By B.P. Burke
PPW’s tag team division is more stacked than ever! So stacked, that despite the big dumpster match for the tag team titles and South Philly’s Finest and The Brothers Gray otherwise occupied, FIVE more teams are vying for championship contention in what promises to be an action-packed scramble match.
With so many teams in action, you may feel like you need a guide to sort through them. Well look no further!
The Vetrano Brothers - Relative newcomers to the PPW scene, siblings Stock and Mook Vetrano wasted little time endearing themselves to the PPW Nation with in a hard-fought battle against South Philly’s Finest. While the end result didn’t go the Vetranos way, not only did they earn the respect of the crowd at the Slatington Expo Center, but also that of the seven-time tag team champions they faced off with. While they’ll certainly be underdogs in the scramble, they wouldn’t have it any other way, and they certainly are aiming to shock the world with an upset victory.
Nice and Smooth - One half of Nice and Smooth is no stranger at all to the PPW Nation. “Smooth” Tom Mitchell rocketed up the PPW tag team ranks very early in his career as a professional wrestler, only to ultimately be betrayed by his tag team partner. Now, Mitchell returns to the tag ranks with a partner he can trust, “Too Nice” Trace Parker, trained by Tyler Breeze and Shawn Spears, who makes his PPW debut at PPW X, and is poised to become a fast crowd favorite joining forces with one of the most popular wrestlers currently on the PPW roster.
The Post Game - “Miami” Mike Walker and Vinny Talotta made their return to PPW at Badlands, following a year-plus absence. Walker and Talotta actually made their tag team debut last June at PPW’s Never Back Down. While away from PPW, The Post Game came into their own as a team, teaming together frequently in and around Baltimore and Philadelphia, and even fighting abroad in Germany, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. While their PPW return was ruined by the nefarious Brothers Gray, a win in the gauntlet match will launch the energetic duo back into the tag title picture.
TnT - Making a PPW return after an even longer absence than The Post Game, the team of Terrence and Terrell Hughes, sons of WWE Hall of Famer D-Von Dudley, have gone on record that they’re looking at 2023 as the year they “take the next step,” and hope to do so by following in their father’s footsteps and gathering tag team gold. They have the big match experience, having previously grappled with reigning AEW Tag Team Champions FTR and former champions The Gunns, but they’ll need to be at their absolute best to contend with the chaos of the scramble.
Chris Slade and Brando Lee - Last but not least, the biggest enigma in the entire scramble. On paper, Chris Slade and Brando Lee are arguably the most talented team in this match. Also on paper, their match at Badlands was supposed to be an honorable contest between two of PPW’s top talents, but that was ruined by a single Chris Slade low blow. If the two can overcome their differences and work as a cohesive unit, they’ll be very hard to stop, but it’s equally hard to imagine that they’ll be able to do so.
Two things are for sure - this scramble is anyone’s match, and the winners will be right near the front of the line when it comes to facing either Primal Fear or Team B1G for the PPW Tag Team Titles.