The WWE Tag Team Division Is at a Crossroads

The WWE’s tag team division appeared to be headed for a major rejuvenation in 2012, but it’s taken a substantial step back so far in 2013.

There’s no doubt that the division features a boatload of talent. The Shield, Team Hell No, Team Rhodes Scholars and woefully underused teams like The Usos give the company what should be the makings of a very formidable division.

Unfortunately, though, the tag team division isn’t one of the most must-see aspects of WWE programming. Instead, it’s at a crossroads.

The two current focal points of the division are obviously Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) and The Shield (Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose). These two teams crossed paths late last year and have recently rekindled their feud, which has become one of the biggest rivalries currently on TV.

It seems like a certainty that The Shield, which has yet to lose in tag team action, will keep that streak going en route to taking the WWE Tag Team Championship from Team Hell No. But even if that happens, then where does the tag team division go from there?

There is no clear-cut direction for the tag team division to take, after all.

Although in a perfect world we would see the WWE’s best tag teams pushed like they should be, the creative team just doesn’t want to do that. That’s why we hardly ever see teams such as the Usos or the Prime Time Players on TV, and it’s also why Team Rhodes Scholars is so off-and-on.

The lack of direction for the tag team division is borderline mind-blowing at times, and despite the division featuring a boatload of talent, the WWE simply cannot use it properly—at least on a long-term basis. There are certainly bright spots—like the great feud we’re getting between The Shield and Team Hell No—but those bright spots don’t make up for all of the company’s other gaffs.

For example, why actually push a team like Tons of Funk while a much more entertaining team like the Prime Time Players has all but disappeared from TV? Better yet, why only feature three or four tag teams on TV on a consistent basis?

As long as the WWE continues to overlook its tag teams, the division will always be stuck in a rut—just like it is now when it’s standing still at a major crossroads.

Down one road, there’s a well-built tag team division that is built around The Shield and spotlights talented duos like Team Rhodes Scholars or even the Usos. Down the other road, there’s a poorly booked one that only really highlights two teams and overlooks all the other ones.

Which road will the WWE take?

At least right now, it’s taking that second one. The tag team division focuses almost exclusively on Team Hell No and The Shield, and though those two teams are great, they’re simply not enough to carry the tag team division for the long haul.

The WWE needs at least six, but more like seven or eight, tag teams to have a legitimate tag team. But it’s purely up to the creative team to take the road that makes that happen.

The road most traveled by creative, however, is one that sees just a few teams on TV at a time while the rest are forced to battle it out on Superstars, Main Event or Saturday Morning Slam. Those shows, of course, aren’t the ones that really matter in the grand scheme of things, though.

What matters now are The Shield and Team Hell No. Beyond those two teams, the tag team division is one big revolving door of teams that come and go without really mattering much.

Unless the WWE wants to once again find itself in a position where tag team wrestling means absolutely nothing, then it must change course.

It must take the road less traveled—the road that features more drivers than just The Shield and Team Hell No.

Drake Oz is a WWE Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter!