FanPost

Tag Team Weekly Roundup and Power Ratings: Working magic in NXT

WWE.com

NXT, as NXT often does, accomplished a lot in one segment when Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn won a fun fast-paced triple threat match to become the next challengers to the women’s tag titles.

In addition to being entertaining and showcasing a half-dozen women, the match finally sets a couple for the women’s tag division. We haven’t seen a lot of Fyre and Dawn as an official tag team, so them looking good here and picking up the win helps establish them.

It may or may not represent the swan song for a really good team in Kayden Carter and Katana Chance that has nothing left to prove in NXT. The main roster is in need of women’s teams, and you could make a case that this is the best, most cohesive women’s team in all of WWE (with all due respect to Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai, who are tremendous wrestlers but don’t have the long-running experience and double-team moves the KCs do). With Becky Lynch and Lita feeling like placeholder champs and no other established face women’s teams on the main, this would make a ton of sense.

The third team – now former team – finally paid off some issues within Diamond Mine where Ivy Nile seemed more committed to the success of The Creeds than her own partner Tatum Paxley. While it might have been nice to see more story beats, at least there’s something here that gives Ivy and Tatum a chance to shine.

Given the state of array of the current NXT titleholders Kiana James and Fallon Henley, the witchy gingers definitely feel like favorites at Stand & Deliver. The whole partnership has played out like an ‘80s screwball comedy (says a fan of ‘80s screwball comedies) and seems ready for its third act. Putting a new team at the helm, with a very talented and seasoned Alba as the foundation for forthcoming matches, would be good for the division and can elevate a lot of teams.

The only other question is where those teams will come from, which is rather the eternal quandary with women’s tag divisions in WWE. And as always, the NXT roster is really deep with women’s wrestlers who could use some TV time, so this could serve as an almost full reset after Stand & Deliver. If nothing else, it’s all quite worth watching.

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 March 17:

1. The Bloodline (last week: 1)

Pro: Still holding all the top men's unified titles. Thanks to his brothers, Solo Sikoa picked up a win in a Street Fight over Kevin Owens on Raw.
Con: It looks like a reunited KO and Sami Zayn is about to become an obstacle.

2. Judgment Day (3)

Pro: Kept their roll going with a win over Johnny Gargano and Dexter Lumis as part of opening Raw, then defeating Santos Escobar and Zelina Vega on SmackDown. Rhea still looks like a good choice to win singles gold.
Con: What lengths (like, say, a certain Demon) does Finn Balor need to go to survive Hell in a Cell with Edge?

3. Becky Lynch and Lita (2)

Pro: Still women's champions for the main roster.
Con: Their friend Trish Stratus took a (very well-executed) beatdown from Damage CTRL while the champs were not in the building.

4. Gallus (4)

Pro: Picked up a win in a fun match to retain their NXT men's titles.
Con: Could use a good program sooner than later to make the Stand & Deliver card.

5. Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn (not ranked)

Pro: Picked up a win in an entertaining triple threat to become contenders who have to be favored to win the NXT women's titles.
Con: If that does happen, NXT will have to work on getting them worthy competition.

6. Fallon Henley, Kiana James, Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen (5)

Pro: Fallon and Kiana are still NXT women's tag champs.
Con: Fallon and Josh appear to be wise to some double dealing by Kiana, who also lost to Gigi Dolin and got waylaid by Alba and Isla.

7. Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan (not ranked)

Pro: First team to win their way into the fatal four-way showcase during WrestleMania.
Con: But is this makeshift team likely to take gold?

8. Katana Chance and Kayden Carter (not ranked)

Pro: By effectively carrying much of the action in the NXT triple-threat #1 contenders' match, showed how main-roster ready they are.
Con: Lost the match.

9. Tony D'Angelo and Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo (not ranked)

Pro: About the only other team to show interest in NXT men's tag gold in what has become an oddly endearing storyline.
Con: Might need to stack some wins to look like worthy contenders.

10. Pretty Deadly (10)

Pro: They are slated to host Stand & Deliver. Got a lot of time on NXT, including a really good match for the titles.
Con: Lost the match then both got sent through a table in the main event segment.

Best tag segment of the week: Nothing even came close to KO and Sami's hug, although we have yet to see a formal tag team match with The Usos for ‘Mania yet.

Grade: A

WWE took steps toward addressing its title scenes and gave us one of the year's biggest feel-good moments.

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