Reviewing WWE's Brand New Women's Tag Team Champions

The main event of this week's Monday Night Raw featured the finals of the anticipated WWE Women's Tag Team Championship Tournament, which consisted of eight teams competing for the vacant titles. The tournament started on the August 8 episode of Raw, and originally consisted of the following teams: Iyo Sky & Dakota Kai, Tamina & Dana Brooke, Nikkita Lyons & Zoey Stark, Sonya Deville & Natalya, Raquel Rodriguez & Aliyah, Shotzi & Xia Li, Alexa Bliss & Asuka, and Nikki A.S.H. & Doudrop. The tournament lasted three weeks and came to an end this week, and in what is considered a stunning surprise, Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah defeated Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai to capture the vacant titles.

For Raquel and Aliyah, this is clearly their biggest win of their WWE careers, as well as their first championships on the main roster. Their road was a rocky one after defeating Shotzi and Xia Li. I used the word "originally" when it came to listing the teams. That's because Nikkita Lyons and Zoey Stark ended up removed from the tournament because Zoey suffered an injury. They were replaced by another NXT team: Toxic Attraction's Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne, and they defeated Sonya Deville and Natalya in the opening round. However, Gigi Dolin ended up injured as well, and as a result, the other eliminated teams competed against each other in a "second chance" match to reach the semifinals. Sonya and Natalya won that match, and they would be defeated by Raquel and Aliyah.

Many figured that Iyo and Dakota would win the tournament. This is because they're aligned with Bayley, and they all made their big appearance at SummerSlam, leaving fans expecting a lot of good things for the villainous trio--especially Bayley. However, the match saw Alexa Bliss, Asuka, and Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair make their appearance and run Bayley away from ringside, and with their leader out of their picture, Iyo and Dakota ended up on the losing end, with Aliyah pinning Dakota for their monumental victory.

Raquel Rodriguez spent six years in NXT, making sporadic appearances as Reina Gonzalez before beginning her regular role as (ironically) the evil henchwoman for Dakota Kai. Now going by Raquel Gonzalez, the villainous powerhouse spent over a year teaming with Dakota Kai, which included winning the first ever Women's Dusty Cup and being awarded with the honor of being the first ever NXT Women's Tag Team Champions. Raquel became NXT Women's Champion in April of 2021 by defeating Io Shirai, and underwent a gradual face turn when Dakota turned on her. Raquel held the title for six months before losing to Mandy Rose at Halloween Havoc due to Dakota's interference; however, Raquel and Dakota would briefly reunite and capture the tag titles for the second time at NXT Stand and Deliver at WrestleMania Weekend. The pair lost the titles days later, and Raquel ended up called up to the SmackDown brand on April 8, 2022.

Aliyah's road to this point was a rough one; her WWE career began in 2015, but her first true gimmick didn't really start until 2017, when she (after turning heel) paired up with Vanessa Borne for several months. Following Borne's release, Aliyah was aligned with Robert Stone, which included a brief feud with Xia Li which saw Aliyah's nose broken during a match, after which Aliyah attacked Xia Li backstage out of revenge. Aliyah spent over a year with the Robert Stone Brand, which also consisted of Jessi Kamea, but after a tag team loss, Aliyah turned on her boss; this was her last NXT appearance. She ended up called up to SmackDown via the draft, and one of her first appearances saw her as a victim of Sonya Deville's sinister vendetta against Naomi, as Sonya removed Aliyah from Survivor Series because she knew Naomi. Prior to her big victory, Aliyah's biggest moment came in January 2022, when she defeated Natalya in 3.17 seconds: the fastest victory in WWE history. This led to the "Aliyah 3:17" T-shirt being displayed to promote Aliyah's historic victory.

As for the defeated Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai, they'll be in action with Bayley at WWE's Clash at the Castle in Cardiff, Wales, as they'll face Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, and Asuka. This bout is one of two women's matches set for the event, the other being Liv Morgan defending the SmackDown Women's Championship against Shayna Baszler. As for Raquel and Aliyah, this win was an amazing moment for both women, and it's another big positive notch for Triple H's tenure as the head honcho in WWE. I was very happy with this victory, because Iyo and Dakota winning the tournament would have been immensely predictable and forced. Their time will come, that's for sure. For now, let's enjoy this amazing and wonderful moment for Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah.

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