The New Day vs. the Vaudevillains: The Good, Bad and Ugly of Current WWE Feud

The New Day's battle with The Vaudevillains over the WWE Tag Team Championship is a song that has yet to crescendo.

The tension between the teams is growing, but it is not yet the kind that pulls in an audience. Early on, the feud feels incomplete, as the No. 1 contenders have been unable to match the champions' spark thus far. 

When The New Day looks to fend off Simon Gotch and Aiden English at Extreme Rules on Sunday, it will be far from the climax of this story. These are just the early chapters—a portion of the narrative that has seen flashes of fun as well as its share of underwhelming moments.

The Vaudevillains' rivalry with The New Day has the potential to be a hit, but the teams' collective tune is going to have to grow louder and more vibrant in order to provide a hook that allows this feud to stand out.

The Good

WWE's talk of the company entering a new era may be overblown, but there are a number of fresh faces in high-profile positions. The tag team title scene is one of those places.

The Vaudevillains are only just over a month removed from moving to the main roster, but they are already facing the champs at a pay-per-view. After seeing The New Day take on The Dudley Boyz and The Usos for so many times over the last few months, it's refreshing to have the trio tangle with new foes.

Since arriving from NXT, Simon Gotch and Aiden English have refined their villainy. They have become more convincingly despicable.

Mocking Enzo Amore after his serious concussion at Payback certainly helped in that department. Straight Shoot host Aubrey Sitterson tweeted, "Love the Vaudevillains using Enzo's injury to get heat. They are so much better as bad guys."

The New Day, meanwhile, is busy redefining what a wrestling promo looks like.

The goofy titleholders having fun each time they step on stage is infectious. Their most recent example of that was a bizarre segment on Monday's Raw where they traveled through time via a cardboard box. 

Kyle Fowle wrote for the A.V. Club: "It's hard to even describe why this works so well, but if you love wrestling you just know why. It's three guys clearly relishing in the gimmick they've managed to get over, and it's glorious."

That scene and The New Day's constant attempts to try new things has made the tag team picture an interesting one. 

The Bad

Partly because the rivalry hasn't been in existence all that long, there isn't much bad blood between these two teams.

Sure, The Vaudevillains and The New Day share animosity, but their issues don't feel personal yet. They have traded insults. Aiden English got a cheap win against Kofi Kingston, and the champs mocked their challengers via the time machine segment, but something is still missing.

There is actually more tension between The Vaudevillains and Colin Cassady after the two throwback bruisers laughed about his partner's serious injury. It's going to take more ambushes and perhaps some injuries to The New Day to take this rivalry up a notch.

The lack of stipulation for the Extreme Rules bout doesn't help either.

On a night that is all about there being no rules and WWE getting creative with its matches, the tag team title clash is the most ordinary one on the card. The pay-per-view is set to feature the first-ever Asylum match, a battle of submissions and an Extreme Rules matchup where steel chairs promise to play a major role. The New Day vs. The Vaudevillains, meanwhile, has no such distinctive feature.

The Ugly

The problem with opening the gates for a new era and all the additions to the roster that entails is that it takes time for the audience to make a connection with these newcomers.

Had WWE produced some vignettes to prepare fans for The Vaudevillains' arrival or introduced them in some other way, they might be further along in their progress by now. As it stands, the company hasn't told fans much about Simon Gotch and Aiden English other than they represent a bygone era.

It's not surprising that The Vaudevillains are not getting thunderous reactions just yet.

That was clear when the heels attacked The New Day on Monday's Raw. As Alan O'Brien noted for the Wrestling Observer, "The cold as ice Vaudevillains got zero heat from a raucous Greensboro crowd."

Fans care about The New Day. After months of the trio showcasing its personality, the champions sold fans on their unique brand of entertainment. It's harder to invest in The Vaudevillains' portion of this story, though.

The No. 1 contenders lack momentum and spark. Getting fast-tracked into the title picture has them playing catch up in terms of reaction.

Projections

The complexion of this feud will change in a major way soon.

When Enzo Amore returns, he will have vengeance on his mind. Not only did Simon Gotch injure him, but The Vaudevillains proceeded to mock him for getting hurt. With that ready-made animosity set to explode, expect The Realest Guys in the Room to shove their way into this storyline.

That will make this a three-way dance and increase the electricity.

And the momentum of the narrative will pick up when Gotch and Aiden English employ more dastardly techniques. Should they lose at Extreme Rules, a post-match attack on the champs would give them a signature moment of violence.

Fans need to see The Vaudevillains bare their teeth before this new duo starts to catch on.