WWE Recent Focus on Trios Will Enhance Tag Team Division

The WWE tag team division's transformation into a celebration of the trio is just the catalyst it needs.

Showcasing more three-wrestler squads betters the product. The writing team's options expand as a result. Wrestlers sitting toward the bottom of the card suddenly have a better chance to grab some spotlight. 

Without this shift in the tag team formula, one has to wonder if Xavier Woods, Braun Strowman and The Ascension would even be on TV.

Woods debuted as a solo act, one that never caught on. He was brash and showy but had too little identity, too little direction. Now as The New Day's hype man, trombone player and provider of cheap shots, he is thriving.

The trio format allows him to play the role of manager more often than not. 

This use of his skills is similar to what Strowman and The Ascension are experiencing. Strowman is too slow and stiff to be much more than the beastly enforcer he is for The Wyatt Family. The Ascension's limited charisma is offset by Stardust's technicolor personality.

And so moving to larger, more inclusive teams makes better use of the roster and gives the division depth.

The New Day, The Cosmic Wasteland and The Wyatt Family wouldn't be as complete or interesting without all three of their members. Viktor and Konnor would likely be castoffs without their new leader. Now they suddenly have a spark to them, an added layer to their characters that pulls them out of gimmick purgatory.

Viktor and Konnor felt like they were Road Warrior copycats early on. Adding Stardust to the mix gives them a new dimension altogether.

The number of trios is going to grow larger soon, too.

Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose have a mystery partner lined up for their match at Night of Champions. That could mean that an NXT prospect like Baron Corbin will have his entry point to the main roster, or else someone like Daniel Bryan with no story to work with at the moment will be benefiting from battling alongside Reigns and Ambrose.

Whatever direction WWE goes there, it will create excitement. That increases if the third man is a good fit, and the three bruisers form The Shield 2.0.

Going the trio route also opens up bout options.

Now that The Ascension have aligned with Stardust and The Lucha Dragons are perhaps making Neville their honorary third member, WWE can go a variety of ways each night during this feud. Neville can face Viktor on SmackDown. Konnor can battle Kalisto on Raw. 

Stardust can play the barking leader behind his soldiers, team up with one or both of them, or else take on one of the luchadors himself.

That kind of variety in clashes between warring factions holds true for whoever feuds with groups like The Wyatt Family and The New Day, as well. 

Not to mention, as The History of WWE pointed out, all these trios make it easier to put together squads for Survivor Series: 

Some of pro wrestling's most memorable teams were of the three-man variety. The Fabulous Freebirds stormed into Dallas in the '80s. Demolition added a third member in 1990, the leather-clad monsters becoming more fearsome as a result.

The NWO was originally just three men. The Dudley Boyz were a trio back when they had Spike in tow.

Returning to the formula that made those squads work is smart.

Each of The Freebirds offered something different. Terry Gordy was the muscle. Michael "P.S." Hayes was the spokesman, the leader and the engine. Buddy Roberts played the workhorse, the glue of the team.

Credit: WWE.com

While no one is comparing The New Day to The Freebirds, a similar dynamic is unfolding. Having just Big E team with Woods wouldn't result in nearly as much electricity as the three-pronged force that is The New Day.

Should Neville start teaming with The Lucha Dragons on a regular basis and should Reigns, Ambrose and the mystery man jell, expect more of that to come. The tag division will be deeper, more interesting and more varied.

Imagining the combinations of battles that are possible ahead is thrilling, a word one couldn't always use with WWE's tag team scene.