An undercard bout full of future main eventers

Raw Tag Team championship match

It’s possible this is Plan B, or even Plan C, for these belts at ‘Mania. But that’s the kind of year we’re all having.

The Road to WrestleMania 36

Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins took the Raw Tag straps from Seth Rollins & Murphy on the Mar. 2 edition of the Red Brand. They won the rematch at Elimination Chamber. And maybe they’d still be feuding with the Monday Night Messiah & his acolytes, if not for an injury to AOP’s Rezar and Murphy allegedly falling ill.

Instead, Zelina Vega’s business associates stepped into the role of challengers. United States champion Andrade returned from a suspension to team with former Cruiserweight titleholder Angel Garza, who aligned with Vega while Andrade was out. Their track record as a team was... okay. They lost to Rey Mysterio & Humberto Carrillo (in what might have been a prelude for another set of ‘Mania plans, until Mysterio was reportedly quarantined), but got a rehabilitory win over Ricochet & Cedric Alexander.

But Andrade injured a rib, and former Evolve champ Austin Theory got the call. They two teams faced off in a six-man on Raw after Theory was announced. The Profits picked up the win, but the match was mostly about advancing their teammate Kevin Owens’ feud with Rollins.

What’s at stake

Honestly, the future is bright for all four men, regardless of the outcome.

It seems pretty unlikely that Ford & Dawkins would drop the belts this quickly. WWE’s been so careful to bring the Profits along from almost a commentary role to their current spot, it would be shocking if they risked derailing their climb by jobbing them to a makeshift team.

But that’s not to say big things aren’t in Garza, Theory, and Vega’s future. That they found a way to keep Zelina on-screen during Andrade’s suspension show they value her. Angel’s gotten over, and quickly, on three different brands now (if you count 205 Live and NXT separately). And you only need to look at “All Day” Austin Theory to see his appeal to Paul Heyman & Vince McMahon.

Both sides of this battle have a chance to make an impression under far-from-ideal circumstances. And even if they don’t, it probably won’t hurt them in the long run.