Nick Aldis to force two former WWE champions to form new alliance on SmackDown this week? Possibility explored

WWE SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis might bring two bitter enemies into a tag-team set-up and push them to compete as partners. The two superstars are former champions in WWE and are big draws on SmackDown.

The superstars in question are rivals Andrade and Carmelo Hayes. The two former champions are currently locked in a bitter feud for the United States title, which is currently being held by LA Knight. Hayes and Andrade began their feud after the Money in the Bank Premium Live Event in August 2024.

After that, they squared off against each other in a best-of-seven series, with the score leveling out at 3-3. Their seventh match ended in a no contest as special guest referee LA Knight attacked both the men, ending the match in a draw. At Crown Jewel, the three of them faced each other in a triple-threat contest, where LA Knight emerged victorious.

While Nick Aldis might announce a rematch between Hayes and Andrade, he might also bring the two superstars together this week on SmackDown. Their union might lead to the emergence of a strong tag-team setup, and they could go on to challenge the new WWE Tag Team Champions, Motor City Machine Guns, for the titles.

Further, if Aldis brings Hayes and Andrade together, he might be just repeating the story of a popular faction which is now defunct.

WWE SmackDown GM Nick Aldis might repeat the Sheamus-Cesaro story with Andrade and Carmelo Hayes

The seven-match series reminds fans of the infamous rivalry between Sheamus and ex-WWE Superstar Cesaro, who later teamed up as 'The Bar.' Together, they won the RAW Tag Team Championship four times and the SmackDown Tag Team Championship once.

Just like Andrade and Hayes, Sheamus and Cesaro were ardent enemies, and they competed against each other in a seven-match series, with both winning three each. Their seventh match ended up in a no-contest.

Later, then-RAW GM Mick Foley announced the two as tag-team partners. They didn't get along initially, losing a few matches, but they later cooperated and won their first titles at the Roadblock: End of the Line event in December 2016.

Together, The Bar went on to win several tag-team titles before splitting up in 2019. Cesaro left the company in February 2022 after his contract expired.