Dot Net readers were allowed a single vote each of the 2016 awards categories. The following are the results of our poll for Best Tag Team along with our staff comments. Thanks to everyone who took part in the voting.
(1) The Revival (36 percent)
(2) New Day (17 percent)
(3) Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy (13 percent)
(4) The Young Bucks (11 percent)
(5) Tommaso CIampa and Johnny Gargano (7 percent)
Others: 16 percent
Jason Powell’s Thoughts: The Revival duo of Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder didn’t miss a beat when American Alpha were called up to the main roster. Granted, they had another great team to work with in DIY, but the throwback tag team was involved in some of the best matches of the year and earned the top spot. That said, a strong case can be made for the Young Bucks and it really comes down to a preference in styles. The Bucks are amazing athletes who perform moves that no other team can touch. We can only wonder how the voting would have gone if they had the same platform with our voters as The Revival. By the way, it’s a shame that American Alpha and the Usos were one of the few deserving acts who felt lost in the shuffle on Smackdown.
Zack Zimmerman’s Thoughts: As badly as I want to give it to DIY, I simply cannot look past The Revival. DIY had great matches, but The Revival had great matches with more teams. They bring a pacing and psychology to their matches that allow them to build perfectly, and they bring a dynamic into matches that I’m not sure most other tag teams could even pinpoint and figure out for themselves. This year, they were certainly “top guys.”
John Moore’s Thoughts: Based on all of the compelling matches they have had, you have to go with The Revival for this, right? They do it by just doing the basics and making all of their nearfalls count. Too many times, are matches so predictable in that we are always waiting for a finisher to finish the match. Finishers still finish Revival matches, but when they nearfall after signature moves, no one near falls better than The Revival and their opponents.
Haydn Gleed’s Thoughts: I was tempted to give The Young Bucks my vote as you can almost guarantee an exciting match whenever they climb in the ring. However, the team I am going with are a team that have not only been outstanding whenever they’ve been on the big stage, but they’ve made their opponents look like a million bucks coming out of their feud. That team, of course, is The Revival.
Darren Gutteridge’s Thoughts: No tag team can bring it when the time matters better than Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder. Once upon a time you would have thought it impossible for a developmental team to even be on the ballot for this award, let alone be in contention to win it. But in a year where they have added to an already great resumé of high quality matches with stellar outings against American Alpha and DIY, the Revival left no one with any doubt over who the best team in the world is right now.
Jake Barnett’s Thoughts: I could watch DIY vs. The Revival Matches every week for a year, and I think I’d still be excited for the next one. It’s difficult for me to pick between them for who had a bigger standout year as a team, but I’m going with The Revival. They anchored all of 2016 for the NXT brand, and worked with a diverse array of opponents and styles, and found a way to innovate and deliver each time.
Will Pruett’s Thoughts: Tag Team wrestling in 2016 begins and ends with The Young Bucks and The Hardys for me. The Young Bucks took a slightly abbreviated schedule and still managed to be one of the best teams in the world. Their match with Fenix and Pentagon Jr. at PWG’s BOLA Night 3 was one of my favorites of the year. The Hardys brought forth a new way to use the medium of professional wrestling and made a neat self-aware niche genre.
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