Is Tag-Team Wrestling Making A Comeback?

Dare I say it? Perhaps it's just wishful thinking or maybe more of a hope than a reality, but I think tag-team wrestling just might be making a comeback in WWE! Now don't get me wrong, I know the days of having legitimate tag-teams like The Killer Bees, The Hart Foundation, The British Bulldogs, The Road Warriors, The Rockers, Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff, Strike Force, The Can-Am Connection and The Dream Team (you get my drift) are gone. But can it return?

I remember when a tag-team, in and of itself, was the attraction. The concept of having a unit that performed together and needed each other to be stars was huge.

Tag-teams were also used to catapult at least one of those stars to superstardom (a la Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels). This concept, however, seemed to have been abandoned in recent years...until now (I think).

It's been a while since a tag-team was introduced as a tag-team in WWE...as opposed to being thrown together at a later date. Now, things aren't perfect, but I think they're trying.

MNM debuted as a team not long ago, grabbed the titles, had a decent run and then split up (in all fairness, Joey Mercury's 'personal demons' cut their run short). But now Johnny Nitro's the new IC champ, so the old-school philosophy seems to be rearing its head.

Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch were also introduced as a tag-team...and they went where exactly? So maybe I'm just looking into this too much.

Mexicools...same thing.

However...take a look at what WWE has done with tag-teams over the past couple of months:

THE PITBULLS
Jamie Noble and Kid Kash. Two dope wrestlers...seemingly no direction. Now usually, I'd shit on throwing together two guys going nowhere (Val Venis and Viscera, Matt Striker and Rob Conway...), but in this case, repackaging these two talents (and they are talented) with a new name (an old name actually, but still) and having them wear matching ring attire pays proper homage to the concept of a tag-team. This too could have gone somewhere if not for Kid Kash's suspension. Let's see what happens...

THE HIGHLANDERS
A couple of Cambridge boys (as confirmed by one, Big Daddy Donnie) repackaged as Scots make their way to WWE in search of tag-team gold. For the record, I'm glad they haven't won the titles yet...not just because they haven't been all that impressive but I miss the days where competitors CHASED the title.

The drama was built over months of trying but not succeeding...so when they actually DID win the titles, it would have been both more rewarding and more importantly, it shone the tag-titles in a more prestigious light. Introducing these superstars as a tag-team will hopefully add to the idea that acheiving tag-team championship status is a major accomplishment.

PAUL LONDON/BRIAN KENDRICK
These two represent the real meat of this article. By that, I mean that I think the current WWE tag champs are bringing back what tag-team wrestling is all about: Quick tags, neutralizing your opponent by keeping him in your corner and having a myriad of moves that are required to be performed by BOTH team members!

Don't you hate when a tag-team gets a win (in a non-PPV, extenuating circumstance situation) when only one guy delivers his finisher? What's the point of having a partner if you can't double team your opponent for a Hart Attack, Doomsday Device or Dudley Death Drop?

As shown on last week's "SmackDown!", London and Kendrick have excellent chemistry. Have the ability to be both mat technicians AND high-flyers and don't even need much of a gimmick to get over. Now, I admit I wish there was SOME sort of explanation for the weirdo theatre masks they wear to the ring...but their performances allow for the mystery to slide.

In addition, their tag-teaming prowess allows for two legitimate wrestlers to shine in a company that would otherwise designate them to singles competition during dark matches.

KC JAMES/IDOL STEVENS
First off, let me say that I hate it when a brand new tag-team is already embroiled in a feud with the tag champs. As mentioned earlier, WWE needs to revisit the concept of the 'chase'...and the concept of 'earning' your shot by climbing up through the tag-team ranks. However, these guys wreak of 'old school' wrestling. I don't even mind that they don't have a tag-team name yet. They look like two dudes who could have taken a time machine to 2006 from the 80's.

Unlike conventional tag-teams these guys wear different tights and had no character build-up. I'm not sure where they're going with these two, so under normal circumstances, I'd be dissing their introduction to the audience.

I mean, why are we seeing vignettes of some arrogant, braided-up, blingin' brother tryin' to get a contract from Teddy Long while the on-screen talent hasn't spoken a word yet? In this specific case, I think I actually have an answer.

James and Stevens don't need 'characters'. They're wrestlers. And TAG wrestlers at that! Old school, just like I said. The fact that we know that they are a team and they are in the "E" to win the double straps is all we need.

I hope they actually have a good feud with London and Kendrick, among others, before getting the straps. Allow the audience to feel as if they deserve it or AT LEAST have them around long enough for them to 'discover' the right ways to cheat in order to win gold at the WWE level.

I think they pulled this type of win off way too early last week on "SmackDown!" but also I think I like where the tag-team scene is going...I hope I'm not speaking too early.

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