Grading the Women’s Tag Team Champs

The WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles have had a bit of a rough going since the were revived in 2019. There have been some good days, even a few great ones, but in between has been a lot of bad luck and bad booking. After the latest injury triggered vacancy and refilling, and given the state of the discourse around them I figured it would be a good time to take a look at the whole picture and figure out the good, the bad, and ugly of it all. So I looked at all the previous duos to hold the belts and put them into categories – great, good, mid, and trash.

What were the criteria?

• When and how did they win and lose them?
• How often did they defend them?
• Did they defend them on any PPVs?
• Did they have any active feuds that centered around the belts?

I do consider the circumstances of the time that they were held. Pandemic era reigns where TV personnel were kept to a minimum don’t get treated as harshly as those when things were operated at normal capacity. And I do not consider how good or bad of a wrestler anyone is. A mediocre wrestler can have a great title reign (like the Honky Tonk Man) and plenty of great wrestlers have had crappy ones. This is mainly a commentary on how good or bad the booking and/or creative was for each reign. So let’s get to it.

THE GREAT

Kabuki Warriors, first reign (Hell in a Cell 2019 through WrestleMania 36)

They won them in spectacular fashion when Asuka used the green mist for the first time (for her) in WWE when no one was expecting it.  They went on to defend the belts on pay per view twice, including the main event of TLC 2019 against Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, and were the first traveling champs as they defended them both on Monday Night RAW and on NXT television.  They feuded with Lynch and Flair and with Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross who they defeated for the belts and lost them back to at WrestleMania.  The only real knock on their run was that they stopped defending them from January 2020 through WrestleMania as Asuka was feuding solo against Lynch and Kairi Sane was relegated to running interference for her.  But to be fair COVID had a lot to do with that, too; once things shut down in March they couldn’t do much in person to build to their Mania match.  But all in all, they did everything you could ask for and were given great material to work with.

Sasha Banks and Bayley, second reign (May 2020 through Payback 2020)

They defended them on a PPV (Backlash), several times on RAW and Smackdown, and once on NXT. Their reign was part of the winningest and maybe the best character run both women had on the main roster as the Golden Role Models. There was a story to both their winning and losing of the belts, and losing them to Shayna and Nia kicked off Shayna’s best run on the main roster. And when you factor that this was entirely through the empty building/audience behind hockey shield era of television, and with a roster that was both depleted by absences and departures, and limited due to COVID restrictions it was an even greater feat. That Sasha and Bayley were on the best character runs of their careers both helped and hurt things here; holding both singles titles at the same time meant that sometimes those were prioritized instead but I think that was more than offset by everything else they did here.

Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax, second reign (Royal Rumble 2021 to May 2021)

Baszler and Jax’s second reign saw an unprecedented level of activity.  They defended the belts on television and most importantly at three straight pay per views.  They are the only champs to successfully defend the belts at WrestleMania.  They feuded with Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair, Asuka and Charlotte Flair, and Nattie and Tamina.  They were active on television every week, on both RAW and Smackdown and even once on NXT, not just in matches but in some skits that took place away from the arena (Shayna’s best work as an entertainer was as the perpetually annoyed friend/partner of Jax).  This is the model for how you should want to see the women’s tag team champions booked.  They checked all the boxes and checked them quite well.

Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill, second reign, (Bash at Berlin – November 2024)

Bianca and Jade’s second reign was everything you could ask for. They won the belts back at Bash at Berlin, defended them at Crown Jewel and took on teams from Raw, Smackdown, and NXT. They were on TV every week in some capacity and were pursued by multiple teams as if the belts were something to aspire to winning. Most importantly them being champs wad it’s own thing and was treated as if it was important to them and not just an add-on to whatever else they were already doing. They were the most active and most serious that the tag champs were in God knows how long, maybe since the first year the titles existed.

What’s was more remarkable is that this went on while many loud voices were clamoring for Bianca and Jade to skip ahead to the inevitable breakup and match between the two. It’s of the utmost importance that the belts be put first in a storyline involving whoever is holding them, so that they can then be of some assistance to whoever gets them next.

Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss (Summerslam 2025 through November 10, 2025)

This had everything except a PLE match for a title defense.  It was part of an ongoing story between the two ladies, they defended them on all three TV brands and even main evented TV a couple of times.  And their loss of the titles was also part of a feud to set up the Wargames.  Along the way we got to go on a character journey with both women got to see more of them as characters than we had in a while.  And along the way they developed some great in ring chemistry with one another.  Wish it went longer and had a PLE match in there but other than that 10/10, no notes.

