5 WWE duos who could be Paige's secret tag team

The SmackDown Live after WrestleMania 35 featured a mix of WWE Superstars from both Raw and SmackDown, including Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman, and it also saw the return of Paige.

Speaking in a backstage interview with Kayla Braxton, the former SmackDown Live General Manager congratulated new Women’s Tag Team champions The IIconics on their successful title defence against unknown duo Karissa & Kristen, aka The Brooklyn Belles.

She then added: “Do you want to know a little secret, Kayla? Come on, you’re gonna wanna lean in for this. Next week, I’m gonna be bringing an impressive tag team of my own. Bye.”

Paige has mentioned in media interviews since leaving her post as SmackDown GM in December 2018 that she is still part of the WWE family and she wants to become a manager one day, so it looks as though the former Divas champion will put her managerial skills to the test next week by introducing some possible new rivals for The IIconics.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at five duos who she might have been referring to.

---

#5 Rhea Ripley and Reina Gonzalez

As Paige simply said “impressive tag team” and she did not specify male or female, there is a chance that she could have been referring to a male tag team. But, given that her interview took place after The IIconics’ win, we’re going to focus on female duos in this article.

Looking through the list of women’s teams outside of Raw and SmackDown Live, one duo that stands out is Rhea Ripley & Reina Gonzalez.

Ripley, a 2019 Royal Rumble entrant, has established herself as one of the brightest prospects in WWE’s development brands during her time in NXT UK, while Gonzalez first made an impression when she appeared in the 2017 Mae Young Classic and she has since gone on to compete at dozens of NXT live events.

The two women are yet to showcase their tag team skills on WWE television but they regularly join forces at NXT shows. They also featured together in a ‘WWE PC Diaries’ video on YouTube last week, as you can see above.

#4 Io Shirai and Kairi Sane

Io Shirai and Kairi Sane are many people’s favourites to be introduced as Paige’s secret tag team next week. Known as The Sky Pirates, they have become two of NXT’s most popular Superstars, male or female, since joining forces to battle three of the MMA Four Horsewomen (Marina Shafir, Jessamyn Duke & Shayna Baszler) in 2018.

Moving forward, there has been speculation that Sane, as well as fellow NXT Superstar Candice LeRae, will be called up to Raw or SmackDown Live in the Superstar Shake-Up, so it remains to be seen what happens with Shirai.

Outside of Sane, Shirai, Baszler and Bianca Belair, the NXT women’s division is lacking star power right now. If the brand loses both Sane and Shirai, with Paige becoming their new manager on the main roster, it is difficult to see where Baszler’s next NXT Women's Championship challenge will come from.

So, while The Sky Pirates are by far the most popular female duo not yet on Raw or SmackDown Live, it would be a surprise to see both of them leave NXT at the same time.

#3 Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville

Paige said she is "bringing an impressive tag team of my own" next week, which has immediately gotten people questioning which brand new duo we could see on Raw or SmackDown Live.

However, reading her comments back, is it possible that she was simply referring to a tag team that is already on the main roster? She said “bringing”, but that could mean she is “bringing” a SmackDown Live tag team to Raw or a Raw tag team to SmackDown Live, right?

If that is the case, then perhaps we could see the former Divas champion reunite with two Superstars who she originally brought to the main roster, ex-Absolution members Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville.

The two women became prominent figures on SmackDown Live in late 2018/early 2019, with their constant disagreements becoming a featured storyline in the build-up to WrestleMania 35. Perhaps with Paige by their side, they can settle their differences and turn into a dominant tag team once again.

#2 Nia Jax and Tamina

Nia Jax and Tamina defeated Alexa Bliss and Mickie James in a qualifying match in January 2019 to enter the Women’s Tag Team Championship match at Elimination Chamber.

Since then, the imposing duo have struggled to pick up victories when it matters most. They were defeated by Sasha Banks & Bayley at Fastlane, prompting a post-match brawl which also involved Beth Phoenix & Natalya, and they then went on to lose in the Fatal 4-Way match at WrestleMania 35.

On paper, Paige managing the Raw tag team, possibly taking them to SmackDown Live, might not seem like the best idea, but it would certainly make sense from a storyline perspective if Jax & Tamina recruited somebody to help them win matches.

Besides, judging from Total Divas and social media, Paige seems to be close friends with Jax in real life, so don’t rule this option out!

#1 The Bella Twins

News emerged following an episode of Total Bellas in March 2019 that Nikki & Brie Bella had officially retired from WWE. The next day, they made headlines again when, contrary to what viewers saw on the reality show, both women said in interviews that they might still wrestle again after all. So… which is it?

Well, as Brie explained, both Bellas did plan to retire from the squared circle, but those Total Bellas scenes were filmed before WWE decided to introduce Women’s Tag Team titles – something the Bellas have wanted their entire careers – in February 2019.

If Nikki and Brie were to return now, they would likely receive a similar fan backlash to what they had during their brief run on Raw between SummerSlam and Evolution in 2018.

With Paige accompanying them to the ring and cutting promos on their behalf, it would certainly make for an interesting way to freshen up the Bellas’ characters if they were to return one last time to challenge for the Women's Tag Team titles.