Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford retained their WWE Tag Team Championships on SmackDown in a brutal TLC match. The pair did everything they could—including using a prosthetic leg—to keep the titles away from DIY and the Motor City Machine Guns.
In a WWE Digital Exclusive, Ford reflected on the victory. The high-flying star confidently declared that this is just the beginning of a long and dominant reign for himself and Dawkins.
“This is just the beginning. We know we’ve got a target on our backs. We know everybody wants the smoke. We know everybody wants these. But truth be told, Byron, they look too damn good on us, and quite frankly, they ain’t going nowhere.”
The year 2025 marks the silver anniversary of the first TLC match, which saw The Hardyz, the Dudleyz, and Edge & Christian dazzle fans at SummerSlam 2000. Dawkins explained that he, Ford, the Guns, and DIY understood the expectations that come with competing in such an iconic match.
“We knew we had big shoes to fill and all three teams went out there and laid it all on the line… Just like those three teams did.”
This was a WrestleMania-worthy match, and the decision to leave it off WWE’s biggest event left many fans frustrated. Dawkins expressed hope that WWE management realizes their oversight after witnessing the performance these teams delivered.
“We gave them [WWE management] a reason to say, ‘Damn, we shouldn’t have left those three off ‘Mania. We should have put those boys on the big show.'”
While Ford and Dawkins were not part of the Showcase of the Immortals, the team made themselves immortal in this TLC match, Dawkins added. It remains to be seen which team will be next to challenge the Street Profits.
