Paid Members BomberPat Posted January 5 Paid Members Share Posted January 5 Private Party being back - and the Hardys barely warranting a mention in their promo - is a positive sign, but I think the state of the tag team division is something that's an under-discussed part of AEW having lost their way creatively. In the beginning, and largely because you had the Young Bucks pushing for it and the Omega and Hangman Page story happening, there was a lot of talk about them presenting tag team wrestling and something that can main event shows and can be taken just as seriously as singles wrestling. Since then, checking Cagematch, the last PPV had no tag team match, and aside from the glorified angle of a ROH Tag Team Title match last week, there hasn't been a tag team match on AEW TV since Rampage two weeks ago. There hasn't been a tag team title match on Dynamite since the 15th of November. The AEW Tag Team Titles haven't been defended since Full Gear, and before that since late October. Starks and Big Bill have, I think, only defended the belts twice. I would love to see the tag division built back up effectively, but it takes more than just having the teams, they need to be booked properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 @BomberPat A lot of what you're highlighting here is part and parcel of the ROH Title Stink.  The ROH Tag titles have been on AEW TV a lot more recently than the actual AEW ones. There are simply too many titles at the moment in the company, and we've just added another one.  Forget the WWE/WCW/ECW Invasion era, this is palpably worse. ROH Titles should only be defended on ROH TV or PPV if they have those.  If Sniff wants to put a tag match on, he needs to be forced to actually book one in AEW's tag division. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infinity Land Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 1 hour ago, BomberPat said: Since then, checking Cagematch, the last PPV had no tag team match, and aside from the glorified angle of a ROH Tag Team Title match last week, there hasn't been a tag team match on AEW TV since Rampage two weeks ago. There hasn't been a tag team title match on Dynamite since the 15th of November. The AEW Tag Team Titles haven't been defended since Full Gear, and before that since late October. Starks and Big Bill have, I think, only defended the belts twice. What Cagematch wouldn't tell you, but people that watched TV can is that we were stuck with the Big Bill/Starks v. Golden Jets build that pivoted to the 8-man tag when Omega was ruled out. That meant the Jericho vortex and horrible promos. Before Full Gear the build was multi-men and Ricky Starks having some singles matches. The champions have been featured. Problem is not in tag team matches and not on Dynamite. The belts since Collision has started have been almost exclusive to the Saturday show. Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Lorne Malvo Posted January 5 Paid Members Share Posted January 5 Really enjoyed that show. Garcia vs Swerve and Takeshita vs Darby were both belters, and the four-way was fun although Beretta was probably the least exciting winner of the four. Felt like a bit of a reset show with a clearer focus than previous months. Good stuff. Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted January 5 Paid Members Share Posted January 5 14 minutes ago, Infinity Land said: What Cagematch wouldn't tell you, but people that watched TV can is that we were stuck with the Big Bill/Starks v. Golden Jets build that pivoted to the 8-man tag when Omega was ruled out. That meant the Jericho vortex and horrible promos. Before Full Gear the build was multi-men and Ricky Starks having some singles matches. The champions have been featured. Problem is not in tag team matches and not on Dynamite. The belts since Collision has started have been almost exclusive to the Saturday show.  I also watched the TV, and that's why I checked Cagematch - I couldn't remember the last time there was a straight-up tag match on Dynamite, and I wanted to make sure I hadn't missed anything. The champions being featured isn't the point - a division is bigger than its champions. You can have all the roster depth you can ever dream of, you could hire every great tag team in the world, none of it matters if they're not getting booked. That Private Party made their return after a singles match, and said they were putting the tag division on notice by singling out Top Flight (who are mostly working Trios lately) and Orange Cassidy and Hook (a thrown together team who haven't had a tag match since mid-November) just highlights the problem. That the tag titles were likely to be going towards the Golden Jets is another symptom of the same problem - using tag titles to (most likely) further an eventual singles programme is booking straight out of WWE; AEW managed it once with Hangman and Omega, but doing it again with most of the same players for more Elite in-fighting isn't making the most of what could be a stacked division. That the cobbled together make-good for losing Kenny Omega was an eight-man tag rather than prioritising the Tag Team titles getting defended is another symptom of the same problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted January 5 Paid Members Share Posted January 5 (edited) I think fundamentally you can't have both tag champs and trios champs at the same time because they eat away at each other and you're left with not enough tag teams, not enough trios and not enough TV time for either division to have enough to thrive. Edited January 5 by LaGoosh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted January 5 Paid Members Share Posted January 5 4 minutes ago, LaGoosh said: I think fundamentally you can't have both tag champs and trios champs at the same time because they eat away at each other and you're left with not enough tag teams, not enough trios and not enough TV time for either division to have enough to thrive. I think it's doable, as a means to cycle people in and out of contention to avoid falling into the trap of having tag teams either challenging for the belts or disappearing - if Brawl Out hadn't happened, I think the Trios belts would have been a bigger focus, and would have served a purpose of keeping the Young Bucks away from the Tag division and giving opportunities to other teams. Similarly, I think there are teams potentially better suited to the Trios division - House of