WWE: How The Original Women’s Tag Titles Can Inspire The New

The biggest piece of news in the wrestling world this past week has been Vince McMahon’s announcement that WWE will be introducing Women’s Tag Team Championships. What WWE hasn’t brought to attention, though, is that there was already a set of tag titles for the women back in the 1980s, and those belts did wonders for the ladies of the ring.

It’s a great sign for the WWE women’s division to be getting tag team titles, but it’s by no means guaranteed to be a big win. You can’t just toss the titles at a bunch of poorly thrown-together teams and hope for the best; there is a lot of work that needs to be done to form a deep tag division. Fortunately, WWE has been laying the groundwork for a while now.

However, if WWE really wants the Women’s Tag Team Titles of the modern era to succeed, it could do worse than to look back at what the originals did so well. Though the titles weren’t around long, they stood as a fantastic example of some of the magnificent things the modern versions could do if handled properly.

Credit: WWE.com

Opportunities for Awesome Matches

You can’t be blamed if you’ve never been aware of the original WWF Women’s Tag Team Titles. They were a small part of the overall history of the company, but in fact a major player in the decades-long evolution of women’s wrestling. These titles provided us with some of the best women’s matches of the 20th century, including a high-profile bout at the 1988 Royal Rumble between the Jumping Bomb Angels and the Glamour Girls, two teams that would ultimately define the championships.

This may come as a surprise: just like men, some women actually excel at tag team wrestling. Can you imagine one of the Road Warriors trying to replicate their tag team success as a solo performer? There’s a reason Road Warrior Animal is so jealous of Becky Lynch’s singles career.

The Bella Twins and LayCool certainly had tons of success, but I’m disheartened when I think about what additional heights they were kept from reaching because they weren’t given the opportunity to compete for tag team titles. I’m encouraged, though, when I realize that there are so many new teams that will have that chance.

Teams like the Riott Squad and the IIconics might find their permanent groove in the wrestling world, and could become megastars as Women’s Tag Team Champions. And who knows? 2018’s all women’s pay-per-view Evolution is proof that anything can happen, so maybe the Bella Twins and LayCool will have another shot at tag team glory in the future.

Credit: WWE.com

Tag Team Titles Can Launch or Revive Careers

Let’s be frank: there are numerous wildly talented women who have fallen through the cracks in WWE amid the clutter of a stacked roster. Sasha Banks and Bayley are prime examples of Superstars who should have had careers worthy of the WWE Hall of Fame by now, but they’ve been swimming circles at the bottom of the pool for the last couple of years.

By that same token, the “Boss ‘N’ Hug Connection” stands to gain the most from modern Women’s Tag Team Titles. In an era where it is nearly impossible to stand out among so much amazing talent, Sasha Banks and Bayley have managed to stay relevant by latching on to one another and keeping their relationship – for better or worse – a constant part of the women’s wrestling conversation.

The new WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles could revive the careers of these two real-life best friends and launch them back into pro wrestling greatness. It happened for Leilani Kai; the WWE Hall of Famer was once the WWF Women’s Champion, but after falling out of the title picture might never have been heard from on the big stage again had it not been for the fortuitous forming of a tag team with Kai and Judy Martin. Together they were known as the Glamour Girls, and they would hold the original Women’s Tag Team Titles for the vast majority of the championship’s existence.

On the flip side of that coin, tag team titles can also launch careers. We’ve seen it a hundred times with male Superstars like Edge, Christian and both Matt and Jeff Hardy. It also happened for one Velvet McIntyre, one half of the inaugural WWF Women’s Tag Team Champions (with Princess Victoria). After holding the title for two years, McIntyre moved on to compete at WrestleMania 2 against the Fabulous Moolah and eventually became the WWF Women’s Champion.

The current female roster is packed, making tag titles absolutely necessary. Teams like Nia Jax and Tamina Snuka, Alicia Fox and Mickie James, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville among many others will fill out the list of challengers nicely while the IIconics and the Boss ‘N’ Hug Connection stand to truly shine.

One thing is for certain: if the modern titles can look back to the originals of the 1980s and draw inspiration from what worked so well even at a time when women’s wrestling was still a special attraction, then some level of success is assured.