WWE has always positioned SmackDown Live as a proving grounds. While no longer viewed as the secondary weekly program, the show remains a drawing board for fresher talent and ideas– one where comedic skits and segments just seem to work better. If you need more evidence, look no further than the tag division.
Over a month ago it was announced that The New Day would come prancing to the blue brand as a result of the “superstar shake-up.” The move makes sense, as there wasn’t much more to get out of them on RAW. Plus, they always felt like a balancing act to that show’s more serious tone.
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But as we continue to await their arrival, teased each week by graphic announcements, another tag team have stepped into their comedically large shoes. I’m talking of course, about Tyler Breeze and Fandango’s (aka “Breezango”) wildly-popular and Fashion Files segments.
The backstage skits have proved to be some of the best work of their careers, elevating the team’s profile. And after a recent surprise victory in the first-ever tag team Beat The Clock Challenge, the new No. 1 contenders to the tag titles are none other than The Fashion Police.
Tomorrow at BackLash, Breezango will face The Usos for the tag team titles. Once a kid-friendly force of positivity not unlike The New Day, Jimmy and Jay have recently carved out a more serious name for themselves, shedding the face paint for street clothes and turning heel on American Alpha, stripping the SmackDown recruits of the tag title belts back in March.
So the question remains– When The New Day finally do return to the ring, will they face the straight-faced street-style Usos as tag champs? Or will the Blue Brand pit the comedic stylings of the former record-setting RAW tag champs against its new standout jokers, The Fashion Police?
It’s also rumored that The New Day might forgo the Tag Division competition altogether, in pursuit of “Freebird”-ing a shared SmackDown Live singles title. The last group to do so in recent memory was their former RAW rivals the Wyatt Family.
Speaking of RAW, let’s not forget the humorous shortcomings of presenting Gallows and Anderson as a *comedy* Club, delivering lame Doctor Jokes about “ringpostitus.” That joke went on for far too long, and did far too little for the stakes of the tag division. Also consider how RAW has squandered the talents of instantly quotable fan-favorites Enzo and Big Cass, and the “Unbroken” Hardys… At this point, Heath Slater and Rhyno may be the only ones carrying the comedic torch, if they’re able to deliver the same quality of promos and interviews as they did for SmackDown prior to the “shake-up.”
As long as RAW’s jokes continue to fall flat, audiences will keep looking to SmackDown’s tag division for laughs. Besides, who could deny the comedic potential of Breezango’s “Fashion Police” issuing New Day an endless stack of tickets for their numerous wardrobe infractions, even spiking those citations on their unicorn horn headgear. Regardless of who carries the tag titles after Sunday, here’s hoping we get to see The New Day shoot promos as the entrepreneurial encyclopedia brown-esque kid-detectives to Breezango’s garment gumshoes and Style Victims Unit.
