Trying to Figure out Why WWE Is Treating Tag Team Division as an Afterthought

It's been a while since tag team wrestling was last considered a top priority by WWE, and the tag divisions on SmackDown Live and Raw, respectively, have been especially poor as of late.

On the August 19 edition of Raw, Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman cut The O.C.'s reign as Raw Tag Team champions short when they won the twin titles for themselves. It was only one week later that it was announced that they would go one-on-one for the Universal Championship at Clash of Champions.

WWE made it painfully apparent at that point that the tag team championships weren't meant to be anything more than an additional piece of hardware for them to wear around their waists for the foreseeable future.

Although Rollins and Strowman are successful singles stars, them holding the gold does nothing for the division.

This issue extends to SmackDown as well. The New Day have been fun champions so far, but the rest of the tag team division on the blue brand leaves a lot to be desired.

In fact, New Day had to resort to feuding with a tandem from Raw in The Revival in order to remain relevant as SmackDown Tag Team champions. Their interactions have been entertaining, but their program speaks volumes about how little depth there is in the tag team ranks on Tuesday nights.

The Tag Team Turmoil match that took place last week on Raw did a decent job of showcasing WWE's many teams. Unfortunately, most of them lack credibility because of how they have been positioned as afterthoughts for the better part of 2019.

Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode ended up winning the Tag Team Turmoil to punch their ticket to Clash of Champions for the Raw Tag Team Championship. Despite having never teamed up before, the two egomaniacs showed terrific chemistry and were booked to look strong throughout.

In other words, all hope may not be lost for tag team wrestling in WWE just yet.

There is far from a shortage of quality tandems in the company between the two brands. It's more a matter of WWE supplying fans with reasons as to why they should care about them as well as the tag team titles on each show.

Credit: WWE.com

The Wild Card Rule hasn't helped matters, either. With more television time being devoted to the likes of Roman Reigns, The Miz, Kofi Kingston, Shane McMahon and others on Raw and SmackDown, the tag teams have less of a chance of gaining exposure.

This has been a problem with the women's tag team scene, too, which has been in shambles since Sasha Banks and Bayley dropped the straps to The IIconics at WrestleMania 35. That was another instance where the tag champs were hardly shown, and thus their titles were made to feel meaningless.

Although the damage has been done, it isn't impossible to improve the standing of tag team wrestling on the main roster. Adding more teams (such as Street Profits or Undisputed Era) to the mix could help, but it's all about establishing the division as a place where viewers can enjoy exceptional action.

Tag team wrestling can be a blast when done right, and that's been evident on multiple occasions this year in WWE. Look no further than the series of matches Revival had with New Day, or Heavy Machinery having the performance of a lifetime against Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan at Stomping Grounds.

Most members of the WWE Universe immediately lose interest as soon as they see The Lucha House Party, The B-Team and The Ascension on their television screens, but that shouldn't be the case. Two-minute matches won't help their cause any, but consistent character development, compelling storylines and (most importantly) more opportunities to shine in the ring certainly will.

It isn't uncommon of WWE to revive its tag team division every now again, and if what it's been relegated to recently has been indication, it's safe to say that a tag team renaissance for the company is long overdue.

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.