WWE Armchair Booking: How to Maximize the Prime Time Players' Reunion

With The Prime Time Players apparently a team once more, it's time to make them a force in the WWE tag team division.

After Darren Young and Titus O'Neil split early last year, each wrestler sputtered. O'Neil's singles career didn't take off as hoped. Young was a non-factor.

WWE made the smart move of pairing them again when O'Neil saved Young from a throttling at the hands of The Ascension on Monday's Raw.

What now? There's certainly a danger of having them suffer the same fate as Los Matadores—spinning their wheels en route to irrelevancy.

To avoid that and make the duo a key part of the tag division, the focus needs to be on showcasing their personalities, getting fans to buy in and having them struggle on the way back to contention.

Repairing an Alliance

Young can't just wholeheartedly trust O'Neil overnight. Their team ended with the big man betraying Mr. No Days Off and stomping on his gut. That attack and their short feud need to be addressed.

Beyond that, it can be the narrative centerpiece that gets them noticed.

WWE already showed a glimpse of Young's reluctance. "He turned his back on me and it's kind of hard to forgive him for that," he said in a backstage interview.

This needs to be played up more going forward. It can't just be swept aside and forgotten.

Have O'Neil explain himself in the locker room, apologize and ask to be Young's partner again. Young won't commit, though. He only agrees to wrestle one match together.

They take on The Miz and Damien Mizdow on Raw. All four men end up in the ring at the same time at some point in the bout. When O'Neil balls up his fist to nail The Miz, Young flinches, thinking the blow is for him.

That's enough distraction to allow Mizdow to hit the Skull-Crushing Finale for the win.

Young and O'Neil have another backstage pow-wow on SmackDown. Young says he will team with his old ally one more time. They take on Mizdow and The Miz again.

The Prime Time Players lose again. This time, it's because Young doesn't tag O'Neil in. He tries to win the match by himself.

Afterward, O'Neil puts his arm around him and says, "You have to trust me out there."

Credit: WWE.com

The duo gets a third crack at The Miz and Mizdow on the next Raw. Backstage, Young is unsure whether he can work through their issues. O'Neil promises that they will be better than ever if Young just trusts him.

Mr. No Days Off agrees but also expresses his doubts. He tells O'Neil, "Look, if we can't beat these guys, maybe this isn't going to work out. Maybe we lost it."

The match morphs into a brawl after O'Neil accidentally knocks the referee out. Outside the ring, The Miz has Young lined up for a chair shot. O'Neil rushes in, pushes his partner aside and suffers the sting of steel himself.

That sends Young into a frenzy during which he cleans house, tossing The Miz over the guard rail and nailing him with clotheslines. Once the ref is stirring, The Prime Time Players pick up the win.

Beyond Prime Time

Once the team is firmly together again, it's time to start showing off their personalities.

Young and O'Neil are funny, likable and have an engaging energy about them. That didn't get displayed enough during their last run.

When WWE showed them goofing around and being themselves, they shined.

The company needs to create a recurring segment featuring O'Neil and Young. Have The Prime Time Players walk around with a camera crew in whatever city WWE is in. Let O'Neil ask people in the street the "question of the day."

It should be something silly and fun, preferably related to WWE happenings.

After Stardust and Goldust's breakup, for example, they could have asked folks about the biggest fight they had with their siblings. It could also be something as simple as them asking people what wrestling move they think looks most painful.

The pre-taped segments would last just a few minutes and would always end with Young and O'Neil doing the "Millions of Dollars" dance with someone.

It's a cheap-to-produce way to get the team on TV each week. Showing Young and O'Neil outside the ring like this also helps build a connection with the crowd.

Conquering the Monsters

The key at this point is to find a rival that will challenge them, thrust them forward and allow them to eventually share a celebratory moment.

The Ascension, which initiated the reunion in the first place, makes for an ideal choice. Viktor and Konnor should be portrayed as nasty, formidable foes while The Prime Time Players are busy making amends and goofing around on camera.

By the time that these two squads face off, The Ascension should own victories over The New Day, Los Matadores and The Lucha Dragons.

Young and O'Neil join that list of victims as well. In their first battles, The Ascension hurts the babyfaces. It tears them apart, hopefully creating some pity for The Prime Time Players and making The Ascension look like a team of believable destroyers in the process.

In one match, Viktor and Konnor focus on Young's leg. The announcers sell it as them preying on his surgically repaired ACL. They crack his leg against the ring post and, following the bell, smash it with a chair.

Credit: WWE.com

Living up to his nickname, Young refuses to take any time off.

Instead, he wears a brace and limps around for their battles. That makes him easy prey at first. The Ascension stomps on and tears at it as it gets yet another win over The Prime Time Players.

Young refuses to give up. After notching some victories over other teams, he and O'Neil challenge The Ascension at the next pay-per-view. The bout will name the No. 1 contender for the tag titles. The contract for that match hangs above the ring.

The Ascension requested the ladder match stipulation knowing that Young's leg will hold him back.

The hard-hitting contest features Viktor and Konnor bashing their foes with ladders and tossing them around the ring. O'Neil eventually goes on a tear, knocking both men out of the ring. He suplexes Konnor onto a ladder, essentially taking himself and the big man out of the action.

That leaves Young to climb the ladder, bad wheel and all.

He guts it out through the pain and retrieves the contract. A title shot awaits. He grimaces in pain as he and O'Neil do their signature dance, as dream once beyond their reach is now just one victory away.