During a recent appearance on the Lightweights podcast, Deonna Purrazzo addressed whether All Elite Wrestling (AEW) should introduce Women’s Tag Team Titles at this stage. In her discussion, Purrazzo highlighted critical points about the importance of chemistry and storytelling in the potential development of the AEW women’s tag team division, sharing unique perspectives rooted in her own experiences.
The Importance of Chemistry and Narrative in Tag Teams
Deonna Purrazzo, who holds experience with both AEW and Ring of Honor (ROH), shared her ongoing thoughts regarding the formation of a women’s tag team division in AEW. She explained that while tag team wrestling presents opportunities, it often lacks depth when teams are formed without real relationships or storyline build-up. According to Purrazzo, successful women’s tag matches arise when teams have tangible bonds that the audience can relate to, rather than simply grouping wrestlers at random.
“I go back-and-forth on this all the time. I don’t love women’s tag team wrestling. It’s just not something I have a great grasp on, and I think that’s for a lot of women. I don’t necessarily think we are trained to have incredible women’s tag team wrestling matches. However, on the flip side of that, if we got more experience with a particular tag team partner — this is where I say no because I think that you need chemistry with a partner. I think it’s really important to develop a relationship with somebody and tell the audience why you’re in a tag team. When Chelsea (Green) and I became a tag team, it’s like, well, we’re best friends in real life, we travel together, we train together, we have family dinners together, we celebrate holidays together. Here is picture evidence of all of that, video evidence of our relationship. If you’re just thrown into a tag team — me and you are now gonna be a tag team, and that’s what happens with a lot of women’s wrestling. We’re just gonna pick four random people and you’re gonna have a tag team match. There’s no substance to it, there’s no rhyme or reason to it. There’s no reason you and I should work together and I feel like women don’t get the time to tell their stories and develop those relationships so that’s why I say no. On the flip side, I think it creates so many opportunities for women, a completely new division for women and particularly in AEW, there’s so many women right now, and so if you paired them up, like we’ve seen — not anymore — but Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander were together for a long time. We understood why they liked each other. We saw Skye Blue and Julia Hart become a tag team. We understood why they were together. If we could do that with any of the girls that aren’t going to be in a World Championship title picture and create a Women’s Tag Team Title division, I think it would create amazing opportunities for us. But I’d only say yes if we’re getting the opportunity to create meaningful tag teams.”
—Deonna Purrazzo, AEW/ROH wrestler
Within her remarks, Purrazzo referenced notable duos such as Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander, as well as Skye Blue and Julia Hart, pointing to past teams whose on-screen friendships or partnerships helped viewers invest in their tag storylines. She named her own partnership with Chelsea Green as an example, where their documented real-life friendship brought credibility and emotional weight to their tag team work, in contrast to hastily formed alliances.
Potential Partners and Dream Pairings for Purrazzo
When discussing who she would ideally join forces with in a tag team, Deonna Purrazzo offered insight into her personal and professional relationships within wrestling. She was open about her wish to team up with Britt Baker, describing Baker as someone she has trained and traveled with, and who remains a close friend. Purrazzo also suggested Madison Rayne as another ideal tag team candidate, noting Rayne’s influence on her wider wrestling career in both AEW and TNA. Despite Rayne’s current focus as a women’s coach and pre-show analyst, Purrazzo expressed enthusiasm about the idea of Rayne returning to in-ring competition, given their friendship and shared history.
“Yeah, I mean, I think the obvious answer is Britt Baker. That’s one of my other good friends in real life and again, I’ve talked about it a bunch already. Someone I trained and traveled with and came up together with. So I think that’s the most logical answer for me. I think also too, on the flip side of that, if Madison Rayne ever wanted to be a competitor again. Right now, she’s just a women’s coach and we’ve seen her do some pre-show analysis and things like that. I think her coming back and — that’s my best friend in real life. She’s a real reason I got a lot of jobs in wrestling; in AEW, in TNA. It would be really fun to have her back in the ring.”
—Deonna Purrazzo, AEW/ROH wrestler
What an AEW Women’s Tag Team Division Could Mean
Purrazzo’s statements indicate a deep desire for the AEW women’s tag team division to be built thoughtfully, with genuine connections and storytelling at its core rather than creating titles without long-term investment. The repeated focus on authentic relationships, referencing names such as Chelsea Green, Britt Baker, and Madison Rayne, highlights the impact developed partnerships could have for audience engagement and career development. Should AEW choose to implement Women’s Tag Team Titles, Purrazzo’s comments suggest this move could offer new opportunities and allow more talent, including those outside of World Championship contention, to shine. However, the success of such a division, according to Purrazzo, hinges on investing time in building meaningful, story-driven teams, ensuring the tag division does not become an afterthought amidst other women’s wrestling narratives.
