There was already a lot planned for tonight’s episode of Monday Night RAW , but the opening of the show made it even bigger. Shane McMahon opened up the show with a number of announcements, and one was a tag team tournament to determine the new number one contenders for the WWE Tag Team Titles held by The New Day . Eight teams were revealed, and it began this evening on RAW with a couple of matches.
It was quite unexpected, but no-one really knew who would be going up against The New Day anyway and competing for the titles. With a few weeks until Payback at the beginning of May, WWE may end up stretching this tournament out until then so the title match can take place on the Pay-Per-View.
As recapped by WWE.com , Shane McMahon let the tag team tournament for new number one contenders be known at the beginning of RAW . There are eight teams taking part in the tournament, and as of this writing, one is already out as the Dudley Boyz defeated the Lucha Dragons.
As you can see, the tournament is sponsored by the cereal that is a favorite of The New Day – Booty O’s!
Here are the teams in the WWE tag team tournament and first round matches:
- The Usos vs. Social Outcasts (Heath Slater & Curtis Axel)
- Golden Truth vs. The Vaudevillains
- Amore & Big Cass vs. The Ascension
- Lucha Dragons vs. The Dudley Boyz
Again, the Lucha Dragons are already eliminated from the tournament thanks to the Dudley Boyz. After their match, Enzo Amore and Big Cass came out to once again rip on the Dudleys and claim it is their time.
The way the bracket is set up, it looks like things could lead to the finals being the Dudley Boyz vs. Enzo & Big Cass.
Later in the night, The Usos defeated the Social Outcasts to eliminate them from the tournament as well. There was something much bigger that happened right after it was over, though, and it was the debut of Luke (Doc) Gallows and Karl Anderson, who debuted and attacked The Usos to a huge ovation.
The former members of the Bullet Clubhave now arrived and it looks like they are jumping right into the thick of the WWE tag team division.
WrestleZone did point out an interesting note that the bracket for the WWE tag team tournament includes a pairing that is now officially a new team. R-Truth and Goldust have teased pairing together for months, but it’s finally become official as they are now the Golden Truth.
The tournament to determine the new number one contenders for the WWE Tag Team Titles is well underway, and two of the eight teams are already gone. The Lucha Dragons and Social Outcasts have been eliminated, but the happenings on RAW bring about even more questions.
With the debut of Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows destroying The Usos, where will that feud go? It will be interesting to see who the second round opponents for The Usos end up being and if Anderson and Gallows decide to get involved, too.
The former members of the Bullet Club are officially on the WWE scene.
The New Day really needed a new challenge after ending things with the League of Nations, but the WWE Tag Titles were never even on the line against them. Now, they will have true number one contenders for the titles and any of the teams in the tournament are worth of it. It’s going to be interesting to see if its a veteran team or one of the recent NXT call-ups getting the shot.
[Image via WWE]