8 Burning Questions For WWE Backlash 2016

3. Are Tag Titles Already Worthless?

Let’s do a comparison simply by listing names and then come back to the discussion:

Edge & Rey Mysterio, D-Von & Ron Simmons, Eddie & Chavo Guerrero, and Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit.

Jimmy & Jey Uso, Jason Jordan & Chad Gable, Zack Ryder & Mojo Rawley, and Rhyno & Heath Slater.

Those are the final four team members from the SmackDown Tag Team Championship tournaments in 2002 and 2016 respectively. To say that these two don’t balance out is an understatement of epic proportions. The 2002 tourney also included Brock Lesnar, Tajiri, Mark Henry, Rikishi, and a very young John Cena. The 2016 version? The Vaudevillains, the Ascension, Fandango, Tyler Breeze, and the Headbangers.

A lot of the wrestlers in the 2002 tournament were still on the ascent as performers and had yet to peak. Edge, Rey, Eddie, and Benoit hadn’t won their first world titles yet – but they were already highly regarded performers in the upper echelon of the roster.

Not to denigrate the wrestlers vying for the SmackDown tag titles now, but the gravitas that was there in 2002 is completely missing. And that can devalue the tag titles right out of the gate. Say the Usos win, but beat the makeshift team of Rhyno & Slater. Compare that to Benoit & Angle defeating Edge & Mysterio. How is beating a guy from the Attitude Era and a free agent adding value to an Usos title win?

At least we can say that there’s nowhere to go but up.