14 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown Superstar Shake-Up

12. We Have A Women's Tag Division

SmackDown women's tag
WWE.com

A perceived lack of depth was one of the biggest concerns thrown at WWE's women's tag division upon its inception. This was understandable. The promotion barely had enough top-level females to fill out two singles groups, let along a tag scene, leading to hasty, unconvincing combinations like Tamina and Nia Jax.

WWE seemed to address this in the Superstar Shake-Up, with SmackDown eight-woman tag brawl effectively a preview of the division to come. The IIconics are champions, Kairi Sane and Asuka are going to be a full-time duo, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville are still together, and it looks like Bayley and Ember Moon will be buddying up for a while. That's a solid core, even if a couple of them have been thrown together.

There's still a lot of work to do. The belts (and champions) need to be strengthened, and we're a couple of tandems short of truly deep division. Regardless, the scene looks a lot healthier than it did a few months ago.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.