10 Embarrassing NXT-Era Creative Failures You Totally Forgot About

4. Jason Jordan & Tye Dillinger: Faceless Tag Guys

Becky Lynch
WWE.com

The creative triumph that was American Alpha's NXT coming together owes much to this union, as it was Jason Jordan's string of failed tag teams that prompted the endearing Chad Gable to irritate him into forming their tandem in the first place. Still, JJ and Tye Dillinger did next to nothing together.

They wore similar tights and worked a basic, coordinated ring entrance that saw them approach the stage from different sides, meet in the middle, then make their way down. That was the extent of a gimmick. Aside from that, Dillinger and Jordan were just a couple of personality-less create-a-wrestlers with the most generic entrance theme in the territory. There wasn't a single reason to care about them, so nobody did.

The duo finally found the direction they were dying for after going their separate ways in 2015. Dillinger became so popular as 'The Perfect 10' that WWE were eventually forced to turn him babyface, while Alpha remain one of the NXT system's biggest tag team success stories. Things haven't worked out so well on the main roster (for varying reasons), but their respective repackagings springboarded both from developmental when they looked like prime candidates for release a few months prior, such was their uselessness as a tandem.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett

Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.