The Revival will be walking into WrestleMania 35 as RAW Tag Team Champions. It’s crazy to think about it because it was only a few months ago where there were rumors afloat about The Revival requesting their release from WWE. It had to do with creative dissatisfaction, supposedly. It also reportedly had to do with the state of the RAW Tag Team division.
And there’s absolutely no denying it – the RAW Tag Team division was the weakest it had been in years in 2018. They gutted the red brand of its best tag teams, and suddenly, SmackDown’s tag team division was stacked. They even moved over superstars like Gallows & Anderson, who have done nothing on the blue brand since.
Moreover, there was emphasis given on temporary teams, and these were the ones dominating the tag division for the good part of the year. It could be said that it all started from WrestleMania 34 last year when Braun Strowman and a 10-year old ended up becoming RAW Tag Team Champions.
Ever since then, it was a complete downhill slope. Then, around the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019, things slowly began to change. There were a couple of new tag teams on the block, and even the unlikely pairing of Chad Gable & Bobby Roode made their way as a legitimate tag team, winning the RAW Tag Team Championships.
It was after The Revival won the RAW Tag Team titles that there really started to be an actual revival of the division. Aleister Black & Ricochet emerged on the block, becoming an unlikely pair and forming a duo when they were never a tag team in the first place. In fact, Black never seemed like a character who could really align and form a tag team.
Either way, ever since then, the RAW Tag title scene has been far more exciting, even if slightly repetitive. Now, the WrestleMania match that happens will be extremely important for the direction of the tag team division going forward. Thankfully, there’s a superstar shake-up happening after WrestleMania, and hopefully, WWE can inject some new blood into the tag team division.
And instead of doing the same thing to SmackDown and gutting their division, it would be ideal if they managed to establish a clear balance this time. There hasn’t even been clarity about the new NXT call-ups and which brand they’re assigned to.
Either way, The Revival have a daunting task at WrestleMania, and we look at their possible opponents.
Chad Gable & Bobby Roode
Gable & Roode have come into their own as a tag team, and their chemistry with The Revival was something that was nicely developed. It wasn’t natural chemistry, but they began to have very long matches in the live event circuit, often even going up to 40 minutes. They’ve proved to be a worthy tag team in the division, and from the look of the direction that the story is taking, they’ll definitely be involved in the tag team title picture.
Aleister Black & Ricochet
As we mentioned, it’s a surprise that they were even paired together. While fans definitely prefer them as singles stars, it’s actually a good thing that they’re teaming together in this juncture. Otherwise, they likely would have ended up with the same fate as EC3, Lacey Evans or even Nikki Cross, who all felt like they were called up just for the sake of being called up.
While these two are frequently wrestling on SmackDown as well, it seems like their place is in the RAW Tag title match at WrestleMania
The Lucha House Party were slowly emerging as contenders, but they’ve quickly taken a step back in the tag team division, hardly being featured. With that said, they’re actually quite an exciting tag team, and they would do well if they were given a spot at WrestleMania. The Luchador trio’s arsenal is meant for the grandest stage.
The B-Team have really fallen down the pecking order since their RAW Tag team title reign. Admittedly, it was nothing but a transitional reign, and while they’ve shown their presence in contender matches, it seems like this year will be yet another Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal for them.
It should be surprising that we even have to mention them in the first place, but crazier things have happened in WWE. While it would be amazing if the two got a WrestleMania match (and even better if it was a win), the truth is that they too will be headed for the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
Verdict: Ultimately, despite improvement, the RAW Tag Team division is still visibly gutted from last year. While two teams’ challenging for the RAW Tag Titles seems certain, it’s possible that Gable & Roode and Black & Ricochet battle it out to face The Revival, in what will most likely be the kickoff show.
