10 Radical Ideas That Could Save WWE's Tag Division

5. Make Number One Contender Status Mean Something

The status of €˜number one contender€™ for any title should be written to actually mean something. To be considered worthy of challenging for your division€™s championship is a huge, massive deal in legitimate competition, and pro wrestling may be a work, but it€™s a work that specifically apes the conventions of legitimate competition. Have the teams involved work hard to achieve that elusive €˜number one contender€™ status. Have their title shot booked solidly on a show that means something, not thrown away on nothing television shows or dark matches (or pre-shows, which are a nonsensical combination of the two). If a team gets handed the number one contender slot without working for it, have that written into the angle: it€™s nepotism, favouritism, someone€™s been paid off, whatever you like, but have it accrue some heat. That€™s another major problem with tag team creative in WWE today: too many times, there€™s no story involved other than a babyface team wanting to beat a heel team; occasionally with gold at stake. Singles stars all around them are getting outlandish, interesting feuds to play out with in-ring drama. Tag teams seem to be stuck with the in-ring drama, and little else of note. Give them a story to tell beyond a beatdown, a hope spot and a hot tag (rinse & repeat).