With no previous experience as a team, are Big E Langston and Dolph Ziggler the right men to beat Team Hell No?
Their sudden pairing may seem odd. But singles wrestlers have been used in the past to renew excitement in the tag team ranks. With the division in a depleted state, giving them the belts may be the right move.
On paper, the matchup between champions Team Hell No and Langston and Ziggler looks good. The teams are near mirror images of each other. Daniel Bryan and Ziggler are smaller and quicker, while Kane and Langston are the powerhouses.
They've had interactions in the ring. Since Team Hell No became champions, Ziggler has faced Kane and Bryan eight times, either in singles or tag team matches.
But Langston, the current NXT champion, has yet to set foot inside a WWE ring in a sanctioned match. He and Ziggler have never been a tag team.
So how did they get this match?
Storyline-wise, they secured the shot with the help of AJ Lee. Both Kane and Bryan lost to Ziggler in singles competition. Looking to jump on this momentum, Lee tried to interrupt the champions during their bout with Primo & Epico. It didn't cost them the match, but it did get her men a title shot.
From this storyline perspective, the match makes sense. The heat built from Kane and Bryan's losses to Ziggler can propel this forward and perhaps expand the rift between the champions.
But looking at it from the standpoint of the tag team division, is this a good idea? While the tag team division isn't deep, shouldn't the title match go to guys who wrestle together?
The Uso's and Primo and Epico are two teams who only focus on tag team wrestling. Team Rhodes Scholars, while made up of traditionally singles-focused men, have been teaming for some time.
Why not give these teams a chance to bring the division back to what it is supposed to be about—tag team wrestling?
But maybe that's not enough for the current state of things in the WWE.
Perhaps what it's going to take to build interest again is Langston and Ziggler, for them to give the division a shot of excitement and unpredictability. Remember, Kane and Bryan weren't full-time tag team wrestlers when they joined up, but for a while they injected a wallop of enthusiasm into the belts and the other teams.
Throwing together singles wrestlers for a tag team title run is nothing new.
Andre the Giant and Haku famously ended Demolition's second title reign in '89. In that bout, they manhandled Ax and Smash in a way not seen before. This led to a rematch at WrestleMania VI and marked only the second time a tag team had won the gold three times in the WWE.
Marty Jannetty and the 1-2-3 Kid did it in '94, knocking off The Quebecers. More recently, guys like John Cena and The Miz have come together to take the gold. Their sudden win, and equally sudden loss, was shocking.
The majority of tag team wrestling history in the WWE has been about tag teams—men who dedicated the majority of their careers to teaming with a partner. Who can forget the epic encounters between The Dudley Boyz, The Hardy Boyz and Edge and Christian?
In the past, singles wrestlers turned tag team champs brought renewed focus to the division. Langston and Ziggler just might be the answer. Plus, with Ziggler still the Money in the Bank contract holder, he could leave WrestleMania with two titles.
What better way to make headlines and turn eyes toward tag team wrestling once again?
What do you think?
Discuss
Their sudden pairing may seem odd. But singles wrestlers have been used in the past to renew excitement in the tag team ranks. With the division in a depleted state, giving them the belts may be the right move.
On paper, the matchup between champions Team Hell No and Langston and Ziggler looks good. The teams are near mirror images of each other. Daniel Bryan and Ziggler are smaller and quicker, while Kane and Langston are the powerhouses.
They've had interactions in the ring. Since Team Hell No became champions, Ziggler has faced Kane and Bryan eight times, either in singles or tag team matches.
But Langston, the current NXT champion, has yet to set foot inside a WWE ring in a sanctioned match. He and Ziggler have never been a tag team.
So how did they get this match?
Storyline-wise, they secured the shot with the help of AJ Lee. Both Kane and Bryan lost to Ziggler in singles competition. Looking to jump on this momentum, Lee tried to interrupt the champions during their bout with Primo & Epico. It didn't cost them the match, but it did get her men a title shot.
From this storyline perspective, the match makes sense. The heat built from Kane and Bryan's losses to Ziggler can propel this forward and perhaps expand the rift between the champions.
But looking at it from the standpoint of the tag team division, is this a good idea? While the tag team division isn't deep, shouldn't the title match go to guys who wrestle together?
The Uso's and Primo and Epico are two teams who only focus on tag team wrestling. Team Rhodes Scholars, while made up of traditionally singles-focused men, have been teaming for some time.
Why not give these teams a chance to bring the division back to what it is supposed to be about—tag team wrestling?
But maybe that's not enough for the current state of things in the WWE.
Perhaps what it's going to take to build interest again is Langston and Ziggler, for them to give the division a shot of excitement and unpredictability. Remember, Kane and Bryan weren't full-time tag team wrestlers when they joined up, but for a while they injected a wallop of enthusiasm into the belts and the other teams.
Throwing together singles wrestlers for a tag team title run is nothing new.
Andre the Giant and Haku famously ended Demolition's second title reign in '89. In that bout, they manhandled Ax and Smash in a way not seen before. This led to a rematch at WrestleMania VI and marked only the second time a tag team had won the gold three times in the WWE.
Marty Jannetty and the 1-2-3 Kid did it in '94, knocking off The Quebecers. More recently, guys like John Cena and The Miz have come together to take the gold. Their sudden win, and equally sudden loss, was shocking.
The majority of tag team wrestling history in the WWE has been about tag teams—men who dedicated the majority of their careers to teaming with a partner. Who can forget the epic encounters between The Dudley Boyz, The Hardy Boyz and Edge and Christian?
In the past, singles wrestlers turned tag team champs brought renewed focus to the division. Langston and Ziggler just might be the answer. Plus, with Ziggler still the Money in the Bank contract holder, he could leave WrestleMania with two titles.
What better way to make headlines and turn eyes toward tag team wrestling once again?
What do you think?
Discuss
