WWE Women's Tag Team Championship

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WWE Women's Tag Team Championship
upright=Bayley and Sasha Banks.png
The Women's Tag Team Championship belt with default side plates
Details
PromotionWWE
BrandRaw (2019–present)
SmackDown (2019–present)
NXT (2019–2021)
Date establishedDecember 24, 2018
Current champion(s)Carmella and Queen Zelina
Date wonNovember 22, 2021

The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling women's tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended across the Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. It is one of two women's tag team championships in the promotion, along with the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship on NXT. The current champions are the team of Carmella and Queen Zelina from Raw, who are in their first reign as a team.

The championship was established on the December 24, 2018, episode of Monday Night Raw. Bayley and Sasha Banks, then going by the team name of The Boss 'n' Hug Connection, were the first champions who were part of the Raw brand during their inaugural reign. The championship was originally established to be available to Raw, SmackDown, and NXT, but after a controversial finish to a title defense on the March 3, 2021 episode of NXT, the brand created their own championship, thus the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship became no longer available to NXT. The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship has been contested in the headlining match of one WWE pay-per-view event: TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in 2019.

The title is distinct from the WWF Women's Tag Team Championship that was contested from 1983–1989, as it does not carry the lineage of the former title.

History[]

Sasha Banks and Bayley—the inaugural and record tying two-time champions; during their inaugural reign, they were known as The Boss 'n' Hug Connection, while during their second reign, they were known simply as Bayley and Sasha Banks

In 1989, the then-World Wrestling Federation (WWF) abandoned the WWF Women's Tag Team Championship due to the lack of women's tag teams in the division. This remained true up through the 2000s—in 2002, the WWF was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). In the early 2010s, the women's division began growing, and in 2012, WWE.com ran an article supporting the resurrection of the Women's Tag Team Championship.[1] In 2014, The Bella Twins (Brie Bella and Nikki Bella) discussed a desire to establish a Divas Tag Team Championship—from 1999 to 2016, female performers were referred to as Divas and their top championship from 2010 to 2016 was the WWE Divas Championship.[2][3][4][5] The idea for a women's tag team championship was seemingly forgotten about until mid-2018; in an interview with Sky Sports, WWE's Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon stated that in regards to the titles debuting, "Not quite yet, but that's absolutely something we've heard loud and clear from our fan base and it's something we're keen on implementing as soon as we are able to."[6] Prior to WWE's first all-female pay-per-view Evolution in October, speculations—including comments from current female wrestlers—arose that the promotion would debut the titles at the event.[7][8] Just prior to the event, Stephanie said that the titles would be coming "sooner than we think";[6] the titles, however, were not debuted at Evolution. Speculation died down after the event, however, on the December 3, 2018, episode of Monday Night Raw, when questioned by a fan about what they wanted to bring to the women's division in 2019, Bayley and Sasha Banks stated that they wanted to become the inaugural WWE Women's Tag Team Champions.[9]

During the December 24, 2018, special Christmas episode of Raw, WWE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon officially announced that a new WWE Women's Tag Team Championship would be introduced in 2019.[10] On the January 14, 2019, episode of Raw, the championship belts were unveiled by Alexa Bliss on her segment, "A Moment of Bliss". After the unveiling, Bliss announced that the inaugural champions would be decided at Elimination Chamber on February 17, 2019, in a tag team Elimination Chamber match, featuring three teams from Raw and three teams from SmackDown, making the title non-exclusive to either brand.[11][12][13] On the February 18 Raw, it was revealed that the titles could also be defended on the NXT brand.[14]

To determine the three teams from Raw, qualification matches were held and began on the January 28 episode of Raw. The teams of Nia Jax & Tamina and The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan) qualified by defeating the teams of Alexa Bliss & Mickie James and Natalya & Dana Brooke, respectively.[15] The following week, The Boss 'n' Hug Connection (Bayley and Sasha Banks) defeated Alicia Fox & Nikki Cross to win Raw's final spot.[16] No qualification matches were held to determine the three teams from SmackDown due to its smaller roster, and instead, each team declared their participation.[17] The team of Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville announced theirs on the January 29 episode of SmackDown Live,[18] The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce) confirmed their entry via Twitter,[19] and Carmella & Naomi accepted the final spot on the February 5 episode.[20] The Boss 'n' Hug Connection would go on and win the match, lastly eliminating Rose & Deville by way of Banks submitting Deville, to become the inaugural champions.[14]

The title headlined a pay-per-view event for the first time at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2019. The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) defended the championship against Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair in the first women's tag team Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, where The Kabuki Warriors retained.[21]

On the March 3, 2021 episode of NXT, WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler defended the championship against NXT's Dakota Kai and Raquel González, who had earned the title opportunity for winning the inaugural Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. The match ended in controversy, however, as the referee was taken out and WWE official Adam Pearce, who officiates on Raw and SmackDown, sent a second referee to the ring, who ruled that Kai submitted to Baszler, although Kai was not the legal woman.[22] The following week, in response to the controversy, NXT General Manager William Regal established the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship for the brand as to not deal with Raw and SmackDown's politics any longer, and awarded the championship to Kai and González. The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship effectively became no longer available to NXT.[23][24]

