WWE Draft 2016: Splitting New Day Would Be Biggest Mistake

WWE would be foolish to split up the best tag-team act of the last five years.

Last time the brand split came around in 2002, one of the biggest shocks was the split of many top tag teams. Aside from keeping tag champs Billy & Chuck together, other long-time tag teams were split up during the separation of RAW and SmackDown.

Minor teams were split up including former tag champs Tazz and Spike Dudley going their separate ways. The biggest one of the night (and the only one broadcast on live television) was the split of the Dudley Boyz. The team that would be the most decorated one of all time went to different brands; Bubba Ray to RAW and D-Von to SmackDown.

More wwe: WrestleMania 33 Match Card Projections

More from WWE

• Trish Stratus on WWE NXT would help elevate that women’s division
• Randy Orton signs with SmackDown to go after The Bloodline
• WWE and AEW will put on a full court press for Kazuchika Okada in 2024
• The Judgment Day is the top faction story in WWE
• Liv Morgan vs Rhea Ripley is perfect for WWE Royal Rumble 2024

The split made the tag division weaker and didn’t do wonders for either Bubba Ray or D-Von. The only positive from either of their singles runs was D-Von’s introduction of Batista. Right now, this team may benefit from a split to see Bubba Ray go on a TNA-style singles run.

One team WWE can not make the same mistake with this time around is the New Day.

The popular trio of Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods form one of the biggest acts in the business right now. They’ve had a tag title reign of over 300 days and have deserved every day of it. With the draft a few weeks away, it would seemingly be hard to corral all three members of the team to the same brand.

Having them split now would be the wrong move. The trio still has lots of development as a team to go through. That seems to be coming true in their feud with the Wyatt Family. The character changes that could come from a more serious feud would do the three wonders.

More from Daily DDT

• It’s time for Adam Cole and MJF to drop the ROH tag team titles
• Tom Lawlor talks MLW return, AEW opportunity, CM Punk’s WWE return and more
• Eddie Kingston stands to gain the most from the AEW Continental Classic
• Trish Stratus on WWE NXT would help elevate that women’s division
• Randy Orton signs with SmackDown to go after The Bloodline

The tag team champs were drafted as a duo plus manager last time around, but that has not been guaranteed so far. WWE could choose to have two of the three move to one brand and take the titles with them, leaving the other in the dust.

The most likely candidate to be moved would be Xavier Woods, keeping the primary team of Kingston and Big E together. That would make both the team and Woods a lot less successful of an act. Woods’ in-ring game isn’t as strong as the others, and Big E and Kingston would lose a lot of their interest without Woods as their go-to mouthpiece.

WWE has a litany of difficult decisions ahead of them with the coming draft. One decision should be easy: keep the tag division strong, and keep the New Day together. Use them, one of the most powerful teams in wrestling, to anchor one of the shows. Splitting them up now would be WWE shooting themselves in the foot.

Related Story: 4 Reasons New Day Breaking Up Could Be Interesting

Splitting up the New Day would simply be booty.