7 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE Raw (8 Aug)

4. Tag Tournament's First Chapter Underwhelms

Tamina IYO SKY
WWE.com

WWE finally unveiled its Women's Tag Team Championship Tournament bracket last night, populating one side with the expected array of thrown-together tandems. This is a consequence of how the division has been booked over the past few years. A lack of established duos left Triple H scrambling to fill the SmackDown half, though it's nice to see things kicking into motion regardless. Almost three months passed between the tournament's announcement and it kicking into gear.

IYO SKY and Dakota Kai faced Dana Brooke and Tamina in the competition's inaugural bout. The results weren't great. While Kai and SKY showcased some nice, fast-flowing double-team work and Kai played her heel role particularly well, but the bout did little to attract attention to itself across its runtime.

This was particularly true when Tamina was on offense. She's an easy target, unfortunately, but remains a stodgy worker even 12 years into her run. Here, her slow-motion Samoan Drop on SKY was particularly detrimental to the bout's blow.

Better matches will come when ultra-talented pairings like SKY and Kai are paired with stronger opposition. Alexa Bliss and Asuka may loom in the second round, which sounds a more appealing combination immediately.

Advertisement
Channel Manager
Channel Manager

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.