THE GOOD

Sasha Banks and Bayley, first reign (Elimination Chamber 2019 through WrestleMania 35)

This one ended earlier than one would have liked but they still got a a good bit in. They defended them on TV, but only on RAW, and at the one PPV in between their winning and losing of the titles. There wasn’t much going on from a storyline standpoint, which costs them a little but the nuts and bolts of it were still very good.

Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, first reign (July 2019 through Hell in a Cell 2019)

They defended them on TV and on every PPV that ran during their reign, and their defeat kicked off a feud that would culminate at the next WrestleMania. And there was a story of their awkward partnership paying dividends in their title win. They didn’t really have any feuds during their reign, just regular defenses with a few angles to set them up, that’s really the only knock.

Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill, first reign, Backlash 2024 through Clash at the Castle 2024

What had the potential to be a great run was inexplicably cut short after six weeks. Their win at Backlash was Bianca’s final victory over Damage Control after almost two years of feuding, and they would go on to defend the titles at the next PPV, once on TV, and at some house shows. Then at what looked like would be a routine match at Clash at the Castle they lost the belts without even being pinned in a triple threat match. They packed about as much as you get into a 42 day reign, and brought more visibility to the titles in the process. But that ending stunk to high heaven.

Bianca Belair and Naomi (November 2024 through February 2025)

They defended them across all three TV brands and they had a very good storyline going throughout.  They lost them in a very good TV main event that was part of said storyline.  The only thing keeping it out of the great column is that they didn’t get a PLE defense in.

Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez, June 2025 through Summerslam 2025)

Roxanne filled in for the injured Liv Morgan, so the beginning wasn’t ideal, but they defended them at the Evolution PLE and on some house shows and the entire time they held them treated as if they were important. And there was a story behind them becoming champs and trying to hold on to the belts. Finally, there was a build and a story to their defeat which happened on the second biggest PLE of the year. Nothing to complain about here, they did great in the short time they had them.

MID

Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, second reign (WrestleMania 36 to May 2020)

They won them at WrestleMania to conclude the previously mentioned feud with the Kabuki Warriors. Then they defended them several times on TV before losing them on Smackdown in May to Sasha and Bayley, who they continued to feud with into the summer. They were left off of the Money in the Bank PPV but to be fair that was at the peak of the pandemic so you can’t really get mad about it because personnel was at a bares bones level due to COVID.

Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax, first reign (Payback 2020 through TLC 2020)

It started great with the win at Payback over Sasha and Bayley and the subsequent rematch on Smackdown. Then it went downhill. They defended two more times on TV, were left off of two PPVs where they could have defended, and then spent a month and a half putting Lana through a table every week until they lost at TLC. They also didn’t appear very much on Smackdown. I give them some points for basically carrying the heel side of the women’s division on RAW during this period.

Charlotte Flair and Asuka (TLC 2020 to Royal Rumble 2021)

It was short, but they won them on a PPV and defended the titles a couple of times on TV before losing them on the next PPV, and worked both brands. There was a story to them winning (Asuka was feuding with Shayna and Nia, and needed a new partner when they put Lana out of action, while Charlotte owed Nia for injuring her arm back in June) and to them eventually losing as part of Charlotte’s feud with Lacey Evans.  If they had a longer run with the same level of activity then I’d grade it higher, but by no means was this a bad reign.

Sasha Banks and Naomi (WrestleMania 38 to May 2022)

The what if title reign.  It started off well, won at WrestleMania to conclude a storyline that started a month prior. They defended a couple of times on TV and their last defense had an angle behind it.  It had the potential to be great but the abrupt ending when both ladies rightfully left the company took that away from us.  What we got wasn’t bad, but there wasn’t enough to call it better than that.

Damage Control, first reign (September 2022 through Halloween 2022)

Won them on TV two weeks after they should have, then lost them on the Monday before a PPV to pop the crowd. In between they defended them twice on TV but were left off of another PPV, Extreme Rules. The only thing saving this from the lowest ranking is that the champs were fully immersed in an active feud the whole time they held the belts, and that the divsion consisted of nothing but slapped together teams at the time. But yeah this should have been much better than it was.

