New WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Crowned On Raw

Written by Sondra Ruth • Published 31st August 2022
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship

After a tumultuous tournament, a new set of WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions have been crowned!

The WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships have been vacant since Sasha Banks and Naomi were stripped of the titles after they walked out of the May 16th episode of Monday Night Raw. When it was announced that the two women had been suspended and stripped of their belts, it was said that a tournament would be held to crown new champions – but it would be months before the tournament came to pass.

Finally, a tournament was announced in early August, and the bracket was set to include NXT stars Nikkita Lyons and Zoey Stark. However, it was later announced that Toxic Attraction’s Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne would be taking the place of their fellow NXT stars prior to their first round match.

While Toxic Attraction were victorious over Sonya Deville and Natalya in round one, it was later announced that Gigi Dolin had suffered an injury and would be unable to continue in the tournament. On the following SmackDown, Natalya and Sonya earned their way back into title contention when they won a Second Chance Fatal Four Way, but they missed their chance at the finals when they were defeated by Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah.

On Raw, Dakota Kai and IYO SKY – fresh off their SummerSlam returns to the company alongside Bayley – earned their way to the finals with victories over Dana Brooke and Tamina in round one and Asuka and Alexa Bliss in the semifinals.

The main event of the August 29th episode of Raw saw Dakota Kai and IYO SKY face off against Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah, and in a somewhat shocking result, Raquel and Aliyah were able to defeat Dakota and IYO to be crowned the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. Raquel Rodriguez is a former NXT Women’s Champion and NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion, and this marks Aliyah’s first time holding gold in WWE.

As the new champions celebrated, they were joined in the ring by Bianca Belair, Asuka, and Alexa Bliss, who are set to face off in trios actions at Clash at the Castle against Dakota Kai, IYO SKY, and Bayley.

The match wasn’t without controversy, however, as fans noticed that Aliyah pinned Dakota Kai despite IYO SKY being the legal competitor. While commentary didn’t make note of the situation, Kai could be seen protesting after the match.

Elsewhere on Monday Night Raw, WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle appeared in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. At one point in the night, he and Edge recreated an infamous segment from a 2002 episode of SmackDown. Full results from the August 29th episode of Raw can be found here.