Tag team wrestling has always been a hotly debated topic amongst WWE fans. Some are big fans, as we’ve seen natural tag teams like the Judgment Day, the Motor City Machine Guns, and the Street Profits shine as part of the tag team divisions. But others have major issues with how they are being operated. Many of these fans have valid concerns. With three tag belts across the men’s division and only one tag belt in the women’s division, there is validation for people saying there are way too many belts in WWE.
The women’s tag team division has done well in showcasing how the division should be run, especially in recent weeks. With only one belt, several tag teams have been made to fight for the title. Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss have gone from resentful friends to tag team champions. The Kabuki Warriors have been pairing together for years. Lash Legend and Nia Jax are being introduced as major players, among other teams.
Down in NXT and Evolve, things are looking bright as well. Even though things aren’t looking good at the moment, Sol Ruca and Zaria have been strong together in the past. Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid could pair up to get Fatal Influence more gold. Chantel Monroe and Layla Diggs are getting more screentime. Carlee Bright and current Evolve Women’s Champion Lainey Reid have been a solid duo.
But the men’s tag team divisions are a mess. There are three tag belts, which is completely unneccessary and way too much. The women’s tag division is so exciting because there’s only one belt to fight for. We’ve seen multiple brand crossings just in the past few months alone, as SmackDown tag teams head to Raw and main roster champions head to NXT in order to fight for the tag team titles. With separate belts for each brand, only a select few tag teams compete for their chosen belt.
The divide has caused much controversy in terms of the number of matches the tag team champions have competed in. Judgment Day’s last reign as tag team champions was very lazy. Finn Balor and JD McDonagh won the titles last June. They had one successful defense on television the next month before dropping the titles to AJ Styles and Dragon Lee two months after that. A 112 day reign with one title defense is ridiculous.
The same thing can be said about the Wyatt Sicks. It’s been nearly two months since they’ve defended the tag team titles, with no future championship match in sight. The whole SmackDown tag division are fighting each other for essentially nothing. They’re wrestling just to wrestle since Dexter Lumis and Joe Gacy never bother to actually defend their championships.That has caused major frustration for fans of DIY, Fraxiom, MCMG, and others.
Consolidating the belts into one across the main roster, while perhaps taking a page out of the women’s division and making NXT teams fight for that belt, is the best course of action. Right now, there are too many tag teams and too few opportunities because of the multiple belts in the company. The women’s division has it correct. One belt being fought for creates intense competition and brand crossing that promotes exciting new matchups. Defending against the same three teams, even in NXT, has gotten boring. Combining at least two, or maybe three, belts across the men’s tag team division will instantly change tag team wrestling for the better.