HIAC Team Friendship vs. Team Rhodes Scholars

[John McHenry]

With a crucial victory over Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara on Raw, Team Rhodes Scholars won the Tag Team Title No. 1 Contenders' Tournament to earn a title opportunity against Team Hell No at WWE Hell in a Cell Oct. 28. Now that they have worked their way through WWE’s stacked tag team division, will the arrogant duo of Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow be able to take advantage of Kane & Daniel Bryan’s clearly dysfunctional partnership and leave Atlanta the new WWE Tag Team Champions?

The matchup serves as an interesting experiment in tag team chemistry, for Team Hell No and Team Rhodes Scholars fall on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to cohesiveness. On one end are the current titleholders, who remain steadily at each other’s throats most of the time, only to get on the same page long enough to squeeze by opponents. On the other end of the spectrum are Rhodes & Sandow, who have become fast friends since they began teaming in late summer, despite their incredibly egocentric personalities as singles competitors.

Having been battered by a chairs-wielding Team Hell No on the Sep. 21 edition of SmackDown, Rhodes & Sandow approach the WWE Tag Team Championship Match fully cognizant of the havoc that Kane & Bryan are capable of when they become consumed with anger. If that back-bruising experience was any indication of what is to expect from a unified Team Hell No, Rhodes & Sandow better hope that Kane & Bryan’s partnership degrades further before Oct. 28.

And, judging by Team Hell No’s recent interactions, Rhodes & Sandow’s dream may become a reality. Though Kane & Bryan appear to be developing a big brother/little brother dynamic, Team Hell No still ends many of its conversations with “Yesâ€/“No†screaming matches and arguments over which Superstar — singular — is the WWE Tag Team Champions. Plus, on the Oct. 22 edition of Raw, after they became No. 1 Contenders to the WWE Tag Team Titles, Team Rhodes Scholars attacked Team Hell No after Bryan lost to Dolph Ziggler and Kane lost to Big Show.

In spite of their youth, Rhodes & Sandow are cagey competitors nonetheless. Add in their proclivity for bending the rules, and Team Rhodes Scholar just may have the tools necessary to exploit the champions’ weaknesses.

Rhodes & Sandow’s competency as a tag team is demonstrable. They plowed through Jey & Jimmy Uso in the first round of the tag team tournament, fought past Zack Ryder & Santino Marella in the second round, and put away Mysterio & Sin Cara in the tourney finals. For a team with relatively few matches under its belt, Team Rhodes Scholars appear to be the epitome of tag team continuity. (Not hurting the matter, assuredly, is Rhodes’ deep experience in the tag ranks; prior to teaming with Sandow, he held four tag team championships with three different partners.) (WATCH: TAG TOURNEY HIGHLIGHTS)

Tag team enthusiasts continue to wonder how long Kane & Bryan’s rocky relationship can sustain their championship reign. At WWE Hell in a Cell, the endlessly condescending Team Rhodes Scholars will attempt to settle that debate once and for all. Find out who will leave Atlanta with the WWE Tag team Titles on Sunday, Oct. 28, at 8 ET/5 PT, only on pay-per-view.

Will Friendship overcome?

 

[Cwalker]

Team Hell No is too hot right now to take the belts off them. Rhodes Scholars will get another shot, but I expect that the Champs retain.

 

[Rated R Superstar]

100k on Team Friendship.

 

[PHX]

100 billion Rhodes Scholars

 

[Heisenberg]

500,000 on Team Friendship

 

[Dale]

100k on Friendship but I got a sneaky feeling i'm wrong on this one.

 

[Troy]

Small bet on Rhodes Scholars as I am really not sure which way this match will go.

 

[Chris]

70k on the one ship that won't be sunk

 

[AZUCAR!]

250 Billion on Kane & Bryan