Today at WWE Payback, the Vaudevillains (Simon Gotch & Aiden English) will face off against Enzo & Big Cass for number one contendership of the WWE World Tag Team titles. These teams paid their dues in NXT and have now found themselves thrust into the Main Roster tag team scene. The Vaudevillains beat the teams of Goldust & Fandango and The Usos, while Enzo and Big Cass beat The Ascension and The Dudley Boyz. The teams quick rise to the top of the tag team division has been a shot of adrenaline and has suddenly made the division relevant once more. The two teams picked up big wins over long established teams (The Dudleyz and the Usos), giving them credibility, and proving that they deserve what they are being given.
At this point, it is kind of a toss up between the two as to who will win – The Vaudevillains are very limited by their gimmick, but on the other hand Enzo and Big Cass didn’t earn the tag titles in NXT. It is hard to recall the last time a match was so unpredictable. But one thing is for sure and that is that this match has the potential to be high caliber and highly entertaining.
Adding two new teams to the fold injects some much needed energy into the tag team scene. The New Day have held the championships for 252 days. No other tag teams have been a viable threat. The Ascension have been jobbers since day one, the Golden Truth have been overplayed, and The Usos have tried again and again but failed. Their most recent foes The League of Nations were going to face the New Day for the titles at Wrestlemania 32 but the title stipulation was inexplicably pulled from the match, and “the Lads” have since been broken up. The two teams of Enzo and Big Cass and the Vaudevillians bring excitement and unpredictability to the stagnant tag team division.
Teams mentioned above (The Golden Truth, The Ascension, and even The Usos and Dudleyz) should be concerned for their positions in the division. None of those teams can match the Vaudevillains or Enzo and Big Cass in terms of what they bring to the ring, and what they bring to the mic.
Enzo is excellent on the mic and will berate the men of Vaudeville before the match. In the ring, his combination of wrestling savvy and high flying antics will provide tons of entertainment. His partner Big Cass’ high powered offense compliments the high flyer perfectly. The Vaudevillains work excellent as a team and are a well oiled routine that may just send Enzo and Big Cass into a Whirling Dervish to secure a big victory and go on to face the New Day for the WWE Tag Team Championship.
That being said whoever wins this match should go on to become Tag Team Champions. A 252 day reign almost unopposed needs to come to an end. The Vaudevillains could tear through the division with their excellent teamwork, and Enzo and Big Cass can destroy opponents inside and outside of the ring with words and fists. This could be the start of a long standing feud between the two teams. A title match between the two at SummerSlam would more interesting than anything the New Day has done in the past few months.
The two teams have met time and time again in NXT, but the stage has never been this big and the stakes have never been this high. The NXT alumni are not only breathing a breath of fresh air in a limited tag team scene on the main roster but they are also showing what NXT talent can do on the main roster if booked correctly. These two teams very well could steal the show at Payback both on the microphone and in the squared circle. The result of this match is by far the least predictable on the card, and one thing is certain this is the most relevant the tag team titles have been in quite some time. When creative decided to pull a tag team title stipulation at Wrestlemania, it was time to go in a different direction, and a long term feud between these two NXT alumni – with tag team gold at the center of it – is the perfect way to rebuild the division.
Main Photo: WWE.com
