3 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (9 Oct - Results & Review)

3. Press Reset On The Tag Division

MFTs War Raiders
WWE.com

The tag-team scene is depressing for those who recall the biggest peaks of double brand warfare in WWE. Backstage, the creative team may contend that MFTs, War Raiders and Bakusai have the makings of a sizzling division, but that's wide of the mark. On Friday, MFTs vs. Raiders never really got going. It should’ve been a slugfest between big meaty teams, but we didn’t actually get that

Also, MFTs winning leaves Erik and Ivar rudderless yet again.

Corey Graves was banging on about how they need to tap into their past and get back to basics. How many times are we gonna hear this about them in WWE?! The War Raiders have stumbled time and time again even though we're persistently told as a fanbase that things will be different this time. They will. Honest...

Pretty lifeless affair on the whole here. The tag division is a total mess and needs ripped up then rethought. Tama and Talla Tonga have Haku and the belts, but precious else, and Bakusai’s momentum/buzz lasted for a matter of weeks. Shinsuke Nakamura and Kyoki do have chemistry inside the ring, but it already looks like WWE can't be arsed developing Kyoki's character or giving people a reason to care about their quest for the belts.

Bakusai will presumably beat the Tongans once management is bored of the Haku add-on. Then, they'll get bored of Shin and Kyoki before moving onto someone else. It's rinse and repeat, and that makes it borderline impossible to get invested. Tragically, MFTs vs. War Raiders didn't even deliver a fun match on this occasion.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.