Black, Best Friends, 2.0 & Daniel Garcia, Jeff Jarrett & Pals, and so on. Trios matches also allow for really crazy high energy stuff like the Top Flight vs. Assorted Luchadores match, so can offer some more variety, particularly if the tag belts are on a more methodical team. But that would require a focus that AEW haven't really demonstrated lately, and would benefit from having a team to really build the Trios division around to establish it, which could have been the case with The Elite as champs for a little longer, and really hasn't been the case with The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn. At this point, perhaps the best thing for it would be a bit of a soft brand split with the Tag belts on one show and Trios on another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Nick James Posted January 5 Paid Members Share Posted January 5 I was thinking about this earlier today in terms of how AEW has changed over the years and it's safe to say, AEW was at its hottest when it was cycling people in and out week to week, rather than having the same people on each show. You could go two or three weeks without seeing some wrestlers, and it was great as you got to see a lot of other talent. Now it seems to be a big core of people are on every show and it takes away both the shine from them and the shine from some of the newer and less featured talent. They have a huge roster, it's easily doable to be able to cycle people in and out. Not necessarily 'themed weeks' as such, but one week could be focused mainly around the tag division with some singles and women's matches in, then the next could be focused on the women with some singles and tag matches thrown in etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted January 5 Paid Members Share Posted January 5 The Young Bucks won a tag title shot in October, which was then switched to the Golden Jets in November, which was then switched to Jericho and Guevara in December. And now Jericho is potentially off TV until the heat dies down on his allegations. It’s fucking January. Madness. Forget the Royal Rumble sweepstakes. We should have the tag title shot sweepstakes. I reckon it’ll eventually be cashed in by The Young Bucks, facing Sting and Darby for the belts at Revolution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Lion_of_the_Midlands Posted January 5 Paid Members Share Posted January 5 Don't worry lads, The Nemeth Brothers v The Hardy Boys is only the crashing of an EWR save away. I love Bombers enthusiasm and optimistic outlook for the Trios belt, but he's right, AEW lack the focus. I personally hate the Trios belts, but given the idea Bombers has pitched I could live with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awards Moderator HarmonicGenerator Posted January 5 Awards Moderator Share Posted January 5 (edited) I think having Tag and Trios belts has muddied the waters in a way they probably didn’t intend. A lot of the trios feel like tag team + one other, rather than a unit of three people, which in turn means more people in the tag division are two parts of a trio or a larger group rather than a duo in their own right. I don’t think it needs fully segregating but a bit more focus on them as separate divisions would help. On another title note, I don’t know how I feel about how hard Eddie Kingston had to work to win the Continental Classic - how hard everyone in the tournament had to work, for that matter - when they could have all just hung on a week and won a quick four way to get a title shot. Edited January 5 by HarmonicGenerator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The King of Old School Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 3 minutes ago, HarmonicGenerator said: I think having Tag and Trios belts has muddied the waters in a way they probably didn’t intend. A lot of the trios feel like tag team + one other, rather than a unit of three people, which in turn means more people in the tag division are two parts of a trio or a larger group rather than a duo in their own right. I don’t think it needs fully segregating but a bit more focus on them as separate divisions would help. On another title note, I don’t know how I feel about how hard Eddie Kingston had to work to win the Continental Classic - how hard everyone in the tournament had to work, for that matter - when they could have all just hung on a week and won a quick four way to get a title shot. Yep that's beyond stupid. I don't see why it has to be another belt either, why can't he just be "continental champion" for a year and then defend his position in the same tournament in December this year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
69MeDon Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 I have no problem with the trios belts, as Bomber noted it allows for a different sort of match and provides some variety. But the tag titles need to be featured a helluve lot more, especially as Big Bill and Starks look like total fucking stars every time they walk out with them. What I don't like is having ROH Six Man titles on AEW TV. I feel like I've been beating this fucking drum for 18 months. If I was interested in ROH, I'd go watch ROH. I want to watch AEW. Please, for the love of Sting, get all the ROH shit off AEW TV forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infinity Land Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 23 minutes ago, HarmonicGenerator said: On another title note, I don’t know how I feel about how hard Eddie Kingston had to work to win the Continental Classic - how hard everyone in the tournament had to work, for that matter - when they could have all just hung on a week and won a quick four way to get a title shot. Isn't that true of most titles won after a tournament? I've more a problem of the quality of the would be contenders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Duke Posted January 5 Paid Members Share Posted January 5 The tag belts have been very much the dominion of collision lately. While they were clearly intending to feature Starks and bill on dynamite with the golden jets things, they're now stuck in Jericho's quagmire. I do think action andretti and top flight should've won the trios titles though. The Acclaimed feel so cold right now and the belts feel crap because they're on them. When it was elite v death triangle and elite v HoB they felt much more important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.