Shayna Baszler and Ronda Rousey (May 29, 2023 through Money in the Bank 2023)

Another reign derailed by circumstances. Injuries to Rousey and Baszler delayed what was supposed to be the start, then they won out of necessity to fill the vacancy once Liv Morgan was injured, then they had to rush through whatever the reign was supposed to be in order to get to Shayna turning on Ronda in time for their Summerslam match since Ronda was leaving. In between they did get in a title unification match in with the NXT women’s tag team champs. But I’m mainly keeping them here and out of the trash column because they did get some real focus and TV time for the division while they were champions.

Kayden Carter & Kitana Chance (December 2023 – January 2024)

They won them on December 18, the last RAW of 2023, and held them until January 26 when they lost them to the Kabuki Warriors on Smackdown.  In that time they got in a few defenses on house shows and two on television.   There weren’t any pay per views in between to put them on or leave them off of.  One good thing about their reign is that the tag team division got rebuilt with women who previously weren’t on TV much, which was one of the original hopes for them when they were created.  While their reign isn’t one that’s going to be replayed a bunch, it was fine for what it was.

Kabuki Warriors second reign (January 2024 – May 2024)

They won them on the Smackdown before the Royal Rumble, which tends to be a throwaway episode lots of times, but defended them on TV a few times before WrestleMania and on a pay per view (Elimination Chamber). They held them through Backlash 2024 and didn’t defend them between the Chamber and then; in their defense Asuka was working injured most of their reign so it’s understandable. But just judging it on what we got, which was all but one defense against teams that had zero chance of winning, I can’t call it any better than just ok.

Alba Fire and Isla Dawn (Clash at the Castle 2024 through Bash at Berlin 2024)

This one was hard to place because they checked a lot of the boxes to land in the ‘Good’ category but also had some of the red flags that qualified it for the trash pile. On the plus side they won and lost them on PLEs and they weren’t in witness protection while they held the belts. They defended them a few times on television and did travel to NXT for one. However they didn’t defend them on either of the two PLEs in between the beginning and end of their reign and at no time were they portrayed as anything more than placeholders until Jade and Bianca won them back. Barely being on TV for over a year then being thrust into a title reign with little build didn’t help them one bit here. Overall they passed the checklist test but by no fault of their own they failed the eye test.

TRASH

The Iconics (WrestleMania 35 through July 2019)

This was absolutely no fault of the ladies, but entirely on booking/creative.  They won the belts at WrestleMania and within a few weeks were in witness protection, relegated to backstage comedy vignettes (which were funny, but not enough to save things).  WWE had three pay per views during their reign and they did not defend the titles on any of them.  For most of their reign they wore the belts as accessories (a recurring theme in this tier). If they thought Peyton and Billie weren’t good enough to put in one pay per view match when they had three chances then they shouldn’t have kept the belts that long in the first place.  But if they did think they were good enough then they should have, plain and simple. 

Natalya and Tamina (May to September 2021)

It had a feelgood beginning and that’s where it peaked. Three defenses on TV within the first two weeks of winning the belts, and then nothing for months. Four PPVs went by and not one time were they put on the show to defend them. And then they unceremoniously lost them on TV to Rhea Ripley and Nikki ASH. Speaking of which….

Rhea Ripley and Nikki ASH (September 2021 through November 2021)

They won them on TV, defended them once on TV, were left off of two PPVs where they could have defended them, and then dropped them on a random episode of RAW two months after winning them with little to no fanfare. The rest of the time they were accessorizing with the belts.

Carmella and Zelina Vega (November 2021 through WrestleMania 38)

They won them on TV, didn’t defend them anywhere for a month and a half, then didn’t defend them again in any venue (not even house shows) until they lost them at WrestleMania. They went three PPVs without defending them and were another team to mostly wear the belts as accessories.

Raquel Rodriguez and Aaliyah (two weeks from late August to early September 2022)

They inexplicably won the tournament on TV in August to crown new champs, held them for like two weeks, and then lost them to Damage Control who they beat in the finals and who should have won them in the first place anyway.  Just a total waste of time that didn’t help anyone involved.

Asuka and Alexa Bliss (5 days from Monday Night Raw until Crown Jewel 2022)

They won them on TV and lost them on the next PLE 5 days later.  No defenses for obvious reasons.  The win was just to pop the crowd, I guess, and to give some oomph to the storyline when Nikki Cross interfered to help Damage Control win them back at Crown Jewel.  In the process it did more to hurt Damage Control than help them, in my opinion, and didn’t do anything for Asuka or Alexa.  Or for us either.

