WWE: Why The Hardy Boyz title win can help both brands

The post-WrestleMania edition of WWE SmackDown continued the trend of Raw the night before with memorable moments, surprises, and unexpected appearances along the way.

The April 9 edition of WWE SmackDown was a fun night from start to finish with several unexpected twists and turns along the way, especially the unexpected SmackDown Tag Team Championship match between two all-time great tag teams.

The Usos have been the SmackDown Tag Team Champions on and off for close to three years now, carrying the blue brand’s tag team division on their shoulders at times.  Their most recent reign started at Elimination Chamber and after a successful title defense at WrestleMania, it appeared like Jimmy and Jey would be carrying the blue brand’s tag team division once again.

However, last night proved otherwise when, for the first time ever, The Usos took on The Hardy Boyz in a dream match that had the SmackDown Tag Team Championship on the line.  This was an exciting match that the WWE universe has wanted to see for a long time, so it had high expectations.  And the match, by most accounts, met expectations in a bit of an abbreviated version compared to what kind of time the teams would have gotten on a pay-per-view platform.

This felt like The Usos would keep their titles and after taking control of the match towards the latter stages, that looked imminent.  For the first time in a long time, The Usos’ double splash attempt from the top rope failed to execute, which led to Matt and Jeff Hardy taking control.  After Matt hit a Twist of Fate and Jeff hit a Swanton Bomb, The Hardyz picked up the huge win to become SmackDown Tag Team Champions for the first time and eight-time tag team champions.

In what has to be considered a surprising result, it actually makes more sense for both sides when broken down.  The Usos have been the standard bearers of the tag team division in the WWE for the past several years.  They have created some of the greatest tag team matches and feuds in WWE history and greatly improve whichever show they’re on.  And thus, that is why Jimmy and Jey losing the tag team titles makes sense on their end.

It’s no secret that Raw has been in shambles in terms of its tag team division over the past year or two.  There have been flashes of success, but nothing sustained and that has created a lot of apathy towards the red brand’s tag team division.  With the superstar shakeup coming up next week, The Usos losing the SmackDown Tag Team Championship opens up a clear road for Jimmy and Jey to turn from blue to red, so to speak.

Monday nights need The Usos, there’s no other way around it.  The red brand needs more serious, established tag teams and having The Usos be the big dogs for the Raw tag team division would immediately upgrade the entire division and make it more relevant than it has been in a long time.  It doesn’t only have to be The Usos going to Monday nights, but it needs to be them at a minimum.  They could help change lives on the red brand.

In terms of just the blue brand, though, The Hardyz holding the SmackDown Tag Team Championship makes a lot of sense.  Matt and Jeff make up one of the greatest tag teams in WWE history with a legacy basically unmatched, but they still have something left in the proverbial tank even into their low-40’s.  The possibilities are endless regarding what they can do as tag team champions on SmackDown.

The Hardyz could help create some unique and fresh feuds that could lead to some great matches.  And even though they have been tag team champions on the red brand in recent years, seeing them as tag team champions on the blue brand feels different in a good way.  This is the perfect team to help put over several young teams that need a big break.

No matter what teams end up on Tuesday nights through the superstar shakeup, Matt and Jeff will do an excellent job representing the blue brand as tag team champions.  Last night’s result made a lot of sense in several ways.  Both The Hardyz and The Usos are lined up for future success in 2019 regardless of what brand they end up on.  It seems pretty clear that Matt and Jeff will stay on SmackDown, but it feels like the right time to ship Jimmy and Jey over to Raw.

Both brands would be in good shape in terms of tag team wrestling with these two teams helping carry the load.