Belt design[]

The championship belts were unveiled by wrestler Alexa Bliss on the January 14, 2019, episode of Raw. The belts feature three plates on a white leather strap, which is smaller than the men's titles. The three plates are outlined in gold while the inner portion is mostly silver. The WWE logo is affixed at the top of the circular center plate, which has four protruding edges. At the center, the word "Tag Team" is prominently written in gold. Above that is a gold banner that reads "Women's" while below is a gold banner that reads "Champions". Similar to how the men's Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championships are Greek inspired, the center plate is encircled by a meander pattern. There is also margent ornamentation in the inner circle. In what has become a prominent feature with WWE's other championship belts, the two side plates feature a removable center section that can be customized with the champion's logos; the default side plates feature the WWE logo on a globe. Generally, the reigning team will have one side plate on each belt dedicated to each champion, unless the team has a name (e.g., The Kabuki Warriors).[12]

Reigns[]

Current champions Carmella and Queen Zelina

As of February 1, 2022, there have been 12 reigns between nine teams composed of 16 individual champions. The inaugural championship team was Bayley and Sasha Banks, who at the time went by the team name of The Boss 'n' Hug Connection—during their second reign, they simply went by "Bayley and Sasha Banks" as their team name. As a team, they are tied with the teams of Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross and Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler for the most reigns at two, while individually, Nikki Cross/A.S.H. holds the record at three reigns (prior to her third reign, her ring name changed to Nikki A.S.H.). The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) have the longest reign at 171 or 172 days (181 days as recognized by WWE due to tape delay), while the team of Asuka and Charlotte Flair have the shortest reign at 42 days. As a team and individually, Jax and Baszler have the longest combined reign at 215 days (WWE, however, recognizes that Asuka individually has the longest combined reign at 222 days due to tape delay). Tamina is the oldest champion, winning the title at 43 years old, while Rhea Ripley is the youngest, winning the title at 24.

The current champions are Carmella and Queen Zelina, who are in their first reign as a team and individually. They defeated Nikki A.S.H. and Rhea Ripley on the November 22, 2021 episode of Raw in Brooklyn, New York.

Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
Days recog. Number of days held recognized by the promotion
+ Current reign is changing daily
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days Days recog.
WWE: Raw, SmackDown, and NXT
1 The Boss 'n' Hug Connection
(Bayley and Sasha Banks)
February 17, 2019 Elimination Chamber Houston, TX 1 49 49 This was a tag team Elimination Chamber match to determine the inaugural champions, also involving Nia Jax & Tamina, The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan), Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville, The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce), and Carmella & Naomi. The Boss 'n' Hug Connection lastly eliminated Rose and Deville to become the inaugural champions. [13][25]
2 The IIconics
(Billie Kay and Peyton Royce)
April 7, 2019 WrestleMania 35 East Rutherford, NJ 1 120 120 This was a fatal four-way tag team match, also involving Nia Jax & Tamina and Beth Phoenix & Natalya. [26]
3 Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross August 5, 2019 Raw Pittsburgh, PA 1 62 62 This was a fatal four-way tag team elimination match, also involving Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville and The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane). Bliss lastly pinned Sane to win the title. [27]
4 The Kabuki Warriors
(Asuka and Kairi Sane)
October 6, 2019 Hell in a Cell Sacramento, CA 1 171 or 172 181 WWE recognizes this reign as ending on April 4, 2020, when the following match aired on tape delay. [28]
5 Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross March 25 or 26, 2020 WrestleMania 36 Orlando, FL 2 62 or 61 62 WrestleMania was taped on March 25 and 26, but it is currently unknown which day this match was taped. WWE recognizes this reign as beginning on April 4, 2020 and ending on June 5, 2020, when the matches aired on tape delay. [29]
6 Bayley and Sasha Banks May 26, 2020[30][31] SmackDown Orlando, FL 2 96 86 Previously known as The Boss 'n' Hug Connection. WWE recognizes this reign as beginning on June 5, 2020, when the match aired on tape delay. [31][32]
7 Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler August 30, 2020 Payback Orlando, FL 1 112 112 [33]
8 Asuka (2) and Charlotte Flair December 20, 2020 TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs St. Petersburg, FL 1 42 42 [34]
9 Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler January 31, 2021 Royal Rumble
Kickoff
St. Petersburg, FL 2 103 103 With the establishment of the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship on March 10, 2021, the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship became no longer available to NXT. [35]
WWE: Raw and SmackDown
10 Natalya and Tamina May 14, 2021 SmackDown Tampa, FL 1 129 129 [36]
11 Nikki A.S.H. (3) and Rhea Ripley September 20, 2021 Raw Raleigh, NC 1 63 63 Nikki A.S.H. was previously known as Nikki Cross. [37]
12 Carmella and Queen Zelina November 22, 2021 Raw Brooklyn, NY 1 71+ 71+ [38]

Combined reigns[]

As of February 1, 2022.

The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) are the longest reigning champions at 171 or 172 days (the date they lost the title is unknown, but WWE recognizes 180 days due to tape delay, which is still the longest.)

