This was for the Rhode Brothers’ WWE Tag Team Titles.
A big bonus of this is the format in which I watched it, which is not one I would have explored a week or two ago (post written on 3/29/2021) before the WWE Network went down.
I watched this through other means, with a legal avenue removed from me. As such, the format in which I saw it was not only the international cut of this episode of Smackdown, with no commercials on it, but also with the commentary only on one channel of the audio. The result is that with only one headphone in, I could both watch an uninterrupted WWE television match, but I could watch it without any WWE commentary.
It’s the dream.
As is this match!
It’s pure formula, but they do SO MUCH with the formula to keep it fresh and interesting. Goldust is the best babyface tag team worker of all time and this match lets him riff and riff and riff. It’s only twelve or thirteen minutes, but that’s all he needs.
This isn’t quite in the universe as the best Shield match, but this does have what The Shield didn’t, which is the best big man of his generation in Luke Harper. As good as Roman was, he’s not Harper. Everything he does is perfect. Nasty power moves, an uppercut that puts doubt for once into the idea of Goldust having the best punch in a given match. Over twenty years (admittedly off and on) of being a great wrestler on television at this point, and I’ve almost never wondered if Dustin was the best puncher in a given match. It’s not THE ultimate testament to Harper/Brodie, but it’s a hell of a thing.
They also do a lot to play around with the format, with the goal of making Harper and Rowan look incredible, despite them not winning the titles. Cody gets finally isolated halfway through, after the champions kept outmaneuvering them and taking advantage of Rowan’s lack of experience. Harper does it, but it’s not just him doing it through muscle. By presenting the champions as relatively dominant early on in a few different ways (both faster and smarter), Harper comes out better when he finally figures out how to shut that down. Control on Cody is exceptional. Rowan is basic, but during this 2014 run especially, he got a lot out of a little. Harper’s tremendous at plugging him in at just the right times, but Rowan has a real mastery of the character. A big farm guy who just learned to wrestle would only logically know the basics, and he does the basics in a mean and intimidating sort of way. With Harper there to do the heavy lifting, it’s fine!
The real magic here is in the way they handle the end. Specifically, in the way that a hot tag never happens. They cut Cody off every time, and we see Cody having to break out big offense to stay alive, instead of just getting space. When you always do something one way, differences like this stand out a lot. A difference in this way, with the story of this match, makes the Wyatts look especially good.
The finish itself is a work of art, as Goldust manipulates a perfect scenario against the weaker link on the other side, to immediately snatch the win from nowhere.
It’s yet another display of classic Rhodes Brothers tag team formula, paired with the best big man worker of a generation, and a super unique finish. I can’t recomend this enough.
HANDWERK 