.png)
Hello friends and welcome to the latest edition of the AEW Tag Team Division Power Rankings. With a limited schedule of action in the tag division over the past 6 weeks, ranking the duos of AEW has been the most difficult it has been since PW Musings has started the Power Rankings format. Teams have been stuck in multi-man matches and been distracted by faction teammates struggles with rivals. Injuries have also blighted the division, most evident with the Rey Fenix arm injury in his and his brother's title loss to Jurassic Express. What happens to the division with one of it's most dynamic teams on the shelf for the time being?
In this month's Tag Power Ranking we look at the runners and riders of the race to get a shot at the new champs, Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus.
#1- Jurassic Express (Up 3 places)
The kings are dead, long live the kings. Their victory over the Lucha Brothers was arguably the biggest upset in a title change in AEW's short history but in the joy of their post-victory celebration also came a look at their future. The stage filled up with potential challengers to the Express' throne and reminded Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus that they now have a bullseye on their chest as the champs.
A victory over the team of Alex Reynolds and John Silver was the perfect first defence for the champs but tougher challenges are due to come for Jurassic Express.
#2- Lucha Brothers (Down 1 Place)
It was a reign that didn't deliver on the expectation that the AEW fanbase gave it after their once in a lifetime match against The Young Bucks and unfortunately their reign would end with Rey Fenix suffering an arm injury in the match against Jurassic Express, putting him on the injury list for an undetermined amount of time.
Those who want to see Penta El Zero Meido shine as a singles star could get their wish with Fenix's absence but for the time being this is the final time we'll see Fenix and Penta in this particular ranking.
So what of their final month as champs? They would beat FTR in the concluding match of their feud for the time being in a contest that was due to be a 2/3 Falls match but after a week's delay the eventual match would be a one-fall match but then the Lucha Brothers Everest came in the the shape of Jurassic Express. We hope Fenix can get back to 100% and we see Lucha Bros get back to their glorious best.
#3- The Acclaimed (No Change)
The past six weeks since our last rankings have seen The Acclaimed go 5-0. Of course, it wouldn't surprise anyone to say that a tag team has gone five undefeated in All Elite Wrestling by beating non-contracted wrestlers on YouTube.
But on Wednesday, Max and Anthony will go up against Sting and Darby Allin after a couple of weeks of conflict between the two teams with Andrade and misunderstanding of friendship a side plot to the story of these two teams.
A victory will probably see Caster and Bowens as the next challengers and they will hope that any potential match against the champs goes better than their last title duel in which they lost to the Lucha Bros in less than six minutes.
Also, their second place is also on merit due to their great music video on their opponents this Wednesday.
#4-Sting/Darby Allin (Re-entrant)
Sting and Darby would beat The Gunn Club in the battle of the undefeated teams at the start of December and then would go on to team with CM Punk to beat FTR and MJF in a fun 6-man on the 22/12/21 edition of Dynamite.
Next up for the pair will be The Acclaimed with a victory over the 1st ranked team in the Official Rankings potentially boosting Sting and Allin and giving us a chance of seeing the second collision between two of the Four Pillars of AEW in Jungle Boy and Allin.
But an obstacle lies in wait. How I know? Well, Andrade seems to think that Darby works for Sting and is willing to spend money to get "the boy" to join him. It'll be likely that Darby won't be up for being Andrade's employee and that could see Andrade at odds with Sting/Allin going forward with us seeing a Andrade vs Allin match down the line.
#5- Young Bucks (Re-entrant)
Their return to 2 vs 2 action saw Matt and Nick beat the team of Chuck Taylor and Rocky Romero. But the biggest development in their AEW career in the past 6 weeks has been Adam Cole introducing former Undisputed Era teammate Kyle O'Reilly to the ranks of AEW.
Dissension has already surfaced between The Bucks and the team of O'Reilly and Bobby Fish and the expectation is that the group called Paragon will split from The Elite and set up a trios feud.
The Bucks have declared an interest in getting back the titles they lost at All Out and are currently second in the Official Rankings. You'd expect The Bucks to keenly watch The Acclaimed vs Sting/Allin and if Caster and Bowens lose on Wednesday, you would expect The Bucks to shoot to No.1 and with a couple of victories over Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus in AEW under their belt, you would expect the Bucks to start as favourites in a subsequent title match.
#6- Santana/Ortiz (No change)
It's a case of history repeating for the team of Santana and Ortiz as the Inner Circle's tag team representative's have wrestled more multi-man tags (3) than traditional two vs two contests (2). Santana and Ortiz have teamed with Eddie Kingston to take on 2point0 and Daniel Garcia going 1-1 in their pair of matches as well as being part of a 10-man tag at New Years Smash.
There is a feeling that Santana and Ortiz are for the time being secondary characters in the Chris Jericho/Eddie Kingston drama but in that drama, Eddie might have made a good point. Has Chris Jericho hindered the AEW careers of his Inner Circle stablemates?
The answer might, however unintentional it has been from Jericho, be yes. In 2021, Santana and Ortiz wrestled in six multi-man tag matches on TNT compared to three 2 vs 2 matches on Dynamite and Rampage and while they picked up 16 wins as a team on the YouTube shows, their strength of schedule is a hinderance in their quest for AEW gold.
What does 2022 hold for Santana and Ortiz? Maybe they have a big decision to make. While their loyalty to Jericho and The Inner Circle has been admirable, it has been a distraction and maybe just maybe they need to channel their focus on the goal of being AEW Tag Champs and make changes to do so.
#7- FTR (Down 5 places
Like their rivals from the summer of 2021, FTR have found themselves distracted by matters concerning friends and teammates. They would be on the losing end of the big trios match at Holiday Bash when Dax sacrificed himself to take CM Punk's GTS to lose the fall in the match. It might have been the perfect metaphor for FTR's 2021 which saw them involved in the Inner Circle-Pinnacle rivalry before a series of matches against the then AEW Champs The Lucha Brothers. It's been a case of faction>tag titles for FTR during parts of 2021.
FTR might have a right to be aggrieved about their scheduled 2/3 Falls match against Fenix and Penta not only being put back a week but then changed to a single fall match when the bell did eventually ring for that title match but Dax and Cash will have to start at the back of the queue for a title shot with a match against Brock Anderson and Lee Johnson on Wednesday night as the starting point of the road back for FTR which they hope ends in another shot at the title against a team they have already beaten.
#8- Alex Reynolds and John Silver
When the Dark Order tandem of Reynolds and Silver were announced as Jurassic Express' first title defence, it was met by surprise but based on the final month of 2021 and cold hard stats, Alex and John were entitled to a shot. Three victories on the YouTube shows put them in the top five of the Official Rankings and with the other teams in the Top 5 attending to matters elsewhere, Reynolds and Silver became the perfect first defence for the new champs in the vain of a boxer's first defence of a World belt being a "mandatory"
The 12:37 time of the match would be a better losing effort than The Acclaimed's 5:16 and Butcher and Blade's 9:38 in their losing efforts when they had title opportunities and the match has had rave reviews but it feels that Friday Night Rampage is going to be a very rare chance for the pair to get their hands on the Tag Titles.
コメント