Ronda Rousey, Shayna Baszler Are WWE's Last Chance to Revive Women's Tag Team Scene

WWE's failure to create a sustainable women's tag team division in the last four years has been well-documented, but all hope may not be lost quite yet.

The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship has largely been treated as an afterthought since its inception in early 2019. No team stays together for too long, the titles often aren't defended on pay-per-views, and the lack of interesting stories surrounding them has been painfully apparent.

Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler, whose first reign as champs is just getting underway, have the opportunity to change the perception of the division for the better.

With the audience currently conditioned to not care about anything involving the twin titles, it's imperative a strong effort is made to turn things around before it's too late. That can only be accomplished by ensuring the same mistakes aren't made.

This run for Rousey and Baszler may well be WWE's last-ditch effort to salvage the scene and put the belts back on the map.

The Trials and Tribulations of the WWE Women's Tag Team Division So Far

For years, fans and talent alike clamored for the creation of women's tag team titles in WWE, with Sasha Banks and Bayley being the biggest supporters of the movement.

They finally got their wish in early 2019 when the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship was officially introduced and the duo of Banks and Bayley were crowned the inaugural champs ahead of WrestleMania 35.

Unfortunately, it wasn't long before the belts became paperweights for all who held them.

This was due to WWE not doing nearly enough to spotlight the division and breaking up almost every active team who could have challenged for them. Banks and Bayley were the only two to treat the titles with any level of importance and defend them on a regular basis.

When reigning champs Banks and Naomi walked out of WWE in May 2022, the title was declared vacant and all signs pointed to it being quietly retired. The belts were reinstated when Triple H took control of the company's creative direction that summer, but it wasn't long before they were in the same spot again.

Although Rousey and Baszler becoming the new champs on the Memorial Day edition of Raw received little fanfare, the potential is there for them to be the catalysts for change in the division and bring the belts back to prominence.

Why Rousey and Baszler Are Right Duo to Usher in Women's Tag Team Renaissance

Contrary to popular belief, the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships haven't always been pointless props. In fact, there have been glimmers of greatness throughout the last four years, specifically whenever Sasha Banks and Bayley were leading the charge.

Their second stint as champs came to an end at the hands of Baszler and Nia Jax at Payback in 2020. The duo went on to have a fairly abysmal reign, but it was because they were the definition of a makeshift team put together by the company out of sheer laziness.

There was no clear chemistry between the two, unlike with legitimate best friends Baszler and Rousey.

"This is something we've talked about since 2013 when I moved in [with her], so it's crazy that the moment we're hugging after we win [the titles] is a real moment," Baszler told Bleacher Report. "We get to the back and say, 'This is what we talked about.' We've asked especially ever since her second run here so many times. We came up with ideas as for how we could do it."

The Queen of Spades explained that WWE never felt the time was right for them to get a run with the twin titles and that there were loose ends to be tied up first, but she's happy knowing the company didn't take no for an answer.

Previously, she had been spinning her wheels on her own as well as with other partners. Alongside Rousey, she's found her footing as a force to reckoned with again, and combined with her friend's newfound motivation, they're an unstoppable unit.

"I wish people understood how much we wanted this and fought for this," Baszler said. "It makes it that much more satisfying."

Expanding Reach of Women's Tag Team Championship to All 3 Brands

The biggest step WWE could have taken with Rousey and Baszler was having them unify their titles with the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship.

When the WWE women's tag team titles debuted in 2019, it was established that they could be defended on Raw, SmackDown and NXT at any given time. Sharing the straps with the black-and-gold brand added to the idea that anything could happen and younger talent could benefit from sharing the ring with seasoned stars.

That rule was done away with in March 2021 when NXT was given its own exclusive set of women's belts. Although the gold brand has largely done well with them, the two divisions weren't deep enough to justify having two tag team championships.

Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn recently getting drafted to SmackDown as NXT women's tag team champions was the best thing that could have happened, as a unification match between the two teams has since been set for the June 23 edition of the blue brand.

Baszler feels traveling Raw, SmackDown and NXT with the championship would give more women chances to shine, saying: "There are a ton of women who are wrestling a lot that people don't get to see on TV. Tegan Nox being one of them. She has a lot of experience as a tag team wrestler, too. She could add a lot to the division. Anyone who wants to step up, give us a reason, and we will defend these titles."

Rousey's stock has dropped this past year, but there is still value in her appearing on the program and working with today's crop of competitors. The belts deserve equal exposure across all three brands.

Intertwining Singles and Tag Team Feuds While Keeping Focus Divided Equally

Baszler is a firm believer that the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship doesn't necessarily need to have stories that are separate from the main women's title pictures at all times. Intertwining them every now and again can greatly benefit all involved, provided it's done right.

"It's sort of been a perpetuated myth, and I don't know if anyone says it out loud, but the thought has been that if you're in a tag team, you can't go after a singles title, so nobody wants to be in a tag team because everybody wants a singles title, of course," she said.

"But there's no reason they can't be just as important or involved in that same story. The men's division does it, and I think we have the talent in the women's division to do it, too, so that's what we're ready to show."

Although WWE has attempted this with the women's tag team division before, it's always ended up leaving the tag belts feeling like stepping stones compared to the Raw and SmackDown women's titles. All three championships would need to be booked equally in order for this to have the effect that it should.

Rousey and Baszler should be free to challenge for Raw's Women's World Championship down the road, but for now, their focus should be on making the tag titles as coveted as possible. Either way, the idea is that they shouldn't be limited to solely tag team wrestling.

The entire WWE women's division should be free-flowing, with Superstars easily able to bounce between singles and tag team competition. Again, this is hardly a new concept, but it will mean more once the tag titles are elevated out of purgatory.

Creating Compelling Storylines and Building More Than Makeshift Teams

Consistency and proper storytelling will be the most important factors in the revival of the WWE women's tag team division.

As noted, the company has prioritized the scene in the past but only for brief periods of time. It would be completely characteristic of it to showcase Rousey and Baszler for a bit before reverting to the way things have always been with the belts.

With the uninspired state the division finds itself in at the moment, it will take months for fans to start noticing real change.

Above all else, the keys will be giving the women more stories they can sink their teeth into as well as more actual teams to work with that aren't temporary or only exist to fill a void.

Rousey and Baszler against the debuting duo of Katana Chance and Kayden Carter from the June 5 edition of Raw was a solid step in the right direction. Not only was it an enjoyable outing, but Chance and Carter were also made to look credible in defeat and prove themselves as future contenders.

WWE will need to round out the rest of the division with equally strong tandems in order for this experiment to be deemed a success.

"It's not just about winning these titles; it's about shining a light on the tag division and creating a real tag division, not just a bunch of opportunistic girls who partner together and try to jump into this story," Baszler told Bleacher Report. "We want a tag team division.

"If there's anything this past year that we've learned from The Usos, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, it's that you can be a main-focus story and not have it take away from the singles title stories at all. In fact, it enhanced them. The same can happen with the women and there's no reason with all the talent we have in the locker room that it can't be that way."

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Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.