Riyo Claims Victory as WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion!

There are many reasons suggesting that WWE will eventually give the women’s tag team titles back to Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss. With their upcoming match being highly anticipated as a television main event or a PLE clash, it seems likely that Rhiyo will have to focus on the “Raw” tag division before moving to “SmackDown,” allowing for several title defenses. Both SKY and Ripley are high-profile stars and former world champions, so it would take another elite duo to challenge them effectively—Flair and Bliss fit that description. Their first title reign was off to a strong start before they lost to the Kabuki Warriors, and they were named WINC’s Tag Team of the Year in 2025!

However, WWE may soon recognize that “SmackDown” needs the Women’s Tag Team Championships more than Flair and Bliss need them. With the show returning to a three-hour format, it seems “SmackDown” is turning to NXT, particularly its women’s division, to enhance its roster. These emerging talents will need something to strive for, and reintroducing the tag belts to Friday nights would provide just that. Although Flair and Bliss may not appear to be the most thrilling choice to dethrone Rayo, it would open the door for many new female stars vying for the tag titles if talents like Jaycee Jayne and Blake Monroe make it to the main roster.

To be frank, Lyra Valkyria and Bayley are among WWE’s most undervalued talents at this point. You’d think Bayley would be in a better spot after consistently performing well for over a decade, yet her booking in 2025 has led fans to speculate that she might join AEW with her friend, Mercedes Mone. Meanwhile, although Valkyria started strong as the inaugural Women’s Intercontinental Champion, she has faded into the background since losing her feud with Becky Lynch at SummerSlam. While competing in the tag division can be beneficial, both of these wrestlers will require significant development to effectively challenge Riyo.

Here at WINC, we support their success. We believe they should hold off on changing the championship until at least WrestleMania if possible. If any team without the titles is poised to suffer most from dethroning SKY and Ripley, it’s certainly Bayley and Valkyria. Both are too talented to be overlooked further and deserve more ring time for Valkyria’s growth and mic time for Bayley to showcase her remarkable personality. With Bayley as a former world champion and Valkyria positioned as a future titleholder, there’s no better duo to rival Rayo in WWE.