You see, the Dudleys do make WWE’s Tag-Team Division immediately more formidable, but that impression is only valid if they aren’t holding the gold. If you told an old attitude-era fan who no longer watches WWE that the Dudleys are still around, their reaction would probably sound something like “and they’re not the champions?” The minute the Dudley Boys once again hold the top spot, which we all know will happen at some point, then WWE risks negating the already questionable reputations of the teams currently vying for TV time and audience connection. Before long, it would start to feel like 2003-2005 all over again; a time when any Tag-Team Champions that didn’t have the last name Dudley just felt like place-holders.
It’s important for Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley to earn their ascent realistically. Squashing Matadors, Dragons, and Prime Time Players won’t do anything for some considerably talented workers in the long run. The New Day have worked entirely too hard to earn their spot atop the division and it would be counter-productive for all contenders if the Dudleys just show up, butcher all opposition, and reclaim the throne without at least a few hindrances blocking their rise.
The blessing in disguise here is that there is now a team around that can re-cement the New Day as the heels that they are supposed to be. When their searing comedy, grating positivity, and underhanded tactics come at the expense of a team as beloved as the Dudley Boys, New Day will be right back where they need to be: the most hated champions available. In that case, any team that chases those titles will gain a massive amount of support for their efforts. That support is hardly what the Dudley Boys need.
For the true benefit of the division, then, it shouldn’t even be the Dudleys who end up dethroning the current champions. Let the Dudleys come close initially, but have Xavier Woods screw the legends out of the titles every time. When a new contender emerges to dethrone the ambassadors of affability, it should be the Dudley Boys who help neutralize the numbers game that subdued their own rise to the top; and that will line the Dudley Boys up to challenge the new faces of the tag-team division in a program that would ultimately benefit both teams.
Even if they don’t take that route, the point is that WWE needs to drag out the eventual success of the Dudleys.
Let’s be honest about this: the Dudley Boys don’t need the WWE Tag-Team Titles as badly as the WWE needs a division for them to rule over. The Dudleys have prestige and credentials aplenty, and that makes a win over them a championship-like accomplishment in and of itself. WWE would be wise to make us wait for their latest reign, and instead ask the Dudley Boys to focus on sharing some of their legendary success with some of the teams in need of anything that can make them more credible.
