5 theories as to why Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship

This week's final episode of WWE Raw before SummerSlam on Sunday night saw a surprising title change, when Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross captured the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships in a Fatal Four Way match.

The bout saw Bliss and Cross defeat The Kabuki Warriors, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville, and the defending Champions, The IIconics, to capture their first Women's Tag Team titles in WWE.

The title change came as a surprise to many fans, given it was just days before SummerSlam, but with no Women's Tag Team title bout planned for the PPV, let's take a look at five theories on why the title change took place.

#5 The IIconics were doing very little with the Women's Tag Team titles

The IIconics, consisting of Peyton Royce and Billie Kay, captured the WWE Women's Tag Team titles at WrestleMania 35, but the win was not without a certain level of controversy.

Following WrestleMania, Sasha Banks, who held the WWE Women's Tag titles alongside Bayley heading into the PPV, reportedly attempted to quit WWE out of frustration with how the company booked the title match at WrestleMania.

Banks reportedly felt that she and Bayley had been working really hard to build credibility for the new Women's titles, and putting the belts on The IIconics so quickly after Banks and Bayley become the first champions was a mistake.

Following WrestleMania, The IIconics have had a mostly forgettable run with the WWE Women's Tag Team titles, losing almost every match in which they have participated, and dodging title defenses at every turn.

The cowardly heel act might be a common storyline idea in WWE, but considering the Women's Tag Team titles are relatively brand new, the impression is definitely given that the titles mean very little when they are booked the way they have been since WrestleMania 35.

#4 The Kabuki Warriors might be in line for a push

Perhaps one of the biggest falls from WWE grace in recent memory has been that of former Women's Champion Asuka, who dominated during her time in NXT, and carried tremendous momentum with her to the main roster.

However, since her win streak was defeated by Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 34, Asuka has seen a steady decline in WWE, receiving little TV time and barely involved in main roster storylines.

Things seemed to take somewhat of a turn for Asuka when she was paired up with Kairi Sane, and the tag team got a high profile manager in Paige. However, the tag team, known collectively as The Kabuki Warriors, have had little relevance on WWE TV, appearing sporadically.

With The Warriors having an impressive showing in the Fatal Four way match this week on WWE Raw, and with Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross as the new Women's Tag Team Champions, it's very possible that The Kabuki Warriors are in line for a fresh title feud against Bliss and Cross.

#3 The storyline between Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross has more weight

The alliance between Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross in WWE has always seemed to be an odd one, with many fans first rejecting the idea of a "normalized" Nikki Cross teaming up with a top heel such as Alexa Bliss.

The initial idea behind pairing up Bliss and Cross was for Cross to eventually turn on Bliss, as Bliss has been treating Cross as a glorified sidekick, but with the two winning the Women's Tag titles the plot somewhat thickens.

In recent weeks, it looks as if Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross are getting along quite well, and it will be interesting to see how Bliss treats Cross now that the two are champions in WWE. The duo's bid to become co-SmackDown Women's Champion failed when the two were defeated by Bayley at WWE Extreme Rules, but with tag team gold around their waists, will they work as a team or eventually collapse?

#2 The WWE women's tag team division needed a drastic overhaul

Regardless of how you might feel about the current state of the women's division in WWE, the reality is that Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross were the only two women in this week's Raw Fatal Four way match that had a storyline on WWE TV.

As noted, The Kabuki Warriors has been largely absent from WWE TV, and have been involved in virtually no storylines thus far into 2019.

With regards to Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville, the two are used somewhat regularly on WWE TV, but also have had no meaningful feuds or storylines in recent memory.

Finally, The IIconics, who were oddly enough the defending champions heading into Raw this week, have had no consistent storylines or feuds on WWE TV in the past couple months, making the Women's Tag Team Championships a virtual afterthought.

With Bliss and Cross winning this week, there can be a renewed focus on the titles and the women's tag team division.

#1 The tag title win keeps Alexa Bliss out of the main event picture

Alexa Bliss has been a consistent player on WWE TV since her arrival on the main roster, but 2019 has seen a fair share of doubt as it pertains to Bliss' in-ring future.

Alexa Bliss suffered numerous in-ring setbacks this year due to her lingering concussion status, and as a result, WWE has had to devise ways of keeping Bliss on TV but out of the ring.

At WrestleMania 35 this year, Bliss played host for the show, and WWE also created her "A Moment of Bliss" talk show in order to keep her on TV but out of in-ring competition.

There was speculation that Bliss and Nikki Cross were teamed up in WWE so as to keep Bliss somewhat protected in the ring, as officials might be keeping a close eye on Bliss' health, and the tag title win is a great way to keep Bliss active but limited.

With Bliss and Cross defending the tag team titles, Bliss can still compete in the ring, but she is kept out of main event singles matches.

How did you feel about the title change on WWE Raw this week? Let us know in the comment section!