The importance of a strong rivalry is immeasurable in the WWE. Sure, the matches and the characters and the pageantry are all each uniquely entertaining. But, the one thing that ties them all together is the story. What is a hero without a villain? What is drama without conflict? If the stakes are personal, doesn’t it just mean more? With that sentiment in mind, we’re taking a look at the some of the best rivalries in the WWE this year.
It’s rare that such a voluminous rivalry can stay so fresh. Much less, actually improve over time. But, even with what feels like a thousand matches between the New Day and The Usos, it just never gets old. These two had their first pay-per-view match (this year, mind you) all the way back in June at Money In The Bank. They swapped championships and wrestled each other all the way up to October, when they met inside the confines of Hell in a Cell.
They’re still technically feuding…just….now there are a few more teams in the fold. They somehow seem to always find their way back to each other. But, in a rare occurrence, people are not mad online that they’ve wrestled each other so much. You’d be hard pressed to find criticism of this program anywhere on in the internet, which seems like an accomplishment in and of itself.
But, they’ve stolen the show every step of the way, and instead of people growing fatigued, they’re enthralled by it.
The Usos have redefined themselves in 2017. When the act was beginning to grow stale, they had exhausted all possibilities with their characters, they turned heel. Now, they feel more vibrant than ever, and I’d rank ’em as the top team of 2017. But, you have a lot of people debating whether or not they belong in the all-time elite category (they do).
I wondered what the New Day would do once they got the record and the dream run was over. But, they’ve been handled with care to avoid audience burnout. They kept them away from the tag title chase for a while, and it paid off. I wouldn’t be surprised if they started employing similar techniques with other acts.
These Smackdown Tag Team Championship matches have been stealing the show all year, though. When you look back at the programs between The Usos and American Alpha, The Usos and Breezango, The Usos and New Day, and now getting Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable and Aiden English & Rusev involved. The Bludgeon Brothers look poised for a promising run, so 2018 could be another year of great tag team wrestling on the blue brand.
But, this one specifically is one of those transcendental tag team rivalries, and could go down as one of the greatest tag programs of all time. Over the course of the last several years, these two teams have asserted themselves as two of the greatest tag teams of all time.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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