The WWE hasn’t always treated the tag team division with the respect that it deserves.
Over the past several years, that has been abundantly clear with how few tag teams there seem to be and where most tag team matches fall on the card.
Now it seems the WWE is starting to come around on tag team wrestling with the No. 1 Contenders’ Tag Team Tournament that started this past week. The winner of the eight team tournament will face The New Day – one of WWE’s hottest acts – for the tag team belts at Payback.
This tournament has helped introduce two new tag teams from the NXT pipeline in The Vaudevillians and Enzo Amore and Big Cass. By introducing both of these teams in this tourney, it’s a good barometer to see how these teams will be received.
The clear winners so far are Enzo and Big Cass. The tag team was a hit in NXT and their popularity has translated well onto the main roster.
Enzo is the winner out of him and Big Cass because his mic skills are some of the best the company has seen in a long time. Big Cass is no slouch either but it’s obvious how much Enzo props him up on the mic.
The delivery that Enzo has on the mic is truly unique to a stale WWE. He comes off as natural and free-flowing like he is actually believing what he is saying, which in turn convinces the fans that he is a legitimate star.
My personal favorite bit of his is when he adds a little “How you doin’” at the end of some of his insults.
It’s nice that Enzo has added such a breath of fresh air to the company. Now it’s up to him and Big Cass to make sure that their in-ring performance is up to their speaking performance. Enzo and Big Cass have a huge opportunity to become one of the biggest tag teams in the company.
As for the Vaudevillians, their gimmick doesn’t really appeal to me at all. The Vaudevillians are basically bad guys from 1950s cartoons with their handlebar mustaches. Aiden English and Simon Gotch are solid wrestlers and decent talkers but it’s hard to see this act gaining much steam.
Both of the teams won their opening round matches against The Ascension and Goldust and Fandango, respectively.
It would be a shame if the WWE didn’t pounce and give the title shot to Enzo and Cass. The other three teams – The Usos, Vaudevillians and The Dudley Boyz – don’t make as much of a compelling story as Enzo and Cass.
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The potential promos between The New Day and Enzo and Cass could easily be some of the best work in years.
Not every single act from NXT is going to work - that’s a given. However, when one does come up and work, the WWE needs to run with it.
Enzo and Cass have something special going on right now and you can’t teach that.
Thomas Romero-Salas is the culture editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @ThomasRomeroS.
