5 reasons why Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode are now a tag team

This week on WWE RAW, we had a match to determine the No. 1 contenders for the RAW Tag Team titles currently held by Universal Champion Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman.

The winners of the 8-team Tag Team Turmoil match were to face Rollins and Strowman at Clash of Champions for the RAW Tag Team titles. One of the tag teams in the match was the newest tag team of Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode, who eliminated Lucha House Party, The Revival, Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins, and finally, Heavy Machinery, to earn a chance to face Rollins and Strowman.

It was a surprising turn of events to see the two veteran wrestlers join forces on RAW, and we delve into 5 possible reasons why Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode are now a tag team:

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#5 AEW calling

Dolph Ziggler

Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode are two reliabe veterans who can put on great matches, and are good on the mic too. WWE runs the risk of alienating them if they do not put both Superstars on television, which could force them to leave the company and find pastures anew - like AEW.

AEW would benefit hugely from Superstars like Ziggler and Roode to build their men's division and take their competition head on.

While Ziggler has been on PPVs recently, with his last match at a PPV coming at Extreme Rules in July, where he faced off against Kevin Owens (which ended in under 20 seconds in favour of Owens, though), Roode's last match at a PPV was way back in Super Showdown in June, where he was a part of the Battle Royal.

These two Superstars who have been severely underutilised on RAW and WWE needed to put them in a match for a title to keep them happy.

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#4 Heel tag team

The tag team division on WWE RAW (and SmackDown) has been rather poor over the last year or more, and there seem to be no attempts to revive it. Tag Team wrestling seems like an afterthought for those backstage in WWE.

But, Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode becoming No. 1 contenders for the RAW Tag Team titles is good news for not only the division but also the Championship as it adds another heel tag team in the mix.

Currently, the only top-notch heel tag teams on the red brand are The Revival, and perhaps The OC, and as most ardent fans of pro wrestling will tell you - great heels make feuds memorable.

Ziggler and Roode can cut great promos, while they can also play dirty to win matches, which works very well with much-loved babyfaces like Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman. A heel team like Ziggler and Roode can actually make Rollins and Strowman look very good in the ring, and overall as a feud.

#3 No other feuds for either Superstar

It's a pity that Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode have been underused by WWE over the last year or so, more so with the latter than the former. Roode has had very little to do over the last six months or so, since his tag team with Chad Gable ended after Gable's move to SmackDown Live.

Despite a name and gimmick change, Roode's fortunes haven't quite changed on the red brand, with him mainly featuring on WWE's Main Event show than on the main roster.

Roode desperately needed a new feud to revive his WWE career, which had nosedived into oblivion.

Ziggler, on the other hand, was in one high-profile feud against Goldberg recently, which was brief, and mainly done to make Goldberg look good after his shambolic match against The Undertaker at Super ShowDown.

ZIggler seems to have returned to WWE on a full-time schedule once again, and this is a great way to keep him involved in a title race.

#2 Great tag team wrestlers

Robert Roode held the RAW Tag Team titles once with Chad Gable

Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode are very good in the ring, and perhaps the last of the old school wrestlers that are in WWE currently. Both Superstars can sell well, which seems to be a lost art and vanishing in pro wrestling, while also having the ability to build matches well and tell a story in the ring.

Both of them are also great tag team wrestlers, who have been tag team champions recently, and have also had memorable feuds for tag team titles in the past.

Roode has been known for his tag team wrestling way back in his TNA days, when he was part of Beer Money, Inc., and more recently with Chad Gable on RAW, where the tag team won the RAW Tag Team titles.

Ziggler, too, has held the RAW Tag Team titles recently, having won it with Drew McIntyre last year.

#1 Best challengers for Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman

Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman will have an interesting day at Clash of Champions. The duo, who became the RAW Tag Team champions on RAW, will face Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode for the tag team titles, and will then face each other for Rollins' Universal title later that night.

The tag team match will play a huge part in adding fuel to the Universal title match, which could possibly see Strowman turn on Rollins and cost them the match, or Ziggler and Roode forcing Strowman to turn on his tag team partner.

That would certainly make things interesting as a babyface vs babyface match for a top title like the Universal title hasn't happened in a really long time. Many fans have also been clamouring for WWE to turn Strowman heel, which could certainly happen at Clash of Champions, and the duo of Ziggler and Roode could stoke the fire in this regard.