The NXT Women's Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling women's tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It was defended on the company's developmental brand, NXT, and was briefly featured on the main roster brand, SmackDown, before its retirement. The championship was established on March 10, 2021, and the team of Dakota Kai and Raquel González were the inaugural champions. On the June 23, 2023, episode of SmackDown, the title was unified into the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, officially retiring the title in the process, with Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn recognized as the final champions.
| NXT Women's Tag Team Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 The NXT Women's Tag Team Championship belt with default side plates | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | WWE | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | March 10, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Date retired | June 23, 2023 (unified with the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The championship was created as a result of a controversial finish to a WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match. After the team of Dakota Kai and Raquel González won the first-ever Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, they received a match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, which at the time was available to NXT, but they did not win the title due to the controversial finish in which Kai was submitted although she was not the legal woman. The NXT Women's Tag Team Championship was then created and awarded to Kai and González due to the controversy and for winning the Dusty Classic. At the time the title was introduced, NXT was regarded as WWE's "third brand". In September 2021, however, NXT reverted to its original function as WWE's developmental brand.
History
editIn December 2018, the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship was established as the sole women's tag team championship for WWE, shared across the Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brands, and the inaugural champions were crowned in February 2019.[1] Two years later, on the March 3, 2021, episode of NXT, Dakota Kai and Raquel González, who had earned a title opportunity for winning the first-ever Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, faced reigning WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler (whose home brand was Raw). After the referee had been knocked out during the match, Adam Pearce, who was the WWE official of Raw and SmackDown at the time, sent down a second referee to declare Kai had submitted to Baszler, although Kai was not the legal woman. This led to a backstage argument between Pearce and then-NXT General Manager William Regal.[2]
The following week on the March 10 episode, Regal introduced the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship and awarded the titles to Kai and González due to winning the Dusty Classic; the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship subsequently became no longer available to NXT. Their reign would not last long, as that same night, they defended the titles against the runner ups of the tournament, Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart, who defeated Kai and González to win the championship.[3][4]
As a result of the 2023 WWE Draft, reigning NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn were drafted to SmackDown and took the titles with them, claiming they would defend the title across all three brands, although they never did and only had non-title matches on SmackDown. On the June 9 episode, as they were about to have an in-ring interview, Fyre and Dawn were interrupted by reigning WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler, who challenged Fyre and Dawn to a championship unification match, which was accepted and scheduled for the June 23 episode of SmackDown.[5] Rousey and Baszler won to become the undisputed WWE Women's Tag Team Champions, thus making the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship available to NXT again. The NXT Women's Tag Team Championship was subsequently retired in the process, with Dawn and Fyre recognized as the final champions.[6]
According to Fightful, the unification match was planned to happen right after the draft, but due to various injuries within the division, it got delayed. Fightful also noted there had been confusion regarding the original creation of the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship, as the company already had the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship and there were not many women's tag teams in the division. Furthermore, it was noted that the plan after the unification was that the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship would appear on NXT programming "when needed", which was the original plan for the title.[7]
Belt design
editThe belt design of the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship was nearly identical to the men's NXT Tag Team Championship, with a few exceptions. The straps were smaller for the women and they were white instead of black. Above the vertical NXT logo on the center plate said "Women's Tag Team" instead of just "Tag Team". For the customizable side plates, the default side plates had the vertical NXT logo instead of the WWE logo. The WWE logo was also missing from the very center of the NXT logo on the center plate.[3][4]
Reigns
editOver the championship's two-year history, there were 11 reigns between nine teams composed of 18 individual champions and one vacancy. The inaugural championship team was Dakota Kai and Raquel González and they tied Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne) for the most reigns at two, both as a team and individually. Toxic Attraction also had the longest combined reign at 249 days (247 as recognized by WWE). The team of Katana Chance and Kayden Carter had the longest singular reign at 186 days, while Kai and González's first reign was the shortest at 56 minutes (being named as first champions then losing the title later the same night). Candice LeRae was the oldest champion at 35 years old, while Roxanne Perez was the youngest, winning the title at 20. The final champions were the team of Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn.
