Report: WWE's Plan to Crown New WWE Women's Tag Team Champions

WWE announced via Michael Cole on last week's Friday Night SmackDown that both Sasha Banks and Naomi have been stripped of the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships on top of being suspended indefinitely after walking out at the start of last week's Monday Night Raw. Cole mentioned that a future tournament will be held to crown a new pair of champions, though a quick look at WWE's main roster shows that might be difficult. None of the 12 previous tag team champions are still operating as a duo and teams like Rhea Ripley & Liv Morgan and Queen Zelina & Carmella recently split up on Raw, leaving the only current teams to be Natalya & Shayna Baszler and Nikki ASH & Doudrop.

Bryan Alvarez noted on the latest Wrestling Observer Live that the company is planning on utilizing the NXT Women's Division to help with that problem. The women's tag titles were originally introduced with the stipulation that they could be defended on all three of WWE's brands, but that was done away with in March 2021 when the NXT Women's Tag Team Championships were introduced. Bringing in NXT stars for the tournament would give WWE's main roster the chance to use pairings like Toxic Attraction and Katana Chance & Kayden Carter. 

"They have sent word down to NXT to think about some women that might be able to be a team," Alvarez said (h/t WrestlingNews.co). "That's where we're at right now so yea you might see Kacy and Kayden called up because 'we need teams.'"

WWE's statement regarding Banks and Naomi said the pair dropped the tag titles on John Laurinaitis' desk before walking out. The pair reportedly wanted a bigger emphasis on the tag titles by letting them defend the gold against ASH and Doudrop at Hell in a Cell, but WWE officials wanted them to challenge and lose to Bianca Belair and Ronda Rousey in singles matches at the Chicago event. Asuka has since been named the No. 1 contender for Belair's Raw Women's Championship.

"When Sasha Banks and Naomi arrived at the arena this afternoon, they were informed of their participation in the main event of tonight's Monday Night Raw. During the broadcast, they walked into WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis' office with their suitcases in hand, placed their tag team championship belts on his desk and walked out," WWE's original statement read. "They claimed they weren't respected enough as tag team champions. And even though they had eight hours to rehearse and construct their match, they claimed they were uncomfortable in the ring with two of their opponents — even though they had matches with those individuals in the past with no consequence. Monday Night Raw is a scripted live TV show, whose characters are expected to perform the requirements of their contract. We regret we were unable to deliver, as advertised, tonight's main event."