By team[]

Indicates the current champion
¤ The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain; the combined length may not be correct.
Rank Team No. of
reigns
Combined
days
Combined days
rec. by WWE
1 Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler 2 215
2 The Kabuki Warriors
(Asuka and Kairi Sane)
1 ¤171 181
3 The Boss n' Hug Connection/Bayley and Sasha Banks 2 145 135
4 Natalya and Tamina 1 129
5 Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross 2 ¤123 124
6 The IIconics
(Billie Kay and Peyton Royce)
1 120
7 Carmella and Queen Zelina 1 71+
8 Nikki A.S.H. and Rhea Ripley 1 63
9 Asuka and Charlotte Flair 1 42

By wrestler[]

Nikki A.S.H./Nikki Cross - who is a record three-time champion as an individual.
Rank Wrestler No. of
reigns
Combined
days
Combined days
rec. by WWE
1 Nia Jax 2 215
Shayna Baszler 2 215
3 Asuka 2 ¤213 222
4 Nikki A.S.H./Nikki Cross 3 ¤186 187
5 Kairi Sane 1 ¤171 181
6 Bayley 2 145 135
Sasha Banks 2 145 135
8 Natalya 1 129
Tamina 1 129
10 Alexa Bliss 2 ¤123 124
11 Billie Kay 1 120
Peyton Royce 1 120
13 Carmella 1 71+
Queen Zelina 1 71+
15 Rhea Ripley 1 63
16 Charlotte Flair 1 42

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ During their first reign, they went by the team name of The Boss 'n' Hug Connection.
  2. ^ The exact date they lost the title is unknown, but WWE recognizes 180 days due to tape delay.

References[]

  1. ^ "Bring It Back!: Women's Tag Titles". World Wrestling Entertainment. January 5, 2012.
  2. ^ The Bella Twins Pushing For Diva Tag Team Titles, Former WWE Star Taking Time Off For Old Injury 19 January 2014 by Marc Middleton of WrestlingInc:
    In the latest issue of WWE Magazine, The Bella Twins said they have been pushing WWE to introduce Diva tag team titles for years.
  3. ^ WWE: Why Brie and Nikki Bella's Divas tag team championship idea is a good one 19 January 2014 by Robert Harding:
    it might be worth listening to the Bella Twins' suggestion that the company add tag team championships for the Divas division. Brie and Nikki Bella mentioned the idea in an interview that will appear in the February issue of WWE Magazine.
  4. ^ The Bella Twins have been pushing WWE to bring in Divas Tag Team Titles 19 January 2014 by David Miniel:
    the Bella Twins have been pushing the company to introduce WWE Divas Tag Team Titles.
  5. ^ Why, Amanda (2016). "Does WWE needs a Women's Tag Team Championship?".
  6. ^ a b Gagnon, Joshua (October 28, 2018). "Stephanie McMahon Says WWE Women's Tag Titles Are Coming "Sooner Than We Think"". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  7. ^ Hirsch, Sarah (October 28, 2018). "Stephanie McMahon Provides Huge Update On WWE Women's Tag Team Titles". The Floor Seat. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  8. ^ Messano, Tommy (August 2, 2018). "Becky Lynch makes the case for WWE women's tag team titles". Cageside Seats. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
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  20. ^ Barnett, Jake (February 5, 2019). "2/5 Barnett's WWE Smackdown Live TV Review: Daniel Bryan vs. Jeff Hardy in a non-title match, Mustafa Ali vs. Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev vs. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, Elimination Chamber build continues". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
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  22. ^ Moore, John (March 3, 2021). "3/3 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler vs. Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez for the WWE Women's Tag Titles, NXT Tag Champions Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch vs. Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher in a non-title match, LA Knight appears, The Way go to therapy". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  23. ^ Moore, John (March 10, 2021). "3/10 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Finn Balor vs. Adam Cole for the NXT Championship, Io Shirai vs. Toni Storm for the NXT Women's Championship, William Regal's big announcements, Xia Li vs. Kayden Carter". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
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  26. ^ Powell, Jason. "WrestleMania 35 results: Powell's live review of Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair for the Raw and Smackdown Women's Titles, Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship, Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins for the WWE Universal Championship, Batista vs. Triple H, AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
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  28. ^ Powell, Jason. "WWE Hell in a Cell results: Powell's live review of Seth Rollins vs. "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt in an HIAC match for the WWE Universal Championship, Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks in an HIAC match for the Raw Women's Championship, Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair for the Smackdown Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
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  33. ^ Powell, Jason (August 30, 2020). "WWE Payback results: Powell's review of The Fiend vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman in a Triple Threat for the WWE Universal Championship, Keith Lee vs. Randy Orton, Sasha Banks and Bayley vs. Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax for the WWE Women's Tag Titles, Matt Riddle vs. King Corbin". Pro Wreslting Dot Net. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
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  35. ^ Powell, Jason (January 31, 2021). "WWE Royal Rumble Kickoff Show results: Powell's live review of the Rumble pre-show featuring Asuka and Charlotte Flair vs. Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax for the WWE Women's Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
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External links[]

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