WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Piper Niven returned on tonight’s WWE Raw, joining Chelsea Green in a backstage segment to reclaim her title. It was announced on last week’s episode that Niven was not medically cleared to compete, furthering the apparent curse that’s plagued the titles over the last year and a half. Thankfully, the reported illness that was keeping Niven on the shelf was a short-term one, and the champions can now continue their reign. Niven noted onscreen that she was now officially cleared to compete once again.
In Niven’s absence, Green has been searching for someone to step in as her partner. Shortly before Niven’s reappearance tonight, Green sought the help of Shayna Baszler, with Baszler turning Green down without a second thought. After their interaction, Green vs. Baszler was booked for tonight’s Raw, with Niven joining Green at ringside. Green went on to lose the match, with Niven getting in the ring to help Green after the bout. Zoey Stark came out to make the save for Baszler, seemingly setting up a new set of opponents for the tag champs.
Green and Niven have not technically defended their titles so far. Niven stepped in as Green’s partner when Sonya Deville suffered an injury last month, keeping her out of action for the foreseeable future. That was just the latest negative development for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship, which has been plagued with injuries, start-and-stop booking, and creative changes.
The issues largely date to May 2022, when then-champions Sasha Banks and Naomi both walked out of the company. Since then, there have been nine sets of champions, and at times the titles have felt like an afterthought. Liv Morgan and her partner, Rodriguez, had to vacate the belts in May when Morgan suffered an injury. With Niven now healthy, and a new set of challengers set up, there is now hope that the curse can be broken moving forward.