The decision to pair Braun Strowman with an actual child for a WrestleMania Tag Team Championship victory didn't need to be the death knell of the division, but the f*cking awful follow-through instead made the 'Show Of Shows' sh*tshow a frightening foreshadow.
The 2017 doubles scene had done much to pull the belts back from banter territory, but Raw sent them circling back down the same drain with every new reign. Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt were inherently stupid but won a tournament to claim the vacant straps. The B-Team were labelled as such because they were so sh*t - yet ruled the roost until credible threats Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler rocked up to briefly save the day.
Their trade with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose ended immediately, but the belts stayed in the bin thanks to p*ss gags with Drake Maverick ensuring AOP would remain a Number One-note-joke.
Hopefully a glorious future awaits with Bobby Roode and Chad Gable, but little from this year inspires for the next.
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
