Three years into AEW’s existence, it’s safe to say that things are going very well for the company. Ratings have been solid, the wrestling has been amazing, and with a major influx of talent, they have a roster comparable with any company on the planet. The only thing that could seemingly use some improvement is the women’s division. It has seen a vast upgrade in the past months, but it’s still missing a way to get more women on TV. It’s still missing a Women’s Tag Team Championship.
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Tony Khan Promised Women’s Tag Team Titles In 2019
In the early days of the promotion’s existence, before Dynamite was even on the air, AEW President Tony Khan appeared on “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s podcast to speak about the future of the new company. This is what he had to say about a potential Women’s Tag Team Championship.
"I want to focus on a serious main event picture, both in the singles and the tag team, and then when we establish the women's singles -- ya know, this may be the first time that it gets announced, but just so you know -- eventually we will establish a Women's Tag Team title and focusing on the Women's singles and the Women's Tag Team title."
"I'm not gonna pretend we're not gonna do it when we talk about being serious about tag team wrestling," Khan continued. "As we focus on having the best World Championship in singles and tag team, men and women, that's gonna be the focus of our promotion when I talk about wins and losses mattering."
Yet almost three years later, here we are without those titles. So far, it has only been pretend. There has been no focus on a Women’s Tag Team Championship. “Eventually” should not have taken this long.
That criticism is also an acknowledgment of how far the women’s division has come. Just a few months ago it was considered the weakest part of the company, and Dynamite was lucky to feature one women’s match per show. Recently, they have blown up, with the introduction of the midcard women’s title, the TBS Championship, the arrival of Ruby Soho, and Thunder Rosa’s rocket ship to the top that saw her and Britt Baker main-eventing Dynamite in an insane cage match.
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The AEW Women’s Roster Can Succeed Where WWE Has Failed
With the abundant amount of releases, injuries, and pregnancies this past year, the WWE women’s roster has become depleted. There was a time, not so long ago, however, when the biggest stars of WWE were the women. Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Bayley were just as, if not more, popular than the men. Created in 2019, the WWE’s Women’s Tag Team Championship was seen as a way to give women another way to shine. It hasn’t worked out that way. Instead, the belts are rarely defended, no matter who is wearing them. Something so easy has become an unthinkable failure.
AEW has a chance to shine where WWE has fallen. Perhaps there would have once been an argument that AEW’s women’s roster was too thin to justify tag titles. That’s no longer a viable discussion. There are currently twenty-four women employed by the promotion, and many have received increased TV time lately. Look at how far Serena Deeb and Leyla Hirsch have come along for example. The opportunity is there for them to shine even brighter, and for others to be brought into the light with them.
It would be a perfect way to get underappreciated talent such as Red Velvet or Abadon on TV more. It would give a mainstay like Britt Baker something else to do. No matter how great she is, she can’t always be in the singles championship picture. Cue up her and Jamie Hayter. It would also be a way to introduce new teams. Imagine Ruby Soho paired up with Kris Statlander.
If you need proof that the women are ready, look no further than the women’s tag team street fight at last December’s New Year’s Eve Smash on Rampage. Featuring the established teams of Tay Conti and Anna Jay vs. The Bunny and Penelope Ford, the match turned into a shocking, hardcore bloodfest that stood up to anything the men could come up with. It was even nominated for AEW’s Best Tag Team Brawl of 2021. If that’s what they could pull off, imagine what the rest of the women’s roster is just waiting to do as well.
Three years after the promise was made, it’s time, Tony. The roster is ready. The fans are ready. It’s time to give wrestling fans one more thing that WWE won’t.
