New Day Becoming Clearer Heels Is Best Move for WWE Tag Team Champs

The New Day, WWE's resident gnats, just grew scorpion tails. The tag team champs found the missing component they need to become true heels: viciousness.

When Monday's Raw came to a close, Xavier Woods, Big E and Kofi Kingston stood in a ring full of fallen foes, evidence of their destruction lying at the trio's feet. That image marked the latest evolution of WWE's most entertaining group.

As cowards, blowhards and high-energy goofballs, the members of New Day had become one of the most anticipated elements of WWE TV each week. Whether they were blaring a trombone or staging a protest to save tables, they caught hold of the audience.

The issue, though, was that they were hard to root against. Their cheating ways and narcissism were certainly trademark heel traits, but they were more fun than fearsome.

Jim Ross had been pointing this out for months. The Hall of Fame announcer wrote on his blog, "New Day is 'this close' to being too entertaining to be heels. Why do I want to boo wrestlers who make me me laugh?"

And as The History of WWE noted, New Day garnered the wrong reaction for the role it was playing:

WWE clearly got the message. As Boston hosted Raw, fans witnessed a darker side of the tag champs. Sure, they pestered Stephanie McMahon by clapping and did their usual dance-happy routine, but they added some brutality to the mix.

In Raw's final matchup, it looked as if Dolph Ziggler would answer John Cena's open challenge for the United States Championship. The Showoff didn't walk through the curtain, though.

New Day dragged him onto the entrance ramp like a pack of wolves spitting out what was left of a meal.

This is the kind of heinous act that Woods, Kingston and Big E were missing. Having them continue to be buzzing, grating presences is a must, but so is making them easy to dislike and worthy of being feared.

Ziggler fans, thrilled that their favorite showman was about to get a title shot, had reason to seethe after this moment. 

And it showed that when New Day wants to, it can floor its foes. That's key for its title reign and character moving forward. The audience needs evidence of a heel's power, to know that the babyface in the ring is in danger.

Without that, there's too little suspense. 

On Monday night, WWE seemed to be trying to make up for lost time. After portraying The New Day as jokesters for so long, the company made sure to make it clear that the group is formidable as well.

Big E ended up taking Cena's challenge. He looked strong throughout the action, bowling over the champ and splashing his bulky frame onto Cena's. 

His own partners' attempts at interference ended up costing Big E the bout. An Attitude Adjustment kept him down for the three-count, denying him the chance to be a double titleholder.

In true heel fashion, he and his crew did not respond well to the defeat. The New Day hopped into the ring and began to pound on Cena.

Ziggler returned to save the day, but The New Day outnumbered and overpowered him. The Dudley Boyz looked to be playing the role of the cavalry after that, but the tag champs swarmed. A team known for its dancing and grinning left fans with a more violent last image.

Kingston cracked his boot against each of the babyface's brows, leading John "Bradshaw" Layfield to say, "A power shift right now in front of our eyes in WWE. The New Day has taken over."

In the end, the heroes writhed on the mat while the heels celebrated. That unexpected sight bolsters New Day in a major way. It's this kind of act of demolition that will make the faction a more convincing threat, a more challenging obstacle for whoever wants to wear the gold next.

The more powerful the heels, the more powerful the moment that they actually fall.

And having New Day start to use its fangs makes each member's role clearer. As amusing as they are, Woods and Company are also not to be trusted, not to be taken lightly. 

WWE needs to offer the posse more moments like this. The clap-happy trio will have no trouble cracking folks up but needs to leave cracks in its opponents as well.