10 Indy Wrestling Stars WWE Would Ruin

7. War Machine

WALTER PROGRESS
Oli Sandler/The Ringside Perspective

WWE cannot really "do" powerhouse tag teams.

Were it not for the awesome New Day Vs. Usos programme of this year, and the resurgence of Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, that descriptor could probably be dropped outright. Nonetheless, cynicism lurks in the same hiding places as Braun Strowman, ready to roar and rear its ugly head. Ambrose and Rollins were used as props on RAW this week to prop up Kane's push, part 736. They're only a tag team, was the inferred reasoning.

Vince McMahon took one look at the Road Warriors - an act who drew massive money and changed the tag game as larger-than-life apocalyptic badasses - and decided their lucrative image needed to be softened. Saddling them with Rocco The Dummy was heavily ironic. The Ascension tore up NXT...so McMahon welcomed them to the wasteland of the SmackDown comedy undercard. Luke Harper and Erick Rowan have been Bludgeoned, time and time again.

Besides which, WWE have already tokenised the Authors of Pain. War Machine are a far superior tandem in terms of presence and workrate, and don't need to be carried - but they aren't a bespoke WWE creation, and have already suffered the Demolition treatment via the creation of Heavy Machinery.

 
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Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!