State Of The WWE Tag Team Division: December 2016

I talked about the cruiserweights. I talked about the women. I might as well talk about the tag teams.

Over on Raw, New Day is still dominating the tag division. If they retain the tag titles against Cesaro & Sheamus and Anderson & Gallows next week, the record is theirs. Will it happen? Probably. Neither of these other two teams really feel like they deserve it. I feel like they have both lost their momentum. The WWE didn't put the titles on them when it would have been best to do it. The WWE might as well let New Day retain.

Years ago, it felt like the WWE was doing a great job in giving the tag titles to teams that had momentum on their side. The WWE then entered a stretch of putting the titles on teams that didn't really look like they were hot, became hot during the reign, but then lost it to another team that didn't look hot. That led to the reign of terror New Day has been on. As I have mentioned multiple times, so many other teams or angles could have used those tag titles, whether as a reward, to give them credibility, or create some freshness. The Dudleys could have used them. The League of Nations could have used them. There was even a time when The Club looked a lot more deserving. But the WWE never pulled the trigger. New Day did not need to hold the tag titles this long to do their act.

How long after they lose the tag titles will New Day last? Even though I just said New Day does not need the tag titles to do their act, I can picture the WWE breaking them up within a few weeks after losing the tag titles and losing their rematch. I don't think it will be such a tragedy. I will talk about it more when it happens.

The only other team I want to single out is Enzo & Cass. This is another hot face team that could have used the tag titles. New Day aren't the only popular face team on Raw. On the one hand, it is great that Enzo & Cass have still been getting storylines. Enzo has his storyline with Rusev and Lana. Cass was once a contender for the Universal Championship. On the other hand, these guys seem to lose more than they should. Not only would it be nice to see them win a meaningful feud, eventually getting the tag titles would be nice.

Switch to Smackdown. Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt won the tag titles. This is Bray Wyatt's first title reign, but it seems more like a title reign to further a storyline, not a reward. This guy should eventually be a serious contender for a World Championship. As for Randy Orton, it is only a matter of time before he breaks out of the group. If the WWE doesn't go in that direction, this storyline was just dumb. Orton doesn't really fit in The Wyatts and The Wyatts didn't really do enough to "break" him to make him joining the group believable.

The first two titleholders for Smackdown's Tag Team Championships were not traditional teams. Heath Slater and Rhyno just got paired together. Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt are only together because of this storyline. There are traditional teams on Smackdown, like The Usos and American Alpha. I am sure these teams will get the titles one day.

Overall, I do not like how traditional teams have been treated on Smackdown so far. The WWE just did not handle American Alpha well at all. This is the kind of team you would expect wrestling fans to like. But the WWE just dumped them on the main roster and acted like they expected them to be bigger deals than they were. You can't blame American Alpha not working out better so far all on them. The WWE didn't handle them right. They didn't give them a proper chance. As for The Usos, after becoming stale faces, they refreshed themselves with that heel turn. It would not have been terrible if The Usos had been the heels to get the tag titles off Rhyno & Slater.

Another issue is the WWE bringing back teams that were relevant decades ago and using them ahead of some of their full-time teams. That is not something they should be doing so soon after the brand split started. Get the ball rolling properly with what you have, then go to these other teams, if you have to. Some people are wondering if the WWE should re-sign The Headbangers or The Spirit Squad. I am going to say the same thing I said when talking about the women, no, do not bring anyone back. Not yet. It is kind of insulting to the teams you have on the roster now to just go so quickly to old teams. And these aren't even teams as legendary as The Dudleys. The Dudleys also didn't come back during the start of the brand split and get pushed ahead of guys that were just starting out on the main roster or had just been refreshed with a heel turn.

Something I have been talking about with the cruiserweights and women recently is how to follow up with workers booked to make history, like TJ Perkins and Becky Lynch. Heath Slater and Rhyno were booked to make history. They were the first Smackdown Tag Team Champions of this new brand split era. Should the WWE keep the ball rolling on them? No. That title win was more taking advantage of Heath Slater having so much momentum back then. He was arguably the hottest act in the WWE at one time. The WWE did not make a mistake in giving him that moment, but there is no need to make more of Heath Slater than they should. As for Rhyno, he is no young guy. He might be inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame one day. Whether he is or isn't, it will be okay for him to just be a midcarder until he retires.

Both tag divisions seem to have a similar problem. A lot of teams are being underutilized. On Raw, New Day's reign has just smothered a lot of teams. On Smackdown, traditional tag teams have taken a backseat to singles wrestlers being thrown together, as well as old teams not even signed getting TV time. But I have more confidence in the tag division getting better without much worry than the women's division. New Day's reign will come to an end soon. Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt will eventually break up. The tag titles will find their way to other teams on the roster and fresh feuds will start.

