As revealed last night on Monday Night RAW, Trish Stratus and Lita will now compete as a tag team at WWE Evolution.
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The announcement was a major shift for the big all women’s PPV event, as Trish Stratus vs. Alexa Bliss was previously announced as a singles match for the show. However, the reason for the switch to the tag team match is now being revealed and apparently it wasn’t much of a switch at all.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, the plan was always to make this a tag team match. Apparently, Stratus vs. Bliss was originally announced simply as a tactic to boost ticket sales for the event very early on in the process. At that point, WWE couldn’t announce Ronda Rousey vs. Nikki Bella due to an angle needing to be shot to make that match several weeks later. That angle occurred this week on RAW with the Bella Twins turning on Rousey.
WWE obviously felt that the return of Stratus in a singles match against one of the biggest WWE female stars of the last couple of years would be a drawing card for the event. Plus, it was a pretty big surprise when the bout was announced and created some buzz around the show.
The match as a tag team contest makes a lot of sense with WWE being able to draw upon years of history. Bliss’ tag team partner in the match, Mickie James, has a long history with Stratus. James originally came into WWE during an angle where she was portrayed as a fan of Stratus. Eventually, she became a crazed fan and turned on her idol. This culminated in a WWE Women’s Championship match between the two at WrestleMania 22 where James captured the belt for the first time from Stratus.
Lita teaming up with Stratus also makes perfect sense given their well-known close friendship. Stratus was even the person who inducted Lita into the WWE Hall of Fame. Their team has also reportedly been given a name: Besties Best for Business.
