FanPost

Tag Team Weekly Roundup and Power Ratings: The new women's tag champs are without a division to rule

WWE.com

However you feel about Ronda Rousey (and Cagesiders feel a lot of things), one-half of the new WWE women's tag champions actually had some decent points in what seemed like a worked shoot interview about the lack of depth in the main-roster women's ranks. She and Shayna Baszler always seemed like the clear favorites to win the fatal four way on Monday, and that is indeed part of the problem.

Damage CTRL, while certainly talented, were on a losing streak. Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green, while doing fabulous in and out of the ring lately (the matching outfits were tremendous) lose all the time. Raquel Gonzalez and her latest partner, Shotzi, felt like ... well, Raquel and her latest partner.

So in a sense, despite how much of the wrestling fanbase can't stand Rousey, their team always made the most sense. It's interesting how many people have come to respect Shayna, perhaps in part because she had to carry her team with Nia Jax and deal with groan-inducing storylines with a stupid doll, but she's always seems to work hard and try to make the best of her role. Some fans have questioned Ronda's heart and general attitude toward the sport. One would hope that, in taking a key role in the women's tag division, she'll be engaged in trying to elevate it ... and her comments actually shade in that direction.

Really the bigger question is who's left who feels like competition. It was nice to see a promo for Raw callups Katana Chance and Kayden Carter, who have been in mothballs for a while and were conspicuous in their absence here.

Otherwise, you have two heel teams that don't make sense as challengers, as much as the Sonya-Chelsea pairing is entertaining, while Damage CTRL are on their way to splitting. Yes, Raquel and her current partner are still around, but that would feel like a rerun.

And oh yeah, we still have Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn running around with the NXT tag titles on the main roster. It's kinda easy to love the sexy witches, but it's a confusing situation.

Add it all up and having new champs doesn't really solve the biggest challenges to the women's division. Which is hardly new.

The following Tag Team Power Rankings take into account wins, power and placement of segments, recentness of appearances, creative direction and momentum for teams and factions.

WWE Tag Team Power Rankings through June 2:

1. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (last week: 1)

Pro: Still the double tag champs. Showed on Raw they don't even need to compete to be highly entertaining.
Con: But where do they go now that they're finally done with The Bloodline and that headlining story?

2. Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler (not ranked)

Pro: New women's main-roster tag champs.
Con: How active can they be with the state of the women's tag division?

3. Judgment Day (3)

Pro: Rhea Ripley remains a big star and women's champion. The whole faction got plenty of time, including a main-event match, on Raw.
Con: They lost that match to a thrown-together team, albeit one with two very good wrestlers in Seth Rollins and AJ Styles.

4. Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn (3)

Pro: Still NXT women's tag champs.
Con: That's still really confusing.

5. Gallus (5)

Pro: Still the NXT men's tag champs. Joe Coffey added a win on NXT.
Con: Still could use something interesting to do.

6. The OC (6)

Pro: AJ Styles wandered over to Raw and won a main-event tag match against a hot team in Judgment Day. Then The OC picked up a quick win on SmackDown.
Con: Generally they seem to be in rebuilding mode, looking for their next programs.

7. Imperium (not ranked)

Pro: Gunther remains a formidable Intercontinental Champion, while Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci finally won a tag match.
Con: Probably will be better known as Slenderman and Baldy for a while.

8. Pretty Deadly (8)

Pro: Scored a win over Brawling Brutes and seem to have aligned with Austin Theory.
Con: Another dirty win, but then that is something they do well.

9. Indus Sher (not ranked)

Pro: Won another squash match against jobbers. (Though hi to Big Body Javi!)
Con: Could stand to beat some actual WWE teams at some point.

10. Alpha Academy (7)

Pro: Looks like Maxxine Dupri is a full member and no longer trying to get Otis(se) to join Maximum Male Models.
Con: Unable to maintain their role in losing to Imperium.

Best tag segment of the week: Any time you have new titleholders, that's notable. We'll see if Ronda and Shayna can make the championship feel relevant.

Grade: A-

Overall another good week for tag fans.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Cageside Seats readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cageside Seats editors or staff.