Previewing The TLC 2016 Undercard

Before I talk about the men's matches, let me update something I talked about yesterday. When talking about the women's matches, I said Alexa Bliss vs. Becky Lynch should have a stipulation for TLC. Later that day on Smackdown, they made it a tables match. Good move. It still feels like Smackdown needs to catch up with Raw's women's division, but this is a start.

Moving on to the men's matches, Kalisto vs. Baron Corbin is a feud I like. It is a non-title midcard feud. No former World Champions involved. It is pure midcarder vs. midcarder. I like how it has been treated these past few weeks. And it is a chairs match. The WWE could use good midcard feuds outside the title picture. As for who wins, Corbin is the one that seems to be on the rise.

Dolph Ziggler lost the Intercontinental Championship back to The Miz a few weeks ago and gets a rematch. It is a ladder match. I hate how the WWE has been tossing certain titles around recently. Remember how much emotion there was in Ziggler's title hunt these last few months. Then there was the big payoff when he finally won the Intercontinental Championship. You can't toss the title around like this and expect the fans to always be as emotionally involved. I was all for Ziggler heading into Survivor Series to defend against Sami Zayn. That did not happen. Now what? Toss the title back on Ziggler. That seems like what the WWE might do, but I don't like it. Build up your Champions to look good before losing the title. I don't mean that everyone needs to have a title reign of doom like New Day, but some of these title reigns just don't get a chance to get established before it comes to an end, and ending at the hands of the person that was just beaten for the title. I am not saying this kind of booking should never be done. You don't want to become formulaic, but this is just too much. I don't think it really adds anything to the feud or storyline. The WWE is just forcing things to be extended because of the brand split. Anyway, I would say Ziggler gets back the title and eventually drops it off to Baron Corbin.

The tag titles will be decided when Heath Slater and Rhyno defend against Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton. Bray Wyatt has been on the main roster for years and has never won a title. If he wins it here, however, it will be more about furthering a storyline than really putting him over. When will Randy Orton strike and turn on Bray Wyatt? One possibility is obviously to have Orton cost Wyatt the tag titles this Sunday. I do not think that is the way things will go. Have Orton help Wyatt win the tag titles, further proving his loyalty to him. Once Wyatt is manipulated to truly think he and Orton are partners, then Orton strikes. This storyline has not been set up as smoothly as it could have, but there is still potential to do something interesting heading forward.

Final No Mercy 2016 Preview

Jack Swagger jumped ship to Smackdown and finds himself in a feud with Baron Corbin. This will be the pre-show match for No Mercy. Both of these guys have potential, but Corbin really needs to look a little better in his rookie year. Let him win this.

The tag titles will be defended when Heath Slater & Rhyno face The Usos. Normally, I would say that the person or team that just won a title will obviously retain so soon after the win. But the smart thing to do would be to give the titles to The Usos. Giving the titles to Slater & Rhyno was not a mistake. That angle involving Heath Slater was the best thing going for a while. It deserved the tag titles. But the WWE should not make the same mistake here that they have made with New Day. A lot of teams that had momentum and could have used the tag titles for their own credibility and to create fresher feuds were passed up so New Day can still hold the titles. Heath Slater had his moment. Rhyno is over 40 and got to make history in the wrestling business one more time. The Usos were stale as faces for a while, but have been refreshed since turning heel. There is also the fact that American Alpha is a project the WWE is working on and a feud between them and The Usos might just be a better title feud. It's not like Slater & Rhyno just won the titles and are dropping them immediately. Not even counting house shows, they had a successful title defense on Smackdown against The Ascension. It would be no tragedy if The Usos won, especially while they still had the freshness.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Miz has everyone guessing. I have seen speculation and rumors for every possibility. Some say this feud is obviously building up to Ziggler getting his moment and winning the Intercontinental Championship. Some say Ziggler is really leaving the WWE. Some say he is just taking a break and will be repackaged when he returns. Remember when there was all this speculation and excitement for CM Punk when he got his big push? Would he win the title? Would he leave the WWE with it? That was for the WWE Championship. This is for the Intercontinental Championship. I still feel it is a waste to spend all this emotion just for a midcard title Ziggler has held multiple times. He's not breaking the glass ceiling here. But this has still become a very heated feud. Many fans might say that this is classic booking. You build a heel up to look terrible, the face gets his revenge, and everyone is happy. I would rather see Ziggler lose. I don't hate Ziggler. I don't love Miz. But I just feel Ziggler winning would be kind of dull, and for the same reason I just gave. This is just a midcard version of what they did with CM Punk. It is not as exciting. The WWE has tried to make it heated with these big segments, all the emotion, and everything else, but I just don't care for it as much as others. I would have Miz retain. The WWE, however, might have Ziggler win.

Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt has been one of the more enjoyable feuds for me. That is obviously not the popular smark opinion. Them fans love them some complainin'! If you are a smark and love those "Reality Era" storylines that feature all that complaining and drama based off real events, that's you. Don't mean to offend anyone, but I even joke about myself sometimes, so people should know I am not just being a jerk. I have seen some fans irritated by this feud because it doesn't make sense. They are trying too hard to read into the segments. Why does it need to make sense? The Hardys have been having success these last few months off of a gimmick leading to matches that don't always make sense. Some fans want Bray Wyatt to bring up the history he and Randy Orton have. Orton had punted Bray Wyatt back when he was still Husky Harris. Those fans seem to want this feud to just be Wyatt complaining about Orton doing that to him. I am glad the writers have not gone in that direction. Just feed off of Bray's gimmick. I love that they are having Orton play the same games. Is it possible to still have an intriguing storyline that is not tied to some real-life drama? Here's one that has been doing a pretty good job. As for who wins, Randy Orton has still not won a PPV match in a year. Bray Wyatt has also not had the best win-loss record this year, but he has been on the winning side of some PPV matches. Let Orton finally win a PPV match here. Either way, the feud might likely continue. And smarks might finally see the storyline turn more real and Bray mention getting that punt years ago. Until then, it has been my favorite current storyline.

The WWE Championship will be on the line when AJ Styles defends against John Cena and Dean Ambrose. This feud seems pretty routine. There have been some heated promos. You've seen that a lot these days. I already pointed out that these kind of storylines and segments just don't do it for me. Cena has stuff to do outside the WWE. I hear Ambrose is taking time off to make another movie for the WWE. AJ Styles just won the title a few weeks ago. No need to take it off him so soon. Just to keep talking about this match a little more, who takes the pin? A lot of people are saying Ambrose is just in the match to get pinned. It just seems like this feud will not end with AJ Styles looking so good against Cena. I would say Ambrose does take the pin, leaving Styles/Cena to eventually continue their feud. Cena might be the guy to win the title from Styles at Wrestlemania next year.

Previewing The Backlash 2016 Undercard

The tag tournament to crown the inaugural Smackdown Tag Team Champions has gotten a bit muddled. It looked like it would be American Alpha vs. Rhyno and Heath Slater at Backlash to crown the new Champions. The Usos turned heel and attacked American Alpha. Due to an injury angle, American Alpha is out and a new match will occur this Sunday to see who faces Rhyno and Slater. The Usos and Hype Bros now get another shot at the titles.

Let me start with this new match. Who wins between The Usos and Ryder & Mojo? This tournament just felt too face-friendly in the final rounds. I am glad that The Usos turned heel. And since Rhyno and Slater are faces, why wouldn't The Usos win this match?

Who wins the tag titles? A contract for Heath Slater is also on the line. It is obvious Rhyno and Slater should win. This is one of the most entertaining acts in the WWE right now. I talked about last time what kind of person should be the first to hold a new title. You have to either be very over, have already been getting a great career, or be someone the company is likely to follow up with properly and give that great career to after the big win. A lot of fans have been enjoying Heath Slater. A guy that has been mostly a lower-midcarder is usually not a good choice to make history like this, but he is pretty over now and it would make for a good storyline. Speaking of storylines, the only way I can see the face team losing is if Rhyno turns on Slater and the story turns to Heath Slater having to beat Rhyno for a contract, which he eventually does. It could happen, but I would rather it didn't. If Rhyno does win the tag titles, even if it is just a short reign, wouldn't that be something? He wins it, but The Dudleys never did in their recent run?

Onto the Intercontinental Championship feud between Miz and Dolph Ziggler. The big story for Miz these last few weeks has been what he said to Daniel Bryan on Talking Smack. The WWE has just been selling this idea this week that Miz is a coward. That is just terrible. After Miz stood up for himself and gave Daniel Bryan a verbal stomping, this all just looks bad. This has nothing to do with disliking Daniel Bryan, liking Miz, or any combination of that. I am not a huge fan of either of the two guys, although I can respect them. But why should Miz be made to look so pathetic? If you don't want this story to be about Daniel Bryan being bullied, that's fine. If the WWE won't let Daniel Bryan get in the ring to shut Miz up that way, it shouldn't be about pushing around Daniel Bryan. But Miz's character looked so strong two weeks ago. People speculated if this could be his ticket back into the main-event scene. And the WWE has let it all crumble to Miz being afraid to fight. That's no better than the angle Kevin Owens had last year where he walked out of matches. Given the hype Miz had around him, this is a poor way to follow up.

Onto the actual match, Miz should retain. Attention is still on him. Dolph Ziggler is just there. He is another guy I think they dropped the ball on, in terms of storylines. He had a heated storyline with Dean Ambrose, failed to win the title, failed to beat AJ Styles after that, and just keeps on coasting on. They should have done some kind of angle where he snapped and turned heel. I am not even sure it will happen if he loses to Miz this Sunday. He will probably just keep coasting on to something else.