Brothers of Discussion – 2018 Tag Team Match of the Year

The Brothers of Discussion are awarding a few different “Match of the Year Awards.”

We’re awarding a Multi-Person Match of the Year award, which takes into consideration Royal Rumbles, Money in the Bank, Elimination Chamber, Triple Threats, Fatal Four-Ways. Mostly, it’s an opportunity to acknowledge all of these great matches that will (honestly) never measure up to the beauty of a one-on-one contest.

We are also awarding a Weekday Match of the Year. This is an award that can’t be won on a Pay-Per-View or a TakeOver event. These are usually a surprise when they happen, but we do get quite a few contenders with 52 weeks of programming.

We’ll also be awarding an NXT Match of the Year. This is important because there is a unique atmosphere and distinct vibe at NXT shows that RAW, SmackDown Live and Pay-Per-View will never be able to live up to.

Main Roster Match of the Year is also an important distinction, due to the differences in direction and programming. This includes every match on the main roster. There are no qualifiers. If you did it on RAW, SmackDown Live, 205 Live, or a Pay-Per-View then you can win this award.

With that, let’s get down to it!

Tag Team Match of the Year

In a year that reminded us over and over again of how great tag team wrestling is, there were so many great matches to choose from in the WWE catalog. For some reason, the WWE had exactly ZERO main roster tag matches in their own listing of best events. But it should go without saying that the New Day, the USOs, and the Bar did so much this year for their respective divisions, the titles, and the art of pro wrestling.

However, I did go in a different direction. I would never want to forget about the great efforts on SmackDown Live to create the better tag division, their desire to be better was apparently fueled by the incredible matches in NXT.

Again, the WWE Network did a fair job of selecting “go-to” matches for the NXT Tag Titles at special events (TakeOver events, NXT UK events), but what they forgot to throw on their list was one of the most dramatic and heartbreaking matches I have ever witnessed. A match that even six months later makes your face cringe, stomach twist, and your heart weep.

I am talking of course, of the absolutely painful “Throw-In-The-Towel” match from NXT’s weekly broadcast on July 11, 2018.

Mustache Mountain Vs. Undisputed Era

After the Undisputed Era lost their titles to Mustache Mountain, you’d think they had no regard for their own well-being with how quickly they invoked their rematch clause. The request was granted as William Regal would only want the best for his brand and anyone could see that these two teams were destined for greatness.

One of the things we, the Brothers of Discussion, love to preach is how essential an in-ring narrative is to have a great match. Lest we forget, none of these matches are a test of physical prowess or cunning, but of performance and storytelling.

The story being told on this night was of a tag team that was willing to do anything for a title, including end careers. The other team told a story of friendship, love, and brotherhood. Undisputed Era clearly wanting to do anything and everything to be crowned the best, while Mustache Mountain was willing to sacrifice their championships for the health and career of the one closest to them.

There were two other matches in this series, Mustache Mountain winning the titles and Undisputed Era winning at TakeOver Brooklyn, but none of the battles had the level of emotion that this match had.

So what happened?

Undisputed Era’s Relentless Offense

I think the usual turn of phrase is that the best offense is a great defense, but Undisputed Era went in the opposite direction. It’s important to remember, for this entire match, the Trent Seven got hurt in the winning effort in the UK.

Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong decided the best way to defend Trent Seven’s strength and Tyler Bate’s athleticism was to put unrelenting pressure on Trent Seven’s bum knee. Keeping Trent in the match and applying leg hold after leg hold for nearly 12 minutes, the damage had been done. And the plan…was moving accordingly.

Tyler Bate finally got the tag, but even the freshest of Bates proved to not be enough to get the victory.

After the continued offense directed at Seven, he was left resting on the ring post being nursed by the trainers. Which left Bate alone in defense of his tag titles, in what could practically be considered a handicap match.

The Towel is Thrown

While the first two Acts of the match displayed the brilliance of the Undisputed Era’s game plan, the third Act demonstrated how their lack of empathy can push anyone to victory. Tyler Bate, however, showed that sometimes things are more important than titles.

The third act made me think of the second installment of Star Wars, the Empire Strikes Back. In a level of storytelling, still being emulated almost 40 years later, the heroes need to feel loss and pain to find a way to grow and be the heroes we need.

Since we know what happened in the final match of the trilogy (Undisputed Era would retain the titles), we know they didn’t learn to lose a battle to win the war. But the lesson that was discovered was what lengths these two could and should go to be remembered for much longer. To be the better role models that these performers always try to be for the younger audience.

After Tyler Bate couldn’t take any more punishment, Trent Seven was finally tagged back into the match. Seven’s adrenaline rush, after the tag, only lasted for a minute or two as Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly worked together to get Trent’s knee softened up again.

As Tyler regained consciousness, he was left stuck in the corner to watch Kyle rip Trent’s knee into pieces. Tyler sees Seven as his mentor and father figure and could wait no more. After multiple efforts to reach his tag partner, Kyle proved too cunning to allow the tag. Tyler Bate felt he had only one move left: throwing in the towel.

If you want to hear a crowd come to life and will a superstar to make a decision, watch this match. Everyone in the arena knew what they were watching, and no one wanted to see this match end with Tyler giving up. Unfortunately for Tyler, he knew Trent would sacrifice his health and his career to hold onto the Tag Titles (or at least not be the reason that they lost them).

All of that being said, Tyler couldn’t take any more of the screaming…the writhing…the literal knee splitting leg holds from O'Reilly.

Tyler did it. He threw in the towel to save his partner.

Aftermath

After the towel was thrown, Bate immediately jumped in the ring to protect his partner, but Undisputed Era showed what they were more interested in as they grabbed the titles and celebrated at the top of the stage.

Bate and Seven still proved to be victorious as one of the most memorable ends to match will keep them relevant for decades to come. My only hope is that we don’t forget this match and if you haven’t watched it yet, you take the time to enjoy this match.

It’s very rare that such a tremendous in-ring story can be mixed with remarkable athleticism and such impressive move sets, but this match had it all. Sure, there are longer matches. Sure, there are more high flying moves. And sure, the main roster has shown us a ton of great tag team wrestling in 2018. But we’re wrestling fans, and more than a great fight (which can be found in Boxing, UFC, amateur wrestling) is a great story.