Building the Titus Brand

Titus Brand
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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Several months ago Titus O'Neil introduced the world to his brand. At first, I was skeptical of the idea, but I must say even with its moderate success so far, I'm a fan. Titus tried recruiting the New Day in the early phases of his brand building mission. Now it appears Apollo Crews is on board.

Prime Time Players
Courtesy: WWE

O'Neil is a talented Superstar in the ring and on the mic. He and Darren Young, under the management of Abraham Washington, were one of my favorite tag teams at that time. But the Prime Time Players eventually turned good and then split up and reunited and split again. Young got hurt and Titus seemed lost for a time.

Now he's on a solid path and I really hope WWE Creative has a big picture idea of what they're going to do with this angle. One thing that always seems to be missing is a strong mid card. The company tends to focus more on the main event players. 

Titus and his kids
Courtesy: WWE

I like Titus O'Neil a lot. His in-ring persona as a bad guy works, despite his real life good guy reputation. I'm also a fan of Apollo Crews, but both guys have floundered on their own in recent months. Hopefully, this new union will move both guys up the ladder. When it comes to the Titus Brand, I'm buying. 

Happy (Greg the Hammer) Valentine's Day

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
Listen to the podcast

Follow my blog with Bloglovin 

Happy Valentine's Day!  I came across some funny cards created by fans much more clever than I am.  Sorry I don't know the original sources for these, but the Neville one is my favorite.

Can't We All Just Get Along

Tons of Funk break up
Photo courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

It seems every few months I write a blog either condemning or praising the tag team division in the WWE.  Sadly, this post is going to be a critical one, as I'm not sticking with my own personal goal to write about more positive things.  But I will say until recently I thought the tag team division in the WWE was pretty solid.  After recent actions on Raw and SmackDown!, I've adjusted that line of thought.

I grew up in the 80's and watching tag teams like the Hart Foundation, British Bulldogs, Road Warriors, Midnight Express, Rock N Roll Express, and Demolition.  Tag team wrestling ruled back then and even into the 90's with The Steiner Brothers, The Dudley Boys, The New Age Outlaws,  Harlem Heat and plenty more.

Right now, the NAO are the tag team champions.  I'm not knocking them, but they haven't wrestled in the WWE in about a decade.  They haven't held the titles together since 2000.  They're friends with Triple H.  I'm not saying that's why they're back on TV and the champions, but I certainly think it helps.  My hope is the company is resetting the division and putting the belts on a more established team.

Titus boots Young
Photo courtesy: WWE

In recent weeks some tag teams have broken up, while there have been hints of dissension between other partners.  Brodus Clay has turned on Sweet T, thus ending Tons of Funk.  Titus O'Neil for some reason brutally attacked Darren Young dissolving the Prime Time Players.  The short lived duo of Rey Mysterio and the Big Show appears to be finished, despite a win over the then tag team champions Cody Rhodes and Goldust.  Jack Swagger appears to be on the outs with his Real American brothers Zeb Colter and Antonio Cesaro, and rumors persist that Roman Reigns will be booted from The Shield in the near future.

The Wyatts & The Sheild
Photo courtesy: WWE

While I complain about the lack of really good tag teams, I am impressed by the strength of groups like The Shield and The Wyatt Family.  Even with the rumors of Reigns leaving The Shield, I've also heard that he'll be replaced with another star in developmental.  If they keep the threesome concept, I'd be fine with Reigns moving on to a singles career.

Right now I hope WWE better utilizes the tag teams they have and stops splitting up duos.  I fear that all of these recent breakups will end up further lost in the shuffle than they were before. But I'm going to remain optimistic and hope for the best.