now, everyone is oddly paired together and we fans are supposed to lay back and accept this as the standard. Somehow, the WWE misses the fact that fans DO cheer for teams like Kendrick/London, and would like to see more of what the new team of Rhodes/Dibiase can do! I even marked out a bit when the team of MNM first debuted! This of course brings up the second part of this issue.
What do the tag team titles mean anymore? Hmm, I’d say at this point, the same as the Cruiserweight title meant before it was quietly retired. Keep in mind we have not one but TWO sets of tag team champions; how much of them do we actually see? On Smackdown/ECW we have Miz and Morrison, two guys who have shown they can put on text book tag matches, yet we very seldom actually see them together as a “team.” Sure, John Morrison may be the more athletically gifted of the two, but they are a tag team after all!
Raw has the new young team of Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase Jr. So much was made into who Dibiase’s partner was going to be, and at Night of Champions we got our answer. Two weeks later, was this new team on Raw? Nope, they were relegated to a dark match spot! How are fans supposed to buy them as a legit team and grow to care about them if they are not seen? How can the chemistry of the team grow on screen if they aren’t given a chance? How can the titles be credible?
See, Vince said not that long ago that he wanted to “shake things up again” and yes we have gotten are share of surprises lately, but some inconsistencies still remain. Just as fans want to see more of the smaller cruiserweights in action, they want more tag matches too! Truth be told, the WWE has enough tag teams to create the next era of TLC Classics! TLC matches were insanely popular back then, if given the chance they could be just as good now!
I have said in the past that the WWE should send the Cruiserweight and Tag divisions to the ECW brand. This smaller brand could focus on the wrestling that the larger shows don’t. Thus, ratings for the show could improve, and it would be a great way to tell (based on if the ratings were to rise or fall) if that is what fans really want! Smackdown alone could benefit greatly. Miz/Morrison facing guys like Hawkins and Ryder, and the always entertaining Jesse and Festus!
Until it is realized that there is still money to be made in tag wrestling, then the titles mean very little. The odd pairings work from time to time but if overdone, it puts less emphasis on those teams that are legit. Let me hear what you all think on this issue, because in my opinion until the veil is lifted, the entire tag team division will remain…Lost In The Shadows!
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