WHEN I STARTED to fall in love with pro wrestling, tag teams were held in high regard. I grew up in the era of the Road Warriors, the Midnight Express, and the Rock ’n’ Roll Express. Those guys traveled together, had chemistry in the ring, and knew each other very, very well. To me, those kinds of teams are automatically going to have an advantage over other teams that are thrown together—even if they’re main-event talent.
Then, you have October 7, 2023. You have Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso, who have never tagged together, other than an eight-man match on . Each man doesn’t know what the other is going to do in the ring, unlike two tag partners who are traveling together on a daily and nightly basis. And yet, they were able to beat Damian Priest & Finn Balor, who have been working together all year. Ricky Starks & Big Bill were also a brand-new team, and they were able to defeat one of the most seasoned duos in the game in FTR. On a psychological level—and on a work level—I feel that should never, ever be the case.
