Fired WWE Star Return + Women’s Tag Title Tourney Dead, Already?

Curtis Axel was fired from the WWE in April 2020, due to COVID-19 pandemic budget cuts. Many fans were surprised to see the talent back on Monday Night RAW this week. More on this story, below.

Fired WWE Star Return

The last time fans saw Curtis Axel on WWE television was the February 28, 2020 edition of SmackDown. He faced Daniel Bryan and lost.

He was released shortly after the fact. Alemania, as it was, was dead and gone.

Until RAW this week that is! Axel, whose real name is Joseph Hennig, was one of many WWE officials breaking up the fight between Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes. The two cut a stellar segment to hype up this Sunday’s Hell in a Cell (HIAC) match.

More On Fired WWE Star Return

In April, Fightful Select reported that Axel was trying out for a producer role on SmackDown. Apparently, he worked with Tyson Kidd on a bout between Sasha Banks and Liv Morgan.

The report also notes that Ariya Daivari (brother of Shawn Daivari), was also trying out for a WWE producer role. Interestingly enough, both Daivari brothers were also seen with Axel trying to split up the Rollins-Rhodes fight.

Therefore, the good news is that based on their television appearances last night, it seems both Daivari and Hennig have scored jobs with the WWE. Even cooler is that “Curtis Axel” was trending on Twitter after he appeared on RAW.

Meanwhile, the entire wrestling world is still buzzing about Sasha Banks and Naomi’s recent walkout before RAW. The WWE ended up suspending them indefinitely, and now their WWE Women’s Tag Titles are currently listed as “vacant”.

There was buzz that the WWE may hold a tournament to determine new women’s tag champions. However, that might not be happening, after all.

Women’s Tag Title Tourney Dead, Already?

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Tournament is officially dead. It’s been mentioned before that the company is struggling with viable teams for the tourney.

Source: @RBD_KING1, Twitter, Screenshot

With that said, Meltzer also notes that there was a pitch for a four-team match-up. Sadly, this was never signed off on.

As per Meltzer, he has “no idea” what is going on in terms of the Women’s Tag Titles or a tournament. There’s been no mention of it, either.

Why Bother?

Many fans were excited when the WWE announced Women’s Tag Team Titles in late 2018. However, once the championships were in circulation, Creative dropped the ball.

While they were officially introduced in 2019, the WWE did little to elevate the titles within women’s division storylines. Even Renee Paquette recently stated the titles were important for only “30 seconds” during her Throwing Down With Renee and Miesha podcast.

Since the titles’ inception, there have been 13 different women’s tag teams holding these championships. The tag titles seemed especially close to Sasha Banks’ heart, as she held them on three separate occasions.

Will the WWE drop the titles altogether or are they planning something else for the Women’s Tag Team Championships? Only time will tell.