DIY are the perfect shot in the arm for WWE tag team wrestling

The July 5th edition of WWE SmackDown saw the crowning of new tag team champions. DIY defeated A Town Down Under to pick up the WWE Tag Team Championship. Tag team wrestling in WWE has seen better days, as it has been put on the back burner for much of the year. While Triple H’s creative direction has given care to other divisions, the tag group has been treading water. DIY is the right group to infuse some action back into the division. At least fans can hope.

Overall, tag wrestling in both major North American promotions hasn’t seen the type of action that fans desire. Unfortunately, the ebbs and flows of booking caused duos and trios to be pushed behind the growth of singles action.

Commentary may have boasted about the duo of Austin Theory and Grayson Waller being undefeated, but that’s not quite that hard for the team that only defended the belt once since winning them back at WrestleMania 40. The same could be said about what’s going on in the WWE Raw tag team division. Putting the titles back on The Judgment Day was met with collective eye rolls, even if it will play a part in moving the group’s impending collapse forward.

Back to DIY as the new champions. Waller and Theory are good workers in their own right, but the match that Tomasso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano got out of them is easily their best work since being a part of the WWE roster. This match had all the big spots, including several callbacks to the NXT TakeOver Toronto battle between DIY and FTR nearly a decade ago. Putting the championship on them here in this fashion was the perfect call to make.

Think about some of the matches this duo can have in the future. SmackDown, and the WWE roster entirely, is packed with some great tag teams. The Street Profits, Legado del Fantasma, GOD, and Cedric and Ashante are just some of the available teams on that show. If Triple H is planning to give this group more focus, giving DIY the space for weekly matches is what must happen sooner, rather than later. Ciampa and Gargano were two key pieces that made WWE NXT fantastic during its Black & Gold era under his watchful eye, so seeing them get a prominent position now on SmackDown makes sense.

Fans want tag team wrestling back. Putting the belts on a highly capable team like DIY is the right move. Now, let’s hope this division finally gets the booking it deserves.