An AEW Women’s Tag Team Championships is something that must weigh heavy on the brain of Tony Khan. As recently as May, Tony Khan threw out the idea of creating a women’s tag division, according to Fightful.
Perhaps it is so he can beat WWE at its own game, or maybe he is just a huge fan of tag team wrestling. But a women’s tag team division always seems to loom over the company as the one thing it has not waded into.
So is there an AEW Women’s Tag Team Championship on the horizon? In short, no. AEW’s roster is deep, but not tag team championship level deep. Most of the tag teams formed over the last two months involve top-tier talent, including their women’s champion. A tag team championship in AEW would cause the single division to come to a screeching halt or require a massive influx of talent to prop up a newly founded tag division. Both options would be a considerable financial setback and negatively impact the existing titles.
So what is with all the tag teams that seem to be forming every week? The answer is not as grandiose or bold tag team division. The answer is much more scaled back, a tournament.
Tournament Time
As any fan knows, AEW has an almost unhealthy obsession with tournaments. In its relatively short time as a company, AEW has had tournaments for the TNT, TBS, and All-Atlantic championships. There is the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. Not to mention the countless other tournaments used to find a number one contender.
What’s more, there is precedent for a women’s tag tournament. Cast your mind back to the height of the pandemic, August 2020. With a much smaller roster, AEW put on the Women’s Tag Team Cup Tournament. For four weeks, teams of women battled it out on Dynamite, with Diamante and Ivelisse emerging victorious. Almost two years to the date, signs are pointing to AEW bringing back the tournament after a two-year hiatus.
Bringing People Together
The upcoming anniversary of the Women’s Tag Team Cup Tournament has also coincided with a considerable increase in the number of women’s tag teams.
The supergroup partnership of Tony Storm and Thunder Rosa has formed. In response, Britt Baker has returned with Jamie Hayter in tow, ready to take them on. Athena has partnered up with Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander. Meanwhile, Jade has her Baddie section with Keria Hogan, Leila Gray, and Red Velvet. Anna Jay seems to have abandoned the Dark Order to join Tay Conti.
All the major players of the AEW Women’s division are locked into a partnership, to the point where a tag team tournament feels all but inevitable.
Do We Want a Tag Team Tournament?
Even with AEW’s success with revitalizing tag team wrestling and tournaments, I remain Lukewarm on a tag team division. I am yet to see the value in yet another layer to the division when AEW already has trouble maintaining what they have.
However, thanks to the concerted effort of AEW and their wrestlers, tag team wrestling is no longer on the card for the sake of variety. Now, tag team wrestling is something that fans want to see, with some of the loudest crowd reactions coming when FTR hits the ring. If AEW put this dedication into a women’s tag tournament as it does with its men’s division, they could create some real magic.
AEW has in the past showcased how effective tournaments can be. Tournaments have brought us the rise of Jade Cargill and the redemption of Hangman Adam Page. AEW has a strong track record of creating exciting tournaments.
But all those came with a purpose. An overarching story threaded through matches that end in a satisfying conclusion. As of now, this throughline is missing.
Another problem is what comes next. A tournament is fleeting. What comes in the fallout of the tournament is almost as important as what happens during it. If we look back to the AEW Women’s Tag Team Cup Tournament of 2020, Diamante and Ivelisse quickly faded away after winning the tournament. If there are no clear plans, the ramifications of this tournament will be fleeting at best. Hopefully, AEW can follow through.
Final Thoughts
The prospect of a women’s tag team tournament does not have me jumping for joy. But it doesn’t have me swearing of AEW either. The talent behind it is top-class, but the demand for it is not there.
Nevertheless, a tournament always has possibilities and new ways to move a division forward. You can tell multiple stories simultaneously while also having a purpose. There could be a conflict between long-standing teammates. An unlikely pairing could create newfound popularity. A tournament provides endless options that can branch off into feuds.
Ultimately, a tag tournament is something I do not care about. But with a decent track record for creating tournaments, perhaps AEW can prove me wrong.
So what do you think? Is there a tag team tournament brewing in AEW? Who would you like to see win and why? Let us know what you think we love hearing from our readers.
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