The New Day: WWE's best tag team has grown stale
By the time you read this, the new day will be WWE world tag team champions for more than 477 days. The holy trinity of Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods has been refreshing for a company that has been looking for something a little lighter in its booking over the past year and a half.
The New Day are an anomaly. While the company has been quick to play hot potato with other world titles, the tag team champions seem to be untouchable. That's good for continuity, but it's bad for missed opportunities to promote exciting tag teams that are just as worthy. If this were the NWA in the early 1980s, this concept would work. The Freebirds were synonymous with this type of tag team wrestling. Michael Hayes, Buddy Roberts, and Terry Gordy redefined the concept of the two-man tag title.
While WWE has tried in most cases to duplicate the success of the ever-popular Southern tag team, the New Day's run in a watered-down WWE needs to come to an end. There are obvious reasons why this tag team has been successful. They are flashy, they are innovative, and they keep or have kept the fans interest in and out of the ring. The fact that they have been able to use catchy phrases and cartoonish dialogue has made them one of the more popular teams in the past decade.
Unfortunately, that can only go so far. WWE has been consumed with breaking records of late. Charlotte is a prime example and her run as women's champion. When CM Punk held the WWE world title for 435 days, it was considered one of the greatest feats in wrestling history. Given the fact the company had not had a sustainable champion for a while, it was a relief.
They have tried to do the same thing with the tag team champions. I think the reason why The New Day has stuck around so long is that of its throwback appeal. When Vince McMahon took over WWE from his father, he changed the course of wrestling. Characters were more cartoonish; their antics were less "professional" than traditional NWA or AWA stars. McMahon cashed in on something new and real and fans ate it up.
The New Day embodied that kind of excitement. It also gave Woods and Big E a chance to showcase your talent. While it is time to move on, here are a few things to ponder. Since their arrival Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson have been on the precipice of stardom. While WWE has taken upon itself to make sure they stay away from a New World Order-like scenario, Anderson and Gallows have been just as refreshing on a smaller scale. They deserve a shot at the titles.
The fact that they are not wearing WWE gold proves that the company will only be happy if the current champions break the record for the most days as champions which were set by Demolition. This takes away from the value of the belt and the value of the contenders who are vying for the straps. Since this is the second soirée for New Day, wouldn't the company be better served if the titles were exchanged and New Day either disbanded or fought to hold the belts one more time?
Breaking records may not be as important to the fan base as it is to the corporation. Three-time tag team champions looks better on a resume than two-time winners. There has been some talk about Big E receiving a push once the team drops the titles. But that can't happen until the trio loses. Maybe this title run is part of the notion that the creative team doesn't know what to do with three more singles stars.
It shouldn't be an issue given the fact that this is a roster that lacks depth in both the main event and the mid card. Big E and Kingston have proven they can be solid singles performers and individual champions. The jury is still out on Woods. My first thought was he would be great in the cruiserweight division if he falls in that weight classification. My other thought was he would excel on SmackDown Live.
WWE needs to make some decisions and stick to them. Because Survivor Series is the next pay-per-view in line, don't expect a title change until either next month or the beginning of 2017. I assume, and I know that's a dangerous word, WWE has a master plan for this tag team.
At some point, they must drop the straps; the only question is when will that happen. It remains to be seen which team will step up and if another record-setting run will happen. It's one thing to win the belts, it's another thing to promote them in such a way that makes them solid champions. The New Day has been able to do that for the most part, but for now, their shtick has grown stale.
For latest WWE News, live coverage and rumours visit our Sportskeeda WWE section. Also if you are attending a WWE Live event or have a news tip for us drop us an email at fightclub (at) sportskeeda (dot) com.