WWE Rumors: Here’s Why Women’s Tag Team Title Match Was Reportedly Pulled From ‘SummerSlam’ Card

WWE has reportedly been making a number of late changes to the card for this year’s SummerSlam pay-per-view. As previously noted by The Inquisitr, two matches – Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan and Aleister Black vs. Sami Zayn – were recently pulled from the event, which will be taking place on Sunday, August 11 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. However, it now appears that another match was originally scheduled for the annual August pay-per-view, only for WWE to move it several days ahead to this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw.

According to WrestlingNews.co, the original plan was reportedly for the Women’s Tag Team Championship to be defended at SummerSlam. However, the outlet cited Dave Meltzer, who explained on a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE made the decision to remove the match from the SummerSlam card and have the titles defended on Raw in order to ensure it didn’t get overshadowed by the higher-profile matches scheduled on Sunday.

“The women’s tag team [title match] was put on Raw to give them more time and not to get it lost on the pay-per-view,” Meltzer was quoted as saying.

Per WhatCulture‘s recap, the Women’s Tag Team Championship match on Monday Night Raw was a four-way elimination match that saw The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce) defend their belts against Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose, The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane), and Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross. The villainous duo of Bliss and Cross went on to win the match after eliminating The Kabuki Warriors, making them the third pair of women to hold the championships since their introduction earlier this year.

According to WrestlingNews.co, it was a slightly “odd” move for WWE to feature the Women’s Tag Team Championships prominently on this week’s Raw, given how chairman Vince McMahon has reportedly shown little interest in the titles so far. The publication noted comments previously made by current SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley, as she said earlier this week that she and Sasha Banks were hoping to do more with the titles during their reign as inaugural Women’s Tag Team Champions.

Despite the perceived lack of attention given to WWE’s female tag teams, some reviewers believe that Bliss and Cross have the potential to make the Women’s Tag Team Championships feel more relevant. According to Sportskeeda, their victory could lead to a “renewed focus” on the women’s tag team division, as the two women’s unlikely friendship has been a key part of WWE storylines in recent months. This, as noted, is a stark contrast to former champions The IIconics, whose feud with The Kabuki Warriors was barely featured on television as they mostly ended up losing on TV or avoiding title defenses as part of their heel act.