Take up thy wrestling boots and walk - Tag division brief thoughts, In the ring with the champ
Submitted by Pt2 on Friday, June 10, 2005 at 6:09 PM EST





Welcome once again to the column that knows somethin’ Mean Gene, Dude!, Take up thy wrestling boots and walk. I’m the columnist who comes crashing down when it hurts inside, Pt2, back once again to talk about how the power of Hulkamania can help YOU get better results in every day life. Either that, or I’m just here to talk wrestling. You make the call.

It’s no secret that the WWE tag division hasn’t exactly been a priority for the past couple of years, and while that won’t make or break the product exactly, I think a strong, solid division of tag wrestling can really add something overall, and can really add something to the company on two levels – not only will can it put more varied matches on a PPV card thus giving us another reason to buy said PPV’s, but it is also a GREAT way for the younger stars to learn their trade, in a tag team environment where the pressure is shared across two people, instead of one where they have to stand on their own.

But the WWE have neglected the tag division, and that got me to thinking: How can the WWE save the tag division, and get people to care about it again? After all, it’s easy to complain, but if you can’t think of solutions yourself its not wise to criticise. But after a little thought, I came to the conclusion…. It’s actually not that difficult. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that one big match, if done well, could reinvigorate the tag team division.

But before you get the big match, you have to lay the groundwork.

It’s no secret that the major flaw in the tag division of both brands is a lack of real tag teams. MNM is a step in the right direction over on Smackdown!, but I’m not going to jump on the bandwagon and say that they have saved the tag division: they are merely a piece in the puzzle. So first of all, the WWE need to create teams that don’t seem thrown together, but real, credible teams.

They have MNM and the Bashams on Smackdown!, and Regal and Tajiri seemed decent enough on RAW. I won’t count the Hurricane and Rosey because despite their status as the tag team champions, they really wouldn’t play a major part in a stronger tag division: and I also won’t count La Resistance, because they are severely worn out as a team, and would need reinvigoration before they could play a solid part as well. So, 3 serious teams in total, across two shows, which means that they would probably need at least one more major team on Smackdown!, and 2 serious credible teams on RAW.

First step is simple – call up the Dudley boys. I’m not their biggest fan and have been critical of most of their post-invasion work, but they are a team with a fan base and are faces ready to face MNM and the Bashams almost instantly on their return. Next is the slightly tougher prospect; the creation of new teams.

Heels will be the order of the day, on RAW. Regal and Tajiri work well in the face role for the moment, so creating a team of heels (a better group of heels than the Heart throbs, at any rate) to oppose them must be the first order of business. God knows there are enough people languishing on heat to re-package two people as a tag team, and with the power guys the WWE like using, it would be relatively easy to create a “powers of pain” or “demolition” style tag team – hey, if they really want, the WWE can even use the face paint again. Won’t do anything for me, but I wouldn’t complain about it.

When you look at the number of smaller, faster wrestlers on the roster there is always the potential to form a popular tag team – a small, fast team in the early nineties and late eighties was one of the most popular tag teams the WWE has ever had – and the AWA, for that matter. Going by the name of “The Rockers” Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty thrilled the world with their rock star good looks and flashy moves. Put any two cruiserweights together, dress them exactly the same, and have them wrestle as under-dogs, and you’ve got the new Rockers, or the new Rock n’ Roll Express or…. As you can see, it’s not exactly a new or original idea, but it’s certainly one that works. Just don’t call them the “new” anything, because that’ll fail like so many gimmicks before it.

With a few more teams, you have the selling point of the division pretty much set up. Now, you need a feud. Nothing fancy needed here, it doesn’t have to be too much, and it certainly doesn’t need a lot of added drama – something simple over the title to put two of your teams together on a PPV, and hopefully pique some interest among the fan base. Now comes the key.

The Big Match that can save the tag division. That’s what you need them to have at the PPV. The division is that far gone in the minds of the average wrestling fan, that to get them interested you need to hook them in with a big concept. It can be anything big, but here’s what I have in mind.

