8 Ups And 7 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (April 11)
UPS
8.Tag Team Tournament
Typically, tournaments can be a great boon to a wrestling program if its booked properly. A tournament puts a bunch of wrestlers into the mix for a title shot, focusing a chunk of the roster simultaneously on a goal. In theory, that also increases the value of the titles, because several wrestlers are vying for a shot at the championship.
In this case, eight tag teams are vying for the #1 contenders spot against New Day for the tag titles. And lets be cautiously optimistic with this tournament. Yes, it has its fill of jobber teams (Social Outcasts, Ascension, Golden Truth), but it already is set up to pit the Dudley Boyz against upstarts Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady, which could set up a bigger match between the two. There is the opportunity to spotlight two new tag teams: Enzo & Cass and the Vaudevillains. And it puts a focus on the Tag Team Championships.
However, it should be noted that the two matches that took place Monday night were disappointing at best. Most of the Dudleys/Lucha Dragons match took place during the commercial, and the Usos won when the Social Outcasts decided to stupidly take a victory lap around the ring mid-match, and succumbed to the lethal rollup.
Well see how things go on Smackdown and in the second round before determining whether this tournament is an exception to the rule.