Friday Night SmackDown has never been a perfect show. For much of its existence, it has been treated as the glorified “B Show” of WWE programming. That being said, it has also a proven ability to produce some of the best eras of WWE television. Who can forget the “SmackDown Six” of Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio, Edge, Chavo Guerrero and Chris Benoit? Or the beginnings of the Ruthless Aggression Era, where Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar and a young John Cena endeared themselves to fans the world over?
Today, we will be focusing on an act from the mid-to-late 2000s – one of the more underrated eras of SmackDown. Batista, The Undertaker, Jeff Hardy, CM Punk, Rey Mysterio and more helped to make it must-see pro wrestling every week. It was an era which, also, saw the debuts and pushes of plenty of new talent: The Great Khali, Vladimir Kozlov, Jimmy Wang Yang, Jesse & Festus, Mike Knox, Biker Chuck Palumbo. Not all worked out, of course. However, one of the better, more memorable acts was a traditional, throwback tag team and valet act. If you were a fan of SmackDown in 2006 and 2007, you will remember Deuce ‘n Domino (and Cherry, who have become something of a cult favorite in recent years.
https://twitter.com/CliffCompton/status/1331300096101675008
Hailing From the Other Side of the Tracks, Deuce ‘n Domino
Consisting of Deuce Shade (Jimmy Snuka Jr.), Dice Domino (Cliff Compton) and valet Cherry Pie (Kara Elizabeth Drew), the Deuce ‘n Domino act was a retro, James Dean inspired group of Greasers who looked to have more business in the hit movie Grease than in a wrestling ring. However, this was very much their charm. There simply weren’t any other acts around like this and, therefore, it worked. The brilliant theme song – I’m All About Cool – (by the even more brilliant, Jim Johnston) and the difference of their look and character made them stand out. In many ways, they were a 1950s version of Big Cass & Enzo Amore and Carmella.
In WWE’s developmental system, throughout 2006, they were the tag team. In Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), they were 3x OVW Tag Team Champions. In the WWE’s other developmental, Deep South Wrestling (DSW), they had a single DSW Tag Team Championship to their name. They were clearly being groomed to be a big tag team on the WWE main roster and on the January 16, 2007 edition of Friday Night SmackDown, they debuted in a dominant display against local enhancement talents, Adam Roberts and Patrick Bentley. Instantly, they became a recognized, talented tag team – in an era where makeshift tag teams dominated the divisions, it was refreshing to see a real tag team. Soon, they would enter into a feud with SmackDown’s dominant team and resident WWE Tag Team Champions – the memorable duo of Paul London and Brian Kendrick. London & Kendrick, being almost futuristic high-flyers and Deuce & Domino being two bruisers from the “Other Side of the Tracks”, they were polar opposites and it made for relatively compelling viewing to see them in the same ring. They would hand each other defeats over the course of months before, finally, on the April 17 edition of SmackDown, Deuce & Domino would capture the titles from the two high flyers.
Dropping the Titles and Road to WWE Obscurity
— Cherry 🍒 (@FmrDivaCherry) June 7, 2021
After capturing the titles, it would then be almost an entire month that Deuce ‘n Domino would be kept off of WWE television. Confined to house shows between SmackDown and ECW on Syfy, so much time away from the SmackDown roster did not help endear them to the audience in the way that they could have. This was during one of the many unfortunate eras of WWE tag team wrestling – which had become a gutted shell of its former glory by this point. Makeshift tag teams reigned supreme and ultimately, it would be another, that of MVP and Matt Hardy, which would overcome the Greasers from the Other Side of the Tracks. MVP and Hardy were enemies who became a tag team – think Cesaro and Sheamus‘ formation of The Bar from a few years back. Once they became a team, following a vastly entertaining feud which helped them both get over with the audience, it was game over for a Deuce ‘n Domino team which had not been given the time it needed to shine. They dropped the titles to the odd pairing on the August 28 edition of the show. They never got to defend the titles on pay-per-view and they would never again capture tag team gold.
Having lost their rematch in October, they became something of an enhancement act themselves – putting over the teams of MVP and Hardy, Jimmy Wang Yang & Shannon Moore and Jesse & Festus on numerous occasions each. They would occasionally grab a victory, but the damage was done. Eventually, Cherry would join Jesse & Festus, whilst Deuce ‘n Domino were aligned with Maryse – but there was no recovery for the duo. Eventually, on the June 20, 2008 episode of SmackDown, Deuce would turn on Domino – assaulting him, throwing his jacket at him and the team would be dissolved, never to be seen again. Deuce, the real-life son of Jimmy Snuka and brother of Tamina, is now retired from the ring. Domino, also known as Cliff Compton, retired from the ring in 2018 after years on the independent circuit following his WWE run. Cherry, too, is retired – now a professional baker. Though the trio have retired to the cozier side of the tracks, their legacy as a fun, refreshing tag team during something of a difficult era for tag team wrestling within the WWE remains. They will always be cool.
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