WWE Raw: The tag team division is getting back on track

The Jun. 24 edition of WWE Raw was the second straight night of stellar tag team action, which could be a sign of potentially great things to come for the future of the tag team division.

Last night’s WWE Raw saw a first-time ever occurrence when the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Champions teamed together in an eight-man Tag Team Elimination Match that continued the recent trend of impressive tag team matches that started at Stomping Grounds this past Sunday.

Raw Tag Team Champions The Revival teamed with SmackDown Tag Team Champions Daniel Bryan and Rowan to battle Big E and Xavier Woods of The New Day and The Usos in what would turn out to be a very entertaining elimination tag team match.  The match would come down to The Usos and The Revival and these teams left it all in the ring to escape with the big win.

Both teams broke out a wide variety of offense and neither side could pull away from the other.  That was until the finish when Jey Uso executed a perfect splash from the top rope by jumping off of Dash Wilder’s back on top of Scott Dawson after Dawson hit Jimmy Uso with a top rope suplex.  That creative and impromptu finish would prove to be enough for The Usos to get the win and pin the Raw Tag Team Champions.

This could inevitably lead to The Usos getting a Raw Tag Team Championship shot in the very near future – perhaps at Extreme Rules – but the bigger picture might not be just the future of the Raw Tag Team Championship. It could be the future of the entire WWE tag team division in general after two straight successful nights dating back to Stomping Grounds on Sunday night.

To call the tag team division unstable in recent memory would be an understatement, but as of late, it’s been a challenge just to get the Tag Team Champions on TV no matter which brand was taking center stage.

The previous Raw Tag Team Champions, Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins, would rarely ever get TV time and had only a couple of title defenses.  The Revival has had plenty of downs in its recent Raw Tag Team Championship reigns as well.

Over on the blue brand, Bryan and Rowan seemed like perfect options to carry and elevate the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, but even they struggled with a lack of direction and TV time.

However, Stomping Grounds presented the WWE Universe with two high-quality tag team matches that could have woken up Vince McMahon and company in regards to showcasing tag team wrestling in a better light.

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Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn vs. The New Day was a very good and enjoyable tag match and even with no titles being at stake, this match helped remind fans just how good tag team wrestling can be when it’s treated the way it should be treated.

The same could be said for Bryan and Rowan’s title defense against Heavy Machinery, which also turned out to be a solid match that was a positive showcase of tag team wrestling.

Then, there was last night, which saw both Tag Team Champions teaming up and competing in a very good tag team elimination match.  That’s three stellar tag team matches in the course of a 24-hour period, so the WWE needs to take notice of that.  The crowd reactions were very good for these matches as well, which should be taken into consideration as well.

Fans love good tag team wrestling and no matter how many singles matches are on a card, those matches can’t provide what tag team matches can provide.  The lack of creative direction for the tag team division lately has been abysmal, so that has to change and it seems like the recent couple of nights could prove to be a defining sequence for a possible tag team metamorphosis.

With how the WWE’s product has been lately, it needs good tag team wrestling to help create more captivating TV.  It’s as simple as giving these teams solid storylines and a platform to go out and put on great matches, and no, filming people shaving in the showers doesn’t count as a solid storyline.  This metamorphosis needs to carry over to the Women’s Tag Team Championship scene as well, but the men’s scene has to improve and stay that way.

Hopefully, the recent trend of stellar tag team action opens the door for what fans have been craving for so long, a tag team division in the WWE that consistently provides quality storylines and matches.