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific team—reign numbers for the individuals are in parentheses, if different |
| Days | Number of days held |
| Days recog. | Number of days held recognized by the promotion |
| <1 | Reign lasted less than a day |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Days recog. | ||||
| 1 | Dakota Kai and Raquel González | March 10, 2021 | NXT | Orlando, FL | 1 | <1 | <1 | NXT General Manager William Regal awarded the titles to the Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic winners Kai and González after a screwjob finish to their WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match against Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler the week prior. | [3] |
| 2 | Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart | March 10, 2021 | NXT | Orlando, FL | 1 | 55 | 55 | [3] | |
| 3 | The Way (Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell) |
May 4, 2021 | NXT | Orlando, FL | 1 | 63 | 62 | This was a Street Fight match. | [8] |
| 4 | Io Shirai and Zoey Stark | July 6, 2021 | NXT: The Great American Bash |
Orlando, FL | 1 | 112 | 111 | [9] | |
| 5 | Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne) |
October 26, 2021 | NXT 2.0: Halloween Havoc |
Orlando, FL | 1 | 158 | 157 | This was a Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal: Triple threat tag team Scareway to Hell Ladder match also involving the team of Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta. | [10] |
| 6 | Dakota Kai and Raquel González | April 2, 2022 | Stand & Deliver Kickoff |
Dallas, TX | 2 | 3 | 3 | [11] | |
| 7 | Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne) |
April 5, 2022 | NXT 2.0 | Orlando, FL | 2 | 91 | 90 | [12] | |
| 8 | Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez | July 5, 2022 | NXT 2.0: The Great American Bash |
Orlando, FL | 1 | 14 | 14 | [13] | |
| 8 | Roxanne Perez | July 19, 2022 | NXT 2.0 | Orlando, FL | — | 7 | 7 | On the July 12, 2022, episode of NXT 2.0, Cora Jade turned on Perez. The following week, Jade threw her championship belt in a trashcan, vacating her half of the championship. WWE.com lists this as a separate entry on the official title history, but it is unclear if WWE views this as an official second reign for Perez or just a continuation from her reign with Jade. | [14] |
| — | Vacated | July 26, 2022 | NXT 2.0 | Orlando, FL | — | — | — | Roxanne Perez vacated the other half of the championship due to not having a tag team partner. | [15] |
| 9 | Katana Chance and Kayden Carter | August 2, 2022 | NXT 2.0 | Orlando, FL | 1 | 186 | 186 | Defeated the teams of Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley, Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne), and Yulisa Leon and Valentina Feroz in a fatal four-way tag team elimination match to win the vacant title. | [16] |
| 10 | Fallon Henley and Kiana James | February 4, 2023 | Vengeance Day | Charlotte, NC | 1 | 56 | 55 | [17] | |
| 11 | The Unholy Union (Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn) |
April 1, 2023 | Stand & Deliver | Los Angeles, CA | 1 | 83 | 83 | As a result of the 2023 WWE Draft, Fyre and Dawn were drafted to SmackDown, although the title remained on NXT. | [18] |
| — | Unified | June 23, 2023 | SmackDown | Lafayette, LA | — | — | — | Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler defeated Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn to unify the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship into the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. The NXT Women's Tag Team Championship was retired with Fyre and Dawn recognized as the final champions. | [19] |
Combined reigns
editBy team
edit| Rank | Team | No. of reigns |
Combined days |
Combined days rec. by WWE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne) |
2 | 249 | 247 |
| 2 | Katana Chance and Kayden Carter | 1 | 186 | |
| 3 | Io Shirai and Zoey Stark | 1 | 112 | 111 |
| 4 | The Unholy Union (Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn) |
1 | 83 | |
| 5 | The Way (Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell) |
1 | 63 | 62 |
| 6 | Fallon Henley and Kiana James | 1 | 56 | 55 |
| 7 | Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart | 1 | 55 | |
| 8 | Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez | 1 | 14 | |
| 9 | Dakota Kai and Raquel González | 2 | 3 | |
By wrestler
edit| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined days |
Combined days rec. by WWE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gigi Dolin | 2 | 249 | 247 |
| Jacy Jayne | ||||
| 3 | Katana Chance | 1 | 186 | |
| Kayden Carter | ||||
| 5 | Io Shirai | 1 | 112 | 111 |
| Zoey Stark | ||||
| 7 | Alba Fyre | 1 | 83 | |
| Isla Dawn | ||||
| 9 | Candice LeRae | 1 | 63 | 62 |
| Indi Hartwell | ||||
| 11 | Fallon Henley | 1 | 56 | 55 |
| Kiana James | ||||
| 13 | Ember Moon | 1 | 55 | |
| Shotzi Blackheart | ||||
| 15 | Roxanne Perez | 1 | 21 | |
| 16 | Cora Jade | 1 | 14 | |
| 17 | Dakota Kai | 2 | 3 | |
| Raquel González | ||||
References
edit- ^ Benigno, Anthony (February 18, 2019). "WWE Women's Tag Team Championships to be defended across Raw, SmackDown LIVE and NXT". WWE.com. Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ^ Moore, John (March 3, 2021). "3/3 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler vs. Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez for the WWE Women's Tag Titles, NXT Tag Champions Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch vs. Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher in a non-title match, LA Knight appears, The Way go to therapy". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Moore, John (March 10, 2021). "3/10 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Finn Balor vs. Adam Cole for the NXT Championship, Io Shirai vs. Toni Storm for the NXT Women's Championship, William Regal's big announcements, Xia Li vs. Kayden Carter". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ a b Lambert, Jeremy (March 10, 2021). "NXT Women's Tag Team Titles Made Official; New Champions Crowned". Fightful. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ McGeorge, Alistair (June 10, 2023). "WWE stars Ronda Rousey, Shayna Baszler challenge Fyre, Dawn to unification match". Metro. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
