Forbes Business SportsMoney WWE Fastlane 2023 Results: Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso Shockingly Win Tag Team Titles
Key Highlights :
Blake Oestriecher Contributor
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Analyzing WWE, AEW and pro wrestling as a whole.
Following Oct 7, 2023, 08:50pm EDT | Press play to listen to this article! Got it!
Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin
Cody Rhodes remains one of the most popular babyfaces in WWE. (Credit: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso have plenty of bad blood, but at WWE Fastlane 2023, the unlikely duo shocked the wrestling world by defeating The Judgment Day in an epic tag team match to win the Undisputed Tag Team Championship. Challenging The Judgment Day’s Damian Priest and Finn Balor for the top prize in the tag team division, Rhodes and Uso were able to pull off the surprising victory after failed interference from JD McDonagh.
Viewed within WWE as the successor to The Bloodline, The Judgment Day felt like a shoo-in to successfully retain their tag titles at Fastlane, but WWE had a swerve in mind. While a loss certainly wouldn’t have hurt Rhodes or Uso, it appears that arguably Raw’s top two stars will have to wait a bit longer to rejoin the singles scene.
The enemies-turned-friends tag team is a tired wrestling trope that, more often than not, isn’t that exciting. AEW may have struck gold with MJF and Adam Cole in a similar storyline, but success like that is rare. The unlikely pairing of Rhodes and Uso is likely a short-term thing that won’t last as long as the MJF-Cole pairing, but the incredible crowd reaction to their win at Fastlane in Indianapolis demonstrated why WWE is riding that wave for as long as it can.
WWE reportedly has huge plans for Uso as a singles star, but with Survivor Series right around the corner, those plans will temporarily involve the all-time great tag team performer staying in the tag team scene. When Uso recently made the jump to Raw, he instantly became a focal point of the red brand, and along with Rhodes and Seth Rollins, he has given the show an incredible trio of top babyfaces to build around. Usos’ long-term trajectory likely has him positioned for a WrestleMania 40 match against his brother Jimmy Uso, which explains his transition away from The Bloodline and over to Raw. On Monday nights, Jey can grow as a singles performer, rack up wins against credible opponents and transform into an even bigger star without his brother by his side. That just has to wait a bit longer.
MORE FOR YOU
WWE SmackDown Results: Winners And Grades On October 6, 2023
WWE Fastlane 2023 John Cena Winning And 5 Smart Booking Decisions
A CM Punk WWE Return Is A No Brainer
It’s clear that, based purely on crowd reaction, Jey’s star power is growing exponentially, and while a short-term pairing with Rhodes is fine, it shouldn’t last beyond next month’s Survivor Series. Recent storytelling suggests that Rhodes and Uso will remain allies and tag team performers through the next “Big Four” pay-per-view—with a potential WarGames match on the horizon—and being linked to a massive star in Rhodes is only going to help Uso develop into an even bigger babyface.
WWE’s tag team division in a very healthy state, and the short-term Uso/Rhodes pairing adds a huge jolt of star power. With The Judgment Day, Imperium, Viking Raiders, The New Day, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, among others benefitting from consistently strong booking, the inclusion of Rhodes and Uso is a great way both to bolster the tag team division and add a new wrinkle to their feud with The Judgment Day. Their unforeseen victory over Judgment Day may briefly extend their involvement with WWE Tag Team titles, but ultimately, Rhodes and Jey need to get back where they belong in the singles scene once their long-running feud with Priest, Balor and the rest of the faction concludes in the next couple of months.
Rhodes, of course, continues to generate incredibly strong reactions and is a significant draw for WWE. Even though Rollins is the World Heavyweight Champion, Rhodes is arguably still the face of Raw and its most marketable star. That is true despite somewhat questionable booking as of late. Since the conclusion of his feud with Brock Lesnar, Rhodes has been stuck in No Man’s Land, endlessly cycling in and out of random matches involving Judgment Day. Sure, Rhodes’ popularity hasn’t really diminished, but his momentum certainly had. At Fastlane, however, the live crowd absolutely loved his tag title victory and unlikely alliance with Uso. WWE is going to roll with that pairing for as long as it can.
Rhodes and Uso will be positioned to re-enter the singles scene in due time, but for now, their tag team title reign and feud with Judgment Day is going to be the most prominent storyline on Monday nights.
Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn.
Blake Oestriecher
Editorial Standards
Print Reprints & Permissions
