Where Did The Art Of Tag Team Wrestling Go?

The WWE should bring back in the tag team division for many, many reasons. The tag team division supplied the WWE Universe with a different genre of matches rather than generic one on one match ups with the occasional gimmick tossed in.  If we think back to Sports Entertainment’s recent golden agent, the Attitude Era, tag team wrestling played an extremely pivotal poll in it.

Any fan from that era can recall many a different things in regards to tag team wrestling. Whether it was a 5 second pose, a good ole “ Devon get the tables” or  the invention of Tables, Ladders and Chairs; tag team wrestling was pure gold. Aside from Tables, Ladders and Chairs, which WWE has now adopted to a pay-per-view event, that takes place later this month, we also saw the birth of some of the WWE’s greatest singles competitors that would dominate both in the main events and mid cards for years to come. The Rated R Superstar as known today was merely the kazoo playing, pop loving fun boy paired with the man who is now known as Captain Charisma, the Instant Classic. TNA World Champion and former WWE World Champion Jeff Hardy was brought in as a pair of dare devils with his brother Matt Hardy.  All four competitors have brought in numerous championships under their times in singles competition, and this formula has worked for decades, and should still work in today’s market.

Think about the numerous Superstars from yesteryear that started out as part of a team that came on to be Hall of Famers. Starting off with the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels, anyone in a tag team in today’s world wants to go on to be “the Shawn Michaels” of his team, and not be “Marty Jannettied”.  Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart, before being the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be, once was the technical aspect of the Hart Foundation with Jim ‘the Anvil’ Neidhart. Rikishi from the Headshrinkers went on to great individual success, after yet more tag team success with 2Cool.  Shelton Benjamin before becoming the Gold Standard was part of the World’s Greatest Tag Team. Legendary Sting used to be in a tag team with theUltimate Warrior back in the 80’s. This list could go on and on.

Today with the Miz winning the WWE Championship you hear commentators consistently remarking, and even Miz himself, that everyone predicted he would be the Marty Jannetty of his tag team with John Morrison. Yet with that being said we’re on a countdown (hopefully) to a huge feud between the Miz and Morrison leading towards Wrestlemania 27. 

Simply put, tag team wrestling develops stars. You don’t have to push them as quick as you’re seeing with Drew McIntyre andKofi Kingston sliding from borderline main eventing into obscurity. Why such Superstars with high hopes like Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase Jr, Chris Masters, Tyler Reks, R Truth and MVP and so many others sliding into jobber and barely into mid card status because the air time is strictly devoted to a select few each week. If WWE were to bring back a true tag team division and let potential great teams like the Hart Dynasty, The Usos, show off how great tag team wrestling is. It seemed as though WWE creative was about to get this off the ground a few years ago when they added back teams of Morrison/Truth, Henry/MVP, JeriShow and such, but nothing really amounted to it as they pushed each competitor back into a singles role.

If the WWE were to bring back tag team wrestling, there would be less of a waste of stars, teams like Kozlov/Marella would get more air time, the Hart Dynasty and the Usos. Creative could start doing other single star pairings to create a more competitive environment and add back into what was once a great division that has simply died. The Hart Dynasty and Usos are jobbers now to sudden pairings of stars. Mid carders stuck in limbo like MVP would have more air time to than just job to the likes of Dolph Ziggler.

The current WWE Tag Team Champions of Slater and Gabriel could come off with a great title run depending on the Nexus story line and be better off for it, and develop further as stars of old. Or the WWE could yet again crunch a great genre of this pastime. I know I miss tag team wrestling, it’s too bad Vince doesn’t.