On this episode of Friday Night Smackdown, WWE addresses most fans’ confusion regarding the women’s tag team title brand delegation by unifying the WWE & NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships in a Winners Take All match between the respective champions.
RONDA ROUSEY & SHAYNA BASZLER DEF. ALBA FYRE & ISLA DAWN – WWE & NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships
Though Rousey & Baszler were clear favorites to win this match, the eerie duo of Fyre & Dawn wasted no time to showcase their unique tag team offense against the MMA fighters. Rousey brought out a unique offense of her own by pulling off an unexpected Reverse Hurricanrana to gain the upper hand. Despite Fyre & Dawn’s best efforts of a Swanton Bomb and Meteora to secure the win, Rousey’s signature armbar and Baszler’s Kirifuda Clutch would ultimately cause a double submission win. Rousey & Baszler successfully unify the WWE & NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships. On commentary, it would also be mentioned that the tag titles would be defended on all three WWE brands going forward.
The new champions cut their celebrations short by calling out Raquel Rodriguez who sat by commentary for the unification match. Rodriguez claims she wants a rematch for the tag titles, bringing in a returning Liv Morgan who has been out for weeks due to a shoulder injury. The scene closes off with the two teams facing off in the ring.
Writer’s Thoughts: It’s refreshing to see WWE give the Women’s Tag Team Division a big fight feel with matches such as these to allow us viewers to see the tag titles as top championships in the company. With the announcement of Rodriguez & Morgan challenging for the titles at Money In The Bank 2023, I worry about where this leaves the team of Fyre & Dawn in the title picture.
CHARLOTTE FLAIR DEF. LACEY EVANS
In a quick 3-minute match, the #1 Contender for the WWE Women’s Championship Charlotte Flair ran through the feisty Lacey Evans who took her time taunting “The Queen” and the WWE Universe asking them to salute her. After Charlotte picked up the win, the defending champion Asuka rushed to the ring to deliver a beatdown on her challenger reminding her of who stood atop the Smackdown women’s division.
Writer’s Thoughts: A personal concern I had during the blatant build-up to a potential Bianca and Charlotte feud was that Asuka could somehow get lost in the mix, but this post-match attack helped keep Asuka in the shuffle as a dominant champion.
Check out our Smackdown Post-Show below.
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