10 Most Must-See Matches, Moments, And Segments From WWE This Week

2. Selling The Knee: Storytelling In The Tag Team Division Sure To Payoff

The Miz Dolph Ziggler
WWE.com

Weeks ago, it seemed a logical concern that American Alpha might struggle to get over with a broader audience if they were presented as too dominant, too quickly. Poised to mow through the field in the Tag Team Championship tournament, they were looking far too Superman and not enough Batman, whose emotional resonance is greater in a modern society which prefers the resourceful hero to the unbeatable one.

Fortunately, The Usos turned heel and took out Chad Gable's knee - fortunate in the sense that now Gable and Jason Jordan can fight their way to the titles instead of ascending immediately to the top spot. Fans of NXT got to see them climb the hierarchical ladder in a different way; now the fans who did not see their NXT ascent need to see them make a similar climb on the main roster.

The match on SmackDown this week was just the kind of storytelling destined to get American Alpha over to a much greater extent in the long run. Gable's knee injury and the Usos continued attack of it made the former Olympian sympathetic; Jordan's attempt to go it alone and win the #1 contendership solo was endearing.

It was an important chapter in the Books of Alpha and Uso, so check it out. While you are at it, take a gander at Jimmy and Jey's backstage interaction immediately following their victory with Rhyno and Heath Slater.

Contributor
Contributor

"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition. Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.