10 Ways WWE Can Revive The Women’s Tag Team Division

When Vince McMahon announced late last year that WWE would be creating a brand new Women’s Tag Team Division, the overall response was a positive one.

The company’s women’s roster was undeniably the best it had ever been, and with such a large compliment – particularly if you include the likes of NXT and NXT UK – there was more than sufficient talent on hand to sustain a tag division.

However, as WWE has a propensity to do, the booking for the championship has been poor since its unveiling. The belts have been mostly an afterthought and have gone long periods without any television or pay-per-view exposure. This has led fans, along with some wrestlers, to lose interest in the division as a whole.

That, obviously, is a problem. But one that can be remedied!

So, with that in mind, let’s look at ten ways WWE can make their women’s tag division relevant again.

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1. Establish Consistent and Legitimate Teams

Perhaps the most obvious way to make the division relevant is to actually establish consistent and legitimate tag teams. When the division first started, WWE appeared to be heading in that direction, with teams like the Boss ‘N Hug Connection and the Riott Squad.

However, due to injuries and other circumstances, very few of those teams remain intact. The Kabuki Warriors and Fire & Desire are perhaps the closest to being legit tag teams – as opposed to simply being two randomly thrown-together competitors – but it’s far from enough.

WWE needs to establish more true, out-and-out women’s tag teams.

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2. Give the Division Storylines

Current Women’s Tag Team Champions, Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, don’t seem to be involved any storylines right now, especially none concentrating on the titles they hold.

Instead, they have simply been booked to make the newly-minted heel duo of Sasha Banks and Bayley look stronger in their respective chase for singles’ gold. If WWE wants the fans to take the tag titles seriously, they need to create an environment for the wrestlers to do the same.

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3. Defend the Titles Across All Brands

When the Boss ‘N Hug Connection became the inaugural Women’s Tag Team champions, they promised to defend the belts against all comers and on every brand under the WWE banner. To this end, they even made an unannounced appearance at Full Sail University, home of NXT.

However that visit would be the one and only time the tag titles have popped up there. If WWE were to allow the women’s tag titles to migrate across brands, including NXT and NXT UK, not only would the division garner more exposure, but it would also enhance the importance attached to the championships.

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4. Build One Dominant Team… To Eventually Be Beaten

One proven strategy to legitimize a championship is to have a champion embark on a long run with that title, frequently defending it and always coming out on top. That dominance allows a courageous opponent to rise up through the ranks and finally unseat the champ to end their reign.

This would be a great idea for WWE to do in the women’s tag division. One team – preferably recognised heels – should step up for this purpose. The pair could spend months knocking back all challengers, only to run into a charging babyface team (preferably at a WrestleMania), who puts an end to their reign.

This would go a long way to solidifying the perception of those championships.

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5. Hold a Tournament to Establish Serious Contenders

Another option straight out of the professional wrestling playbook would be to hold a tournament, declaring the winners as number one contenders for the titles.

Although it’s well established that Vince McMahon isn’t a fan of tournaments, we’ve only just recently seen the return of fan-favorite King of the Ring. Alongside that, the last few years have brought the Cruiserweight Classic, Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classics, Mae Young Classics and the World’s Collide tournaments. So maybe those restrictions aren’t what they once were.

A tournament akin to the ones listed above for the Women’s Tag Team Championships would be beneficial on many levels. It could establish varies new teams, create multiple storylines and position the titles as a prize worth battling over.

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6. Bring in a Women’s Tag Team from Another Promotion

While women’s tag team championships might be a new thing for WWE (at least because they want you to forget the ones back in the 1980’s), many other promotions have had them for some time.

If WWE were to bring in a proven team from outside the company, and have them go on a dominating run, it could help bring more legitimacy to the division.

Even if they were just to bring in a wrestler who used to team with one of their current stars on the indies, and establish them as an imposing tag team, it could provide an interesting narrative of other teams having to learn how to overcome the new powerhouse.

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7. Have the Championships Headline a Pay-Per-View

Over the last couple of years, WWE has made a conscious effort to transform their entire women’s division from something that was an afterthought into a serious and respectable aspect of their overall output.

Not only have they shifted the focus to more of their talented performers, they also put them in positions to succeed. These stars have headlined multiple weekly TV shows and pay-per-views, culminating in Becky Lynch, Charlotte and Ronda Rousey headlining WrestleMania 35 earlier this year. Headlining any show, let alone ‘the Show of Shows’, is a quick way to make something feel important.

Although it is probably a long shot, as the men’s tag division rarely (if ever) headlines a major show, having the Women’s Tag Titles headline could go a long way to making them relevant again.

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8. Lure Legends Back To Compete for the Tag Team Titles

Early on, when the Women’s Tag Team Championships where still in their infancy, many fans were fantasy booking the return of legends from WWE’s past to make a play for the newly minted titles. Even insiders were reporting some of these stars from yesteryear might make a comeback.

Unfortunately, with the exception of Beth Phoenix, that hasn’t happened. Well, at least not yet.

The Bellas have expressed their desire to make a run for the belts, but Nikki’s career might be over due to a serious neck injury. However if WWE, who loves a nostalgia act, could convince a team like Lita and Trish Stratus or LayCool to come back for one more run, it would give the division along with the championships a bigger spotlight and possibly more credibility.

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9. Have the Four Horsewomen of MMA Chase All the Gold

NXT recently moved to the USA Network and during its premiere episode, we saw the Undisputed Era fulfill their prophecy and capture all the men’s championships in that brand. Having that happen on such an important program shows just how impactful something like that could be in the wider picture.

Perhaps WWE can try to duplicate that feat on the main roster with the four Horsewomen of MMA.  Given the impending return of Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler’s current dominance in NXT, seeing them join forces with Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke on the main roster would bring much excitement to the division.

Likelihood is that Rousey and Baszler stick to the singles scene while Shafir and Duke head into the tag title chase. But any combination of the four holding all the women’s titles would be headline-grabbing and really catapult the women’s tag championships to prominence.

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10. DO NOT have Wrestlers Cut Promos Degrading the Titles

Following her hiatus after WrestleMania 35, everyone was curious to hear Sasha Banks explain what happened and why she was gone for so long.

Unfortunately, while stating a desire to move up the women’s single’s ranks, she completely buried the tag team division. Banks essentially claimed that they weren’t important, which went against everything she had said in her post-match promo after winning the belts.

That did more damage to their credibility than any poor booking could ever do.  Championships should never be put down verbally. And even if singles’ stars don’t want to go for them, the last thing they should do is disparage them.

The key to any championship is for the wrestlers to make them seem desirable. And that is especially true immediately after their creation, like WWE’s Women’s Tag Team Championship.

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