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WWE Friday Night SmackDown aired this weekend on the USA Network. The three-hour show featured several good matches and some build-up towards WrestleMania 41, which will take place next weekend.
The show also notably featured the card rundown for WrestleMania 41, and a major duo happened to be left off the lineup. The Street Profits, the reigning Tag Team Champions of the brand, are not booked for WrestleMania 41.
This came as a surprise to many, as it felt as if the work that they put in alongside stars like DIY, Pretty Deadly, and The Motor City Machine Guns would be rewarded with a big-time multi-team bout. Instead, The Street Profits and The Motor City Machine Guns will be competing on SmackDown the night before.
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Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins seemed all but guaranteed to compete on the card, but that is sadly no longer the case. This article will take a look at a handful of possible reasons for this surprising WrestleMania snub, including a different bout taking its place and a lack of respect towards the tag team division.
Below are three reasons The Street Profits were taken off WWE WrestleMania 41.
#3. WWE doesn't want the shows to be too long, so some matches didn't make the cut
WWE Premium Live Events under Vince McMahon began getting crazy. Perhaps the best example of this is WrestleMania 35, where it felt as if the show was never-ending. The main event, featuring Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Ronda Rousey, took place after midnight.
In the Triple H era, shows rarely run much longer than anticipated. WWE is a well-oiled machine, and The Game also presents smaller cards with an emphasis on match quality. Instead of throwing 8-12 matches into a show, The Game typically keeps cards at around 4-6 bouts.
WrestleMania is looking to be an exception with seven matches each night. This means each show will likely exceed four hours, not including the Countdown To WrestleMania and WrestleMania Post-Show programs.
Adding a match with The Street Profits and any SmackDown teams would have extended the show, which is something Triple H clearly prefers to avoid. It is a shame, as an extra 15-20 minutes can impact a program quite a bit.
#2. Big E could potentially return, which means The New Day vs. The War Raiders must be on the show
Some WWE fans would argue that after months of tag team chaos, The Street Profits and the rest of the division have earned a place on the card. Others would even insist the build deserves it more than the World Tag Team Championship match.
Representing WWE RAW, The War Raiders' Ivar and Erik will take on The New Day. While the two teams have feuded in the past, this time around, they have only had a few weeks of build-up.
So why was this match chosen over The Street Profits? It could be due to a potential return of Big E. For those unaware, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods shockingly turned against their New Day brethren not too long ago, and Big E has been absent from RAW since then.
If Big E is healthy enough to return and interact in some way, he could be involved in the finish for the World Tag Team Title match. A return of Big E could be enough to get the tag team match on the Premium Live Event card.
#1. World Wrestling Entertainment might just not care enough about the tag team division
Tag team wrestling is incredible. Be it legends like The Rockers, The Rock 'n' Roll Express, and The Midnight Express, or modern excellent teams such as Fraxiom, The New Day, and DIY, it is always exciting to watch good tag team action.
Unfortunately, WWE's history with tag team wrestling tends to be very hit or miss. When there is an emphasis on the division, you get greatness. Other times, however, there is less focus and care given to tandems.
Triple H appears to have more respect for tag team action than Vince McMahon did, but he still doesn't seem to value it as much as he arguably should. Tag teams could be a top commodity in WWE, but instead, they are more of a mid-card act.
If The Game just doesn't care much about tag team wrestling, it might explain why Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins are missing WrestleMania. It isn't a happy reality, but it might very well be the most realistic one. The creative team might just not care enough about tag team wrestling to put them on the show.