Damage Control, second reign (Crown Jewel 2022 through February 2023)

They won them on a PPV, defended a couple of times on TV in December, and then not at all. Two PPVs went by that they could have defended them on but did not. Through January and February they were little more than Bayley’s belt wearing henchwomen.

Becky Lynch and Lita (February to April 2023)

They won them on TV, never defended them, and then lost them in a match on TV where Lita didn’t even wrestle.  They were the first champs to not defend them at WrestleMania.  Their victory was only to set up Trish Stratus return and their defeat was only to set up Trish turning on Becky.  In between the belts were basically accessories that they carried for media appearances.  Unless you are a big fan of one or both ladies then this did absolutely nothing for anyone.

Chelsea Green and Piper Niven (August through December 2023)

Chelsea and Piper defended the titles twice on TV and at a couple of house shows before losing them on TV, and not once through four pay per views. They wrestled on TV regularly and were involved in a lot of backstage scenes, but half of those were in singles matches and they were a safe bet to lose any match where they weren’t defending the titles. They also didn’t defend the titles anywhere for over two months after winning them. They did a lot of entertaining things during their reign, but compared to previous champs they weren’t very active. If this were a most entertaining champs list they’d be much higher. 

Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez, third reign (February 2025 through WrestleMania 41)

They won them in a very good TV main event, then wore them around as accessories until they lost them at WrestleMania without a single defense in between for two months.  Yikes, and double yikes considering that they followed the best 10 months those belts ever had.

Becky Lynch and Lyra Valkyria (WrestleMania 41 to April 22, 2025)

Held for one day, won to get a crowd pop at WrestleMania, lost to set up a heel turn angle. Absolute garbage. I said that I didn’t expect a long reign but YIKES. I don’t care that it set up a storyline, in this space the talk is about the belts themselves.

Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez, fourth reign (April 22, 2025 through June 16, 2025)

They won them back the night after losing them at WrestleMania as part of an angle, defended them the next night on TV, then proceeded to wear them as accessories for almost two months until Morgan was injured in June.  Normally I give people a break when injuries happen but enough time went by to earn a failing grade.

NO GRADES

Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez, first two reigns; Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville

In all three cases injuries ended things before they got going. I’m not going to penalize any of them for that.

So how has it gone, and how’s it going?

The new champs are the Kabuki Warriors, back for reign number three.  It just started so we’ll see how it goes

To say the last six years have been up and down would be an understatement; it’s more like a roller coaster. The titles are seen more, or less, according to who is holding them. That goes from TV time to number of defenses to getting on or being left off PPVs/PLEs. Every time the belts have been defended on a PPV/PLE, at least one member of the defending champions was a former RAW or Smackdown Women’s champion. Over the course of five-plus years they’ve been defended in the main event of a PPV (TLC 2019), contested in an Elimination Chamber match, but have also been absent from PPV for a full year (WrestleMania 37 – WrestleMania 38). 2024 saw seen the most PPV activity for the titles (six defenses, including three in a row) since they were defended on five straight PPVs from TLC 2020 through WrestleMania 37. In 2025 so far they’ve been defended once through five main roster PLEs.

A big problem is that creative has never been able to choose what the purpose of these titles is. Are they: A) something for the middle and lower level of the women’s division to fight for? B) a tool to enhance existing storylines amongst your TV regulars? Or C) cute little adornments for their holders? They have been all three at different times depending on who was holding them and what creative felt like doing with them. Putting them on the bigger stars usually gets them defended on PPVs more, but that also defeats their original implied purpose. However fulfilling that purpose often leads to them disappearing – from PPVs for sure but also sometimes from TV matches as well. We just saw the worst version of B) this WrestleMania week, which was preceded by another version of C). Coming off maybe the best 12 months those belts had, the four months from February to June were terrible.

But the Charlotte/Alexa team brings some hope. Two of the biggest names holding the belts and as part of a storyline between them means that they’ll be on TV often and maybe get on some more PLEs. That has proven to be the formula to get the best results. Put them on some big names and let them run with them. Yes, it was a good intention to try several times to use them with people who don’t get on TV as much but the result is always that those people still don’t get on much even after winning. Charlotte and Alexa have a chance to follow in the footsteps of the duos that had great runs, let’s hope they get the chance.