A two out of three falls tag match. The first fall, straight tag wrestling, normal tagging in and out, as you would see on any average RAW or Smackdown! Tag match. The second fall, tornado tag, all four men in the ring at once, going at it in less ordered action (thanks to Davey Boy’s column discussion about gimmicks for this idea – go and read his column “The Wrestling Menu”, it’s truly great work). Then finally, the last fall ….. frankly it doesn’t matter all that much. Ladder, table, cage, anything extreme. Anything to get the attention of the casual fan, and keep it until the final pinfall.

Then, if that match delivers, you’ll have got people’s attention, got them excited about a match for the tag team title, and have the teams needed to keep their attention afterwards. Now this idea is very rough and contains little specific detail, but I believe that any similar idea based around these criteria could trigger an era of tag wrestling in the WWE similar to the E&C/Dudleys/Hardyz era that followed the ladder match and TLC 1.



In the Ring with the champ



Pt2: Ok, I'd like to start off this In the ring with the champ by asking you a question this time. What do you think about RAW PPV's having the same main event (Batista vs. Triple H) three PPV's running?

Random: My thoughts are simple...."there's nothing better". I've been of the belief for a while now (RE: at least ten minutes) that Batista cannot stand on his own as a champ. His character has been built up to be unstoppable by anybody other than HHH. Seriously, who's gonna topple him? Edge is too busy licking the side of Lita's face when he should be licking a little furhter south, and....oh yeah, there's nobody else heel in the main event on Raw. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest to see Trips win the Cell match, and honestly, I'm not entirely convinced that its a bad idea.

Pt2: That begs the question then: What would be next for Batista? The man has been pushed as an unbeatable monster - what happens to the monster once you beat him? Also, where does that leave Edge, the man we KNOW has two shots at the world championship? Heel vs. Heel does not work anywhere near as well as face vs. face.

Random: For the record, this is pure speculation at this point. It really wouldn't surprise me either to see trips end up losing and then going over to Smackdown. If that happens, then these problems solve themselves. We don't have time to get into the what ifs of the draft and the title pictures yet, so lets just stick with Batista. If he wins, obviously he continues his dominance, end of story, and he can feud with any number of people, most likely either Edge or somebody (Angle?) from Smackdown. Now, if he loses, then I'm not sure whats up. My guess is, somebody would cost him the match, and he'd move on to feud with them. Jericho completing a heel turn, a face/face bit with Cena maybe for that title. The draft has gotten things all clustered up, you kinda gotta enjoy it actually.

Pt2: Perhaps. Now, lets move on to a trickier subject. AJ Styles. The relatively new NWA champion. There is no doubt that either him or Raven are the men to have on the belt, but AJ Styles: If TNA are thinking of competing, is AJ the man they want in the forefront to excite the current WWE audience?

Random: TNA has a champion? With like a belt and everything? No shit? I thought you had to have a TV deal first? Beyond that, I say a resounding "Maybe"

See, my gut feeling has always been that the real man to lead that company is Ron Killings. He's recognized to a degree by the WWE crowd, but most importantly, he has a distinctly different appeal to the crowds by virtue of being black. Now, I have no desire to play the race card too awfully hard here, namely because I'm working on a column on the subject and I don't want to tip my hand, but I honestly believe that he has the charisma and talent to lead them. I could write an epic piece on this (and again, I kinda am, so damn you for baiting me into this) but he is the type of character who would be a great face for a new upstart company.

If I can't have him, then yes, give me the generically exciting AJ Styles. That man is the most exciting boring character since Lance Storm.



Ok, that will do it for this week. Before I bring this one to a close, I’d like to thank everyone who voted for their favourite superstars at wrestlingfanshof.co.uk – Just a reminder that we are still accepting nominations, and soon we will begin the second stage of voting. If your favourite wrestlers don’t get the attention you think they deserve, help put it right by voting for them at wrestlingfanshof.co.uk!
And that’s it for now. If you have any feedback, I’d love to hear it, send it to takeupthywrestlingboots@gmail.com. Take care everyone.

Pt2









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