WWE: 10 Ways Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne Can Become a Great Tag Team

Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne's reign as tag team champions began last Monday night on RAW as they defeated ex-champs David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty. It was the first WWE Tag Team Championship for both men, with it being Bourne's first belt of any kind in his WWE tenure. In the seven days since the title win, many critics have praised the decision. In many people's eyes, Bourne and Kingston will begin a renaissance as the tag team division.

The importance of the resurgence of the division may rely upon the success of this team being ranked with other great tag teams. Nobody will ever try and rank these two among the best tag teams WWE has ever given us, but if these two will help the future of the division, they certainly need to look the part. Here are ten ways for Bourne and Kingston to dominate the tag team division and look strong in historical aspects.

Get a New Theme

A theme often defines a superstar and a tag team is nothing different. If you hear "What a Rush", you know that Legion of Doom is on their way to the ring. Because Kingston and Bourne have been apart and had separate themes, the themes can be mashed together. It was what had Rated RKO stick out, as well as Jeri-Show and ShowMiz from recent years.

There are a million different mashups on the Internet right now from pretty much any combination thought of. I searched throughout for a Bourne/Kingston theme that was already made, but couldn't find one that I liked or even really attempted. The best that I could find was this mashup of the eight RAW Money in the Bank ladder match participants. At about 2:00 in the well-done mashup, you get a peek into how their mashed theme would kind of feel.

Get a Clever Team Name

There was Jeri-Show, ShowMiz, and Rated RKO, as I mentioned before. There were even unofficial names, like MizMo (Miz and John Morrison). Some names even got lazy and had nothing to do with existing names, such as The Unholy Alliance of Big Show and The Undertaker.

Kingston and Bourne have already been searching for a new name. WWE.com has gotten involved, asking fans for what they think about it. This link shows some of the suggestions that the WWE has already been mulling over. Nothing will be official until two things happen: WWE uses it on television and the company purchases the copyrights for the name.

Get a Tag Team Finisher

Before The Hart Dynasty won the tag titles with a Hart Attack finisher, the original Hart Foundation used the exact same move. It ended up being their trademark and helped them stand out from other tag teams of that era.

Kingston and Bourne are both very young and very agile. They can easily come up with a finishing maneuver using the agility of both men. Then again, Kofi's Trouble in Paradise does lead into Bourne's Air Bourne pretty seamlessly. Perhaps the use of them together can be named something catchy?

Get Similar Attires

I don't expect Bourne to lose his pants or Kofi to lose his tights, but many great tag teams often look alike while in the ring together. They don't have to look like twins, but they should at least resemble people that would team together, or at least people that are friendly with one another.

Wearing the same color should do that just fine. So, do you change Bourne's red and black, which he seems to have worn for most of his WWE career, or Kofi's powder blue, which he just changed to? Decisions, decisions.

Get Formidable Rivals

As a champion, you are only as good as your toughest opponents. What made Otunga and McGillicutty such duds was that they took down Big Show and Kane and then hardly defended. In fact, there was hardly anyone to defend against. For a team like London and Kendrick, however, they defeated many tag teams and defended constantly, gaining respect with the crowd.

The Miz and R-Truth also formed last Monday and may end up being that rival. With such few tag teams, having two form on one night and be two of the best in the company immediately is a little disappointing. However, it gives all four of these guys something to do at Night of Champions, so it is a victory for all. The way that they work matches with R-Truth and The Miz will set the tone for their entire reign.

Get a Combined Gimmick

This is separate than actual attire. This is about attitude. As you can see by the picture, Rosey adopted The Hurricane's superhero gimmick and got over with the fans. Despite looking thrown together, Jeri-Show worked from both men's attitude in regards to the rest of the WWE. Other than being two of the happiest men in the entire world, Kofi and Bourne need to have a closer connection.They basically need a reason to tag with one another.

I don't see Bourne becoming a Jamaican stereotype and I don't think Kofi will drop his gimmick for a love of aviation (yes, that's apparently Bourne's gimmick). The two may both need to make changes to their entire characters in order to accomplish this aspect.

Get a Following

Kingston and Bourne have already done a good job of this individually, but the success needs to shift to their tag team. The Dudley Boyz did this better than anybody, becoming one of the best tag teams ever and always having the fans' respect, even when they were heels. Too Cool also did this well, going from perennial jobbers to tag team champions.

What makes this work is for fans to not only think of one man or the other, but to imagine them together. A tag team looks a lot stronger when they aren't seen as an alliance, but rather as an actual team.

Get a Quality Pay-Per-View Victory

With Night of Champions looming, Bourne and Kingston could do wonders from a good pay-per-view victory. The quality win on PPV is usually reserved for a major venue, like a WrestleMania, but at an event that revolves around championship titles, especially against guys like R-Truth and The Miz, would be a good victory to get them started.

Edge and Christian are looked at as a great tag team, which is mostly built upon their big wins on big stages. Even in feuds with The Hardys and Dudleys, Edge and Christian were always on the winning end. They were the winners at the Triangle Ladder Match and the first two TLC matches.

Get a Long Title Reign

The aforementioned London and Kendrick held the WWE Tag Team Championships for 331 days, the longest reign with the current incarnation of tag team belts in their history. Since those belts were created in 2002, there have been nine reigns of 100 or more days and you can remember all nine teams. The nine are Team Angle, Basham Brothers, MNM, London and Kendrick, Deuce N' Domino, Miz and Morrison, Primo and Carlito, Jeri-Show and The Hart Dynasty.

While not all nine of those teams are all-time great tag teams, they do define the generation of tag team wrestling. Bourne and Kingston don't need to have the titles for a year, but a 100-day reign is possible. That would call for a reign of over 14 weeks, which would put their reign into the beginning of December.

Get a Second Chance

Even so-so tag teams can have long title reigns. Otunga and McGillicutty had the titles for 91 days before losing them last week. The real great teams always get a second chance to be champion. This doesn't include a rematch clause. Good tag teams are more than just a flash in the pan. Kofi and Bourne, especially if they are supposed to represent the return of tag team wrestling, need to be more than just a one-reign tag team.

 

Follow me on Twitter, where I'm show pictures of my awful Hurricane Irene experience and tweet Chris Masters. Riveting stuff. I'm also looking for a new Twitter name, so any suggestions there would be appreciated and would likely accompany a follow.