Bludgeon Brothers Will Overcome 1-Dimensional Gimmick to Shine on SmackDown

SmackDown Live's tag team division is loaded with star power, but look for The Bludgeon Brothers to rise through the ranks rather quickly and enter the tag team title picture before long.

Harper and Rowan are no strangers to gold, having held the NXT Tag Team Championships during their time down in developmental in 2013. However, they were never able to clinch the WWE Tag Team Championships once they reached the main roster.

They did come close on countless occasions, especially in the summer of 2014 during their exciting series of matches against The Usos. When WWE didn't put the straps on Harper and Rowan, it was the beginning of their downfall as Bray Wyatt's henchmen.

Credit: WWE.com

On paper, The Wyatt Family should have been a bigger force than it was. Harper and Rowan winning the tag titles could have made for an interesting angle wherein they held the belts hostage and ran rampant over the division, but WWE never went all the way with the destructive duo.

Although Harper was primed for singles success when he broke off from the faction at the onset of 2017, he floundered coming out of WrestleMania 33 and entered a forgettable feud with Erick Rowan. The two were taken off television soon after, with PWInsider reporting they were set to return to SmackDown as a tag team (h/t Marc Middleton of Wrestling Inc).

In reuniting Harper and Rowan as a unit, WWE essentially admitted it had failed to take advantage of what they had to offer on their own, but at least the promotion realized they were far better together than apart.

It should be noted Harper and Rowan are not the same competitors fans had come to know during the first four years of their main-roster run. Rather, they have been repackaged as The Bludgeon Brothers, an act that could have been disastrous judging by fans' first look at it.

Not often does WWE do right by such over-the-top gimmicks, especially when they are wielding hammers and dressing like Kane's offspring. That said, their in-ring intensity hasn't faltered, and that will be what helps them sustain momentum in the long run.

In their anticipated arrival on the blue brand on the Nov. 21 edition of SmackDown Live, Harper and Rowan wasted no time in decimating The Hype Bros and showing the WWE Universe what they are all about.

Their back-to-back squashes versus Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley were exactly what they needed to be in showcasing their dominance as well as their strong chemistry as partners. That was also evident during their win against Adam Jones and Josh Carr Tuesday night, displaying zero signs of remorse for the annihilation of their opponents.

While they have yet to take part in a competitive contest, there should be no question they will be able to hold their own against the likes of The New Day, The Usos and Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin. The matches they could have with those tandems have the potential to be exhilarating if The Bludgeon Brothers continue the roll they have been on.

Whether their promo skills can match their aggression in the ring remains to be seen, but based off the vignettes that aired preceding their debut, they will likely be kept limited on the microphone.

Considering how stacked the SmackDown Tag Team Championships picture is, The Bludgeon Brothers should continue building momentum in the months ahead through a feud with Breezango. Mixing the Fashion Police's quirky comedy with Harper and Rowan's seriousness might not be the best combo, but the program has been teased quite a bit recently.

Breezango could suffer a string of losses to The Bludgeon Brothers and not be too damaged given they are already an undercard act. That should effectively kill time for Harper and Rowan before they shift their focus to the tag titles heading into 2018.

As one-dimensional as their gimmick might appear to be, Harper and Rowan will prove themselves as a hot commodity and shine in SmackDown's tag team division.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is an Endicott College alumnus and aspiring journalist. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.