With the recent implosion of Enzo and Cass on RAW, the impending split between the Hardy Boys because Jeff Hardy and “Broken” Matt’s potential as singles competitors is too hard for the WWE to pass up, and even the shockingly emotional break up of #DIY at NXT Takeover Chicago, the tag team divisions in WWE on both RAW and Smackdown Live is undoubtedly heading into some choppy waters for the rest of 2017 and beyond.
Don’t get me wrong, as of this writing both brands have teams to work with to carry out a compelling program. Sheamus and Cesaro, collectively known as The Bar, have provided some great heel work since they turned on the Hardys at Payback. Mix in Gallows & Anderson, The Revival and the former Smackdown Live tag team champions Rhyno and Heath Slater (although Slater and Rhyno are rumored to be splitting up soon), and you’ve got some solid competition in the RAW tag team title picture.
On Smackdown Live, the known commodity of the Usos as tag team champions are providing some stability in an otherwise shallow field of tag teams. The New Day’s presence on the blue brand, along with Breezango are providing some hilariously entertaining segments, and both those teams are no doubt strong contenders for the titles. However, I’m not sure why they decided to keep American Alpha (former NXT tag team champions) off television for what seems like weeks now. As for the Hype Bros and the Ascension, the former may split soon and the latter have really fallen from grace since their days as NXT’s longest reigning tag team champions.
Speculating on the creation of potential new tag teams is always fun. With that in mind, here are some suggestions for new tag teams for both brands down the road.
The Lunatic Fringes (Dean Ambrose and Luke Harper)
This idea may be a bit of a long shot since Dean Ambrose got transferred to RAW and Harper since has been stuck in mid-card. Dean Ambrose and Luke Harper have similar “lunatic” personas, and unorthodox wrestling styles. If you noticed lately Harper’s ring attire is eerily similar to Ambrose, from a sweaty wife-beater to just a dark, reasonably clean wife-beater.
Luke Harper hasn’t done much since his split with Bray Wyatt and the peak period when that stable held the Smackdown tag team titles. Could we see Harper sent to RAW in a future draft and teamed up with Ambrose down the road? It would be the proverbial odd couple, but the difference being that both members are quite odd indeed.
The Titus Brand
To be honest, I thought this repackaging was going to be another flop for Titus O’Neil, which would be a shame as he is an incredibly gifted athlete and quite the ideal spokesperson that WWE needs for their younger audience. But recently with his association with Apollo Crews and 205 Live’s Akira Tozawa, Titus might be creating a unique stable and he might be transitioning more into a managerial role while continuing to wrestle. It reminds me a bit of Diamond Dallas Page’s run first as a manager then competitor, but Titus of course is doing it in reverse.
As a former tag team champion with Darren Young, he can certainly impart his experience as a tag team wrestler on Crews or Tozawa. Either combination of the three (and I do include Crews and Tozawa under Titus’ tutelage) would result in quite a pairing and definite championship material, as well as being a good way to transition Tozawa to the “main” RAW roster.
The Entourage (Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel)
The recent RAW saw Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel, who probably have been seen backstage than in actual matches, join the Miz’s “Entourage” by assaulting Dean Ambrose while dressed as, of all things, teddy bears. It would appear that this faction the Miz is creating is based off the TV show “Entourage” where he is the star and he’ll have co-stars in Axel and Dallas to back him up, mainly in his continuing feud with the Lunatic Fringe.
But there is no reason to exclude the possibility of Axel, a former Intercontinental Champion himself, and Dallas (a former NXT champion) going after the RAW tag team titles. If Miz keeps the IC title in his possession for the foreseeable future, and Axel/Dallas holding the tag team titles, they could become a force on RAW holding a vast amount of gold. Coincidentally, Miz’s former tag partner John Morrison (aka Johnny Mundo) has a similar faction on the Lucha Underground series with PJ Black (formerly Justin Gabriel) and two other indy scene wrestlers called the Worldwide Underground.
Is it too much to wish for a cross promotional feud between two factions led by narcissistically self-indulgent blowhards? Only time will answer these questions.
Luke Harper and Aidan English
Speaking of Harper, if he remains on Smackdown Live, then he could potentially be paired up again with his old Wyatt Family partner Erick Rowan….or possibly the wayward Aidan English, another former tag team wrestler. To be honest, I never understood the splitting up of Harper and Rowan in terms of booking; they once challenged the Usos for the WWE tag team championships coming very close to claiming the titles.
If they want to keep Harper on Smackdown, put him back together with Rowan again. They had previously tried giving Harper a push, but it seems WWE choked on that idea and didn’t follow through during the feud with Wyatt and Randy Orton. But if they don’t want to go with that old idea, perhaps partner Harper with Aidan English, who seems to have taken on this character of a bit of a “Drama King” who is susceptible to emotional outbursts from time to time. The two men had an interesting interaction a few weeks ago (in which Harper looked more like the normal one, if you could believe it) and while they might not be in strong contention for the tag titles, they might provide for some intriguing tag team bookings.
Sami Zayn and Tye Dillinger (Perfect Underdogs)
My final proposed tag team would certainly go over very well with the WWE Universe. Both Zayn and Dillinger are extremely over with the fans on Smackdown Live; it would be a natural fit for them to form a tag team and the name I proposed flows quite naturally. Last week, Sami and Tye had this segment in the middle of the show last week promoting those Sonic drinks and it was quite amusing.
Let’s hope that translate into some success as a tag team; Zayn is persistently being kept from getting that big win he needs and Dillinger, while he’s doing okay in singles competition, could use a bit of a boost, so a potential partnership would benefit both the former NXT superstars.
What do you think? Any potential tag teams that could form on either Smackdown or RAW that you can think of? Feel free to comment below!
An average professional doing the 9-5 grind who really loves wrestling across all platforms. Here's hoping wrestlers finally get some basic workers rights in 2021.
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