- ^ Rose, Bryan (June 23, 2023). "Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler unify WWE & NXT Women's Tag Team titles". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
- ^ Canton, John (June 11, 2023). "Update On WWE Plans For Unifying Women's Tag Team Titles". TJR Wrestling. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
- ^ Moore, John (May 4, 2021). "5/4 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Finn Balor's return, Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart vs. Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae for the NXT Women's Tag Titles, Isaiah Scott vs. Leon Ruff in a Falls Count Anywhere match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
- ^ Moore, John (July 6, 2021). "7/6 NXT TV results: Moore's review of the Great American Bash edition with Adam Cole vs. Kyle O'Reilly, MSK vs. Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher for the NXT Tag Titles, Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell vs. Io Shirai and Zoey Stark for the NXT Women's Tag Titles, LA Knight vs. Cameron Grimes for the Million Dollar Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on July 7, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
- ^ Moore, John (October 26, 2021). "10/26 NXT 2.0 results: Moore's review of Halloween Havoc with Tommaso Ciampa vs. Bron Breakker for the NXT Title, plus Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal stipulations for Raquel Gonzalez vs. Mandy Rose for the NXT Women's Title, and MSK vs. Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel for the NXT Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on July 10, 2022. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
- ^ Moore, John (April 2, 2022). "NXT Stand & Deliver results: Moore's live review of Dolph Ziggler vs. Bron Breakker for the NXT Title, Mandy Rose vs. Cora Jade vs. Io Shirai vs. Kay Lee Ray for the NXT Women's Title, Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel vs. MSK vs. The Creed Brothers for the NXT Tag Titles, the NXT North American Title ladder match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
- ^ Moore, John (April 5, 2022). "4/5 NXT 2.0 results: Moore's review of the Stand & Deliver fallout edition with Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez vs. Jacy Jayne and Gigi Dolin for the NXT Women's Tag Titles, Nikkita Lyons vs. Lash Legend". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
- ^ Moore, John (July 5, 2022). "7/5 NXT 2.0 results: Moore's review of Bron Breakker vs. Cameron Grimes for the NXT Title, Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne vs. Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade for the NXT Women's Tag Titles, Carmelo Hayes vs. Grayson Waller for the NXT NA Title, The Creeds vs. Roderick Strong and Damon Kemp for the NXT Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
- ^ Moore, John (July 19, 2022). "7/19 NXT 2.0 results: Moore's review of a 20-woman battle royal for a shot at the NXT Women's Title, JD McDonagh vs. Cameron Grimes, Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs vs. Pretty Deadly for the NXT UK Tag Titles, Roderick Strong vs. Damon Kemp, Axiom debuts, The Schism reveals their identities". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on July 20, 2022. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
- ^ Moore, John (July 26, 2022). "7/26 NXT 2.0 results: Moore's review of Roderick Strong, Julius Creed, Brutus Creed, and Damon Kemp vs. Tony D'Angelo, Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo, Raul Mendoza, and Joaquin Wilde, Apollo Crews vs. Xyon Quinn, Grayson Waller vs. Wes Lee, Giovanni Vinci vs. Bodhi Hayward". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on August 1, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
- ^ Moore, John (August 2, 2022). "8/2 NXT 2.0 results: Moore's review of Jacy Jayne and Gigi Dolin vs. Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley vs. Kayden Carter and Katana Chance vs. Yulisa Leon and Valentina Perez in a four-way elimination match for the vacant NXT Women's Tag Team Titles, The Creeds vs. Tony D'Angelo and Stacks for the NXT Tag Titles, Solo Sikoa vs. Von Wagner in a Falls Count Anywhere match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on August 12, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
- ^ Moore, John (February 4, 2023). "NXT Vengeance Day results: Moore's live review of Bron Breakker vs. Grayson Waller in a cage match for the NXT Title, Roxanne Perez vs. Jacy Jayne vs. Gigi Dolin for the NXT Women's Title, New Day vs. Gallus vs. Pretty Deadly vs. Chase U for the NXT Tag Titles, Carmelo Hayes vs. Apollo Crews in a best of three falls match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
- ^ McGuire, Colin (April 1, 2023). "NXT Stand & Deliver results: McGuire's live review of Bron Breakker vs. Carmelo Hayes for the NXT Title, Roxanne Perez vs. Zoey Stark vs. Gigi Dolin vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Lyra Valkyria vs. Indi Hartwell in a ladder match for the NXT Women's Title, Wes Lee vs. Dragon Lee vs. JD McDonagh vs. Ilja Dragunov vs. Axiom for the NXT North American Title, Johnny Gargano vs. Grayson Waller". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- ^ Powell, Jason (June 23, 2023). "WWE Friday Night Smackdown results (6/23): Barnett's review of Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler vs. Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre to unify the WWE and NXT Women's Tag Titles, Shotzi vs. Bayley for Bayley's spot in MITB, Cameron Grimes vs. Baron Corbin". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 24, 2023.