Will this epic New Day/Usos feud end in a bludgeoning?

New Day vs. Usos (c)

SmackDown tag team championship match

We’re not that far removed from the last time the New Day and Usos tore it up. Their last solo match was at Hell in a Cell, where the Usos won and the two teams decided to call a truce to their feud. (They did meet in a fatal 4-way a couple months later.) No team was able to get the upper hand and they ended up trading titles until they decided to put things on hold.

They weren’t on hold for that long.

Just five months later we’re here again. The Usos have held on to the championships since winning it back from the New Day inside the Cell. Recently, the New Day defeated oft-screwed Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin to earn their latest championship shot.

The teams only shared a ring once on their journey to Fastlane, but that was enough to heat this feud back up.

The Usos cut a great promo (which is how you can describe all of their promos nowadays) about how they’ve never been on the main card of a WrestleMania and they need to hold on to the titles to finally achieve that this year. They also claimed that the New Day are stale.

Then Big E cut a rather serious promo, which isn’t his usual MO. But it was rad all the same. He reminded the champs that New Day have been on top for five years and they don’t want to be handed a Mania match. They take their spot. And they will again by winning on Sunday.

All of that was enough to get us ready for their match tonight. But there’s another factor at play.

The ominous Bludgeon Brothers.

The Bludgeon Brothers (Harper & Rowan) have been wreaking havoc on tag teams, albeit mainly local enhancement teams. They have a couple of victories over Breezango as well. Now their eyes are clearly on the gold.

They made those intentions known merely by coming to the ring earlier than planned to play mind games with the New Day and Usos. When those two teams were in the ring together focusing on each other, the Brothers came down with hammers in hand, stood on the ring apron, and stared at both teams. This was enough to clear the ring.

The Bludge Bros aren’t booked for Fastlane, but it’d be surprising if they don’t make their presence known during this match. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re going to interfere and affect the outcome. It’s just as likely they stare down the winners or finally use those hammers on the team that walks out champion.

Hopefully Harper and Rowan are the next challengers for the title. They are by no means a new tag team, though this gimmick is newer. They’ve had excellent matches with the Usos prior. And they’ve crossed paths with the New Day as well, though much of that was at the Wyatt Compound.

Which team will walk out of with the SmackDown championships heading into WrestleMania? And what role will the hammer touting duo play?

Find out tonight at WWE Fastlane, which airs on the WWE Network and starts at 8 EST. And keep it here to CagesideSeats.com for all of your Fastlane coverage.