Charlie Haas gives his take on WWE's view of tag teams.
Speaking with Nick Hausman of Wrestling Inc. the current Southwest Wrestling Entertainment Heavyweight Champion was asked about his time working with Kurt Angle and Shelton Benjamin in WWE and why their run together seemingly got cut short. He said the following:
"At the time you had two different -- you know, you had Raw and SmackDown. So we were the number one group on SmackDown. Who's the one going on Raw? Evolution. Start at the same time. Now, when we do the joint PPVs and all of a sudden we start gaining ground, or there's a distance between the two groups and got shut down early. It is what it is. It's not like it was growing up watching Georgia Championship Wrestling or World Class where they had factions that meant something and every title meant something and you believed it. My tag team was my specialty and when they go in there and they would break it down like, 'We're going to change it, there's not going to be a double feed, and I don't need you guys working half the ring.' I'm like, 'You're taking away everything.' I go, 'Why even have it?' They looked at it as a tag team is just an extra expense for another guy on the road. That's what it is and so it's a budget cut. So that's what they did."
After being released by WWE in 2010, Haas made his way to the independent scene, specifically finding a home in Ring of Honor. Though he announced his retirement in 2013, he would continue to wrestle a handful of matches each year for independent promotions.
Beginning in November 2018, Haas took two years off before re-emerging in SWE last year. There, he not only serves as the Champion but as a mentor to up-and-coming talents looking to make their way in the wrestling industry. Having years of experience working alongside Hall of Famers, Haas has lots of advice that he is willing to share.
If you use the quote above, please credit Wrestling Inc. with a h/t and link back to Fighful for the transcription.
