Welcome to another edition of Triple Threat from Smark Out Moment, where three of us get together to discuss three questions based on one big topic going down in the week of professional wrestling.
This week, Dallas Allsopp, Greg Coleman and Robert DeFelice discuss the current state of WWE's women's division.
Question 1: Should Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky have won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship through winning the tournament? Is their victory on Raw a sign that WWE knows they made a mistake?
ALLSOPP: I'll argue all day, every day, that Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky should have won the women's tournament. They are the Class A Team on Raw, and as such, they should have won to hammer home the point that an actual team with a plan should triumph over a mismatched team. Alas, that didnt happen, but correcting their mistake almost instantly says a lot about how WWE made the wrong decision.
COLEMAN: I’m not going to say Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky should’ve won the Women’s Tag Titles in the tournament because I didn’t have a problem with Aliyah and Raquel Rodriguez winning the tournament. It was well booked, and WWE went back to the tournament final by acknowledging that Kai wasn’t legal when she was pinned. It’s funny because I’ve seen plenty of tag matches where it feels like legal tags were never made yet falls still occur. The victory on Raw for Damage CTRL was Triple H basically saying 'okay, we did the upset finish, we established Aliyah and Rodriguez as a legitimate tag team, now let’s elevate the titles more'. It wasn’t a mistake. Transitional champions have been a part of pro wrestling since I’ve been a fan. Both matches happened on Raw. It’s not like they gave away a main event of a pay-per-view or something on Raw.
DeFELICE: Yes, they should have won to begin with, but I'm not under the impression that it's an ultimate mistake that they didn't. They corrected course quickly enough, and I believe that the decision was made to simply drag it out so that there would be more to announce for future episodes of Monday Night Raw. To look at things from a positive perspective, Aliyah got a moment on Monday Night Raw that she will never forget, and I'm not sure she'll ever get another one like that, so that was special. Now, the belts are on Dakota Kai and IYO SKY, where they should have been all along. All is well.
Question 2: Will Toxic Attraction achieve success on the main roster? Do they need Mandy Rose's association to be accepted by fans?
COLEMAN: If Toxic Attraction remains a faction, they will be successful. I don’t believe either participant is great enough to break out as a solo or a tag team without the others. Their greatest strength is together.
And yes, Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne need Mandy Rose to be accepted by fans initially. Once they get established, then they wouldn’t need Mandy Rose.
DeFELICE: They should absolutely bring Mandy Rose with them. She already has main roster experience, and it's time for her to get back to that landscape, especially with her newfound confidence. I think that Jacy Jayne and Gigi Dolin will do just fine, but the association with Rose will lead to better things in the future, maybe even a match against Damage CTRL.
ALLSOPP: I absolutely love Toxic Attraction. Not only are they a fierce team, but Gigi Dolin has 'it'! They are seasoned as team, which would translate well on the main roster. In theory. But in order to successfully make the transition, they need to be associated with the legitimacy that Mandy Rose brings to the main roster.
Question 3: Should Sasha Banks and Naomi return to WWE and immediately set their sights on the titles they never lost in the ring? Or would they be better suited to single runs?
DeFELICE: Sasha Banks and Naomi definitely need to come back together because they're now so closely associated with one another. However, I think they're doing great outside of wrestling, and there's no rush to bring them back, especially as they get more eyes on wrestling by doing awesome things such as walking the runway of New York Fashion Week. Could they come back and go for the titles? Sure they can. It's a ready-made story. However, one of them could also come back, win the Royal Rumble, and be in the main event of WrestleMania. The world is their oyster right now, and I think all parties involved should take advantage of the unique situation they've been presented.
ALLSOPP: I'm at the point now where I don't care. Triple H's revolution appears to be working without them, but I will admit they would boost SmackDown, either as a team or competitors. I just wish fans weren't left in limbo.
COLEMAN: Sasha Banks and Naomi should definitely set their sights on the tag titles upon their return to WWE and win them! Don’t overthink it. Both ladies have plenty of time to go back to the singles ranks. Banks and Naomi should have a long tag team title run and have the team who eventually beats them be elevated.
Those are our thoughts on the issue, but where do you stand?
Let us know your answers to these questions in the comments below!
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