DeMarco: Don’t Worry About The Revival

April 4, 2017 was a night that the WWE Universe won’t soon forget. Vince McMahon revealed a new Raw General Manager in Kurt Angle, and Finn Balor made his return from injury. But for many hardcore wrestling fans, this edition of Raw After Mania will be remembered for something much different. It was the night The Revival made their WWE main roster debuts.

Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder burst onto the scene on WWE Raw, garnering early wins against The New Day before Big E, Xavier Woods, and ofi Kingston made their way to WWE Smackdown Live. But then injuries hit The Revival, keeping them out of action for a better portion of the remainder of 2017.

Prior to debuting on WWE Raw, Dash and Dawson had an improbable rise to the top of WWE NXT, capturing the NXT Tag Team Championships on two separate occasions. But much like their run on WWE Raw, they didn’t always seem to have the cards in their favor.

Starting out as a team seemingly dressed as Mechanics (capitalized on purpose), Dash and Dawson were long this team tearing it up at NXT house shows, this mythical power fans spoke highly of. The rare sniff they’d get on NXT television wouldn’t amount to much. They had two televised matches in 2014, both losses, before returning in 2015 to defeat Enzo and Cass. This would launch then through the first Dusty Rhodes Classic, leading to their Takeover debut–a loss to eventual Dusty Classic winners Samoa Joe and Finn Balor.

They  picked up steam with a non-title win against The Vaudevillians, gained some notoriety by taking out Enzo and Cass, and had their first real moment in the sun when they defeated the floundering Vaudevillians once more. This time that win was for the NXT Tag Team Championships. they successfully defeated Enzo and Cass in their first Takeover win (Takeover: London), and were eventually christened “The Revival.”

The name seemed to hold extra meaning, as for so many the duo signified a renaissance–or perhaps a revival–to tag team wrestling in WWE. Tag team wrestling hadn’t disappeared, but Dash and Dawson signaled a return to tag team wrestling “done right.” They employed old school tactics like isolating a body part and cutting the ring in half. They mastered the art of the quick tag, of knowing their partner’s every move, and always being in the right place at the right time.

TWO TIME! NXT Tag Team Champions.

They would spark a small feud with American Alpha, that would see the teams trade the tag team titles. But it was their feud with #DIY, Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano, that solidified them not as one of the best tag teams in WWE/NXT, but the entire world.

They would eventually fall to DIY in a two-out-of-three falls match to end their feud, and that match would be named 2016’s Match Of The Year for all of WWE. Takeover: Orlando would see their final NXT televised appearance, failing to regain the championships for a third time in a triple threat elimination match with DIY and NXT’s newest dominant force, The Authors Of Pain.

Two nights later, their debut on Raw happened, and it seemed primed to see their roll continue.

Things don’t always go as planned, and when you fast forward to today, the Revival is coming off of an ass-kicking at the hands of both D-Generation X and The Balor Club on the 25th Anniversary Edition of Raw. But that #Raw25 loss notwithstanding, the Revival is in position to make their way to the top.

However, most fans on the internet don’t see it that way.

I’m all for getting #BalorClub over but they didn’t need to fight the Revival to do so.. And now they are getting buried by everyone.. Cool #RAW25

— BreakingDownTheRing (@BDRcast) January 23, 2018

#Raw1000 was full of huge surprising moments, and the best that this got was a solid opening segment. #RAW25 was nowhere near as good, although I love the Miz as #ICChampion

However, I feel horrible for the Revival #ProtectTheRevival

— Win Column Sports (@WCSportsCA) January 23, 2018

The frustration is not unfounded, but I honestly believe The Revival will be just fine. It’s all about timing.

Take a look at The New Day. The now Iconic Trio were plastered all over the Kickoff at WrestleMania 31, got promoted to lose to The League Of Nations (Remember them? Me neither!) at WrestleMania 32, followed by a hosting gig at WrestleMania 33. They’re one of the top merchandise sellers on WWE Shop as well. No one saw this coming when they debuted as an evangelical church choir (even though they pulled that act off with brilliance, too).

The New Day’s best work in 2017 was against The Usos, who are currently regarded by most as the best tag team in the world (and they’re the first ever Chairshot Team Of The Year, too!). It wasn’t always this way for Jimmy and Jey, as the brothers have yet to crack a WrestleMania main card. This looks to change in 2018 with WrestleMania 34.

Where does The Revival fit in with all this?

They are a talented tag team who can talk with the best of ’em, and given the way WWE treats tag teams, a dependable pairing of workhorses that can get in and get out, or can work a long TV match, can be quite valuable for quite some time. But can they “recover” from a #Raw25 “burial?”

Believe it or not, this doesn’t hurt The Revival!

Don’t be silly…of course they can! The precedent here is set by Jinder Mahal, now dubbed “The Maharaja” and 2017’s biggest surprise with his reign as WWE Champion.

Jinder wasn’t always at this level, which was actually the biggest criticism of his push. But Jinder Mahal had a similar moment to what The Revival experienced on Monday, his being in the WrestleMania 33 Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Jinder was used as the antagonist for Rob Gronkowski, bringing the New England Patriots Super Bowl winning tight end out of the crowd and into the ring. Jinder did his job, making Gronk look like a million bucks and putting over Mojo Rawley in the process.

His reward? A move to Smackdown and a reign as WWE Champion!

The Revival were used at #Raw25 as cannon fodder for D-Generation X and The Balor Club, but in WWE’s eyes this can only help them. They will actually be in a position to climb, likely finding themselves in the Raw Tag Team Championship picture by WrestleMania 34. And after? well I fully expect The Usos to move to Raw in a shake-up this year, and when they do we’ll all be treated to the magic made Jimmy, Jey, Dash, and Dawson.

Don’t worry about The Revival, they’ll be just fine!