On the Mar. 13 episode of NXT, Aleister Black and Ricochet advanced to the finals of the Dusty Rhodes Classic, but they’re also in contention for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championships. Could they win the latter titles at WrestleMania 35?
Seemingly a thrown-together tag team on WWE Raw after being called up from NXT, Aleister Black and Ricochet have quickly become one of the Red Brand’s strongest points. Tommaso Ciampa’s heart-breaking neck injury prevented DIY and Ciampa from potentially winning the tag titles, but Black and Ricochet have more than stepped up as “replacements” in a Raw Tag Team Division that desperately needed this injection of talent.
Since winning the Raw Tag Team Championships, The Revival have elevated tag team wrestling on Monday nights, producing some quality matches with Bobby Roode and Chad Gable and, now, Black and Ricochet. The three tag teams put together a solid match at Fastlane on Mar. 10 in Cleveland, which came after Gable and Roode interrupted a tag match between Black/Ricochet and The Revival on the Mar. 4 episode of Raw.
Black and Ricochet have absolutely incredible chemistry in the ring, and it is remarkable how quickly they’ve gotten on the same page as a tag team. Their synchronized pose, with Ricochet flipping off the ropes and Black doing a springboard moonsault into a seated position, has become another one of wrestling’s pure, simple joys.
Given how frequently Black and Ricochet have faced The Revival this WrestleMania season, it seems like the two tag teams are on a collision course for a WrestleMania match. Another tag team joining them is more than possible, as Gable and Roode have been a huge part of the story as former tag champs and Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder could have an awesome WrestleMania moment in their “hometown”.
But Ricochet and Black have the most buzz right now. They’ve been two of the best wrestlers in the world for quite some time, dazzling the NXT Universe with some amazing matches. Their bouts against Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole, Andrade, and the Velveteen Dream are among the best NXT TakeOver matches in history, with Black vs. Dream forever living in infamy as a star-making performance for both men.
As individuals, Black and Ricochet’s credentials are well-established. And as a tag team, they’ve already made their mark on both NXT TV and Raw; defeating DIY to advance to the finals of the Dusty Rhodes Classic is a massive deal. Standing toe-to-toe with The Revival, who were once NXT’s greatest tag team, on the main roster may be even more impressive.
Though The Revival need to head into WrestleMania with the tag titles and seem likely to emerge from “The Show of Shows” as champions, Black and Ricochet have been a tremendous tag team thus far and should be in the conversation as potential winners. It’d be an early WrestleMania moment for the recent NXT call-ups, and, to some, they are a “backup plan” for DIY after Ciampa’s awful injury. However, Ricochet and Black have made the most of this opportunity as partners, and the WWE Universe is fully behind them; it’d be quite the moment to see them holding the tag titles together at MetLife.