Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky remain WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions after a successful defense at Saturday Night’s Main Event, turning back a challenge from Liv Morgan and Roxanne Perez.
The victory preserves a reign that began on the January 5 episode of WWE Raw, when Ripley and Sky took the titles off The Kabuki Warriors. That title change reshaped the women’s tag team picture early in the year, putting the belts on two competitors who have quickly established chemistry and a winning rhythm as partners.
Saturday’s match against Morgan and Perez carried more weight than a routine defense. Morgan and Perez were designated number one contenders, positioning the bout as an early measuring stick for the new champions and a chance to set the tone for the next phase of the division. Ripley and Sky’s win not only validates their pairing but also signals that the division’s immediate future will revolve around their momentum and the challengers who can find a way to disrupt it.
For the champions, stacking a defense on a Saturday Night’s Main Event card matters for visibility and credibility. WWE frequently uses these events to keep champions active and sharpen rivalries between televised shows, and a clean retention on a prominent weekend card reinforces the idea that Ripley and Sky can beat well-regarded challengers in any setting. Each defense helps stabilize a title scene that benefits from consistent, identifiable standard-bearers.
The January 5 title change from The Kabuki Warriors to Ripley and Sky was a notable pivot point. The Kabuki Warriors had been a reliable presence, and unseating them created fresh matchups across the division. Putting the belts on Ripley and Sky signaled a renewed emphasis on star power in the tag ranks and opened the door for combinations of contenders who could test the champions’ adaptability.
Morgan and Perez were a logical first test. As number one contenders, their pairing blended experience and urgency, and their placement in this spot underscored WWE’s willingness to mix established names and rising competitors in the women’s tag rotation. While they came up short on Saturday, going the distance in a title opportunity puts them on the shortlist of teams that can credibly ask for another shot—either as a duo or in reshuffled combinations that reflect the division’s evolving landscape.
This retention also clarifies the immediate stakes for the weeks ahead. With Ripley and Sky holding firm, the conversation shifts to which team can push them in a different way. That could mean challengers who bring a contrasting style, a pair with deeper time together as partners, or opportunists who seize timing and momentum before the champions can fully settle into a long reign. The women’s tag titles thrive when there are multiple viable contenders, and Saturday’s result invites that competitive churn.
Strategically, WWE benefits from delivering meaningful title bouts on weekend cards. Even without stipulations or major twists, a successful defense communicates that championships matter outside televised windows, and it keeps the belt’s story moving between Raws and premium live events. Fans who follow results from Saturday Night’s Main Event cards look for signals about who is ascending and whether the champions are building toward a signature defense on a bigger stage.
For Ripley and Sky, the next challenge is the same one every new duo faces: sustaining momentum as opponents adjust. The more defenses they log, the more tape there is for future challengers to scout tendencies and exploit openings. That creates a feedback loop of improvement—champions tightening their teamwork and challengers crafting game plans to disrupt it—which is healthy for a division that benefits from cyclical parity and fresh matchups.
Morgan and Perez, meanwhile, leave Saturday with something to build on. A loss in a title match can still serve as a platform if it sharpens a team’s identity and highlights what works. Whether they pursue a direct rematch or recalibrate and reenter the contender queue, their status as recent challengers will keep them in the conversation as WWE lays out the next slate of defenses.
What makes Saturday’s defense resonate is what it represents for the women’s tag scene at large: stability without stasis. The belts remain with Ripley and Sky, but the path they took to get here—dethroning The Kabuki Warriors on Raw, stepping into a live-event title match against designated contenders, and leaving with the gold—signals a division with structure and moving parts. That’s a strong foundation for the kind of layered rivalries and rotating challenges that keep the titles relevant across multiple platforms.
As always, the calendar will dictate the next opportunity, whether it arrives on a future episode of Raw, another Saturday Night’s Main Event, or a premium live event. For now, the message is clear: Ripley and Sky are the pace-setters. The rest of the women’s tag division—Morgan and Perez included—must adjust, reload, and find the right pairing and timing to take a run at the champions who just proved they can handle the first big test of their reign.
Saturday Night’s Main Event ended with the status quo intact at the top, but the result adds definition to the road ahead. If Ripley and Sky can continue to stack defenses, the division’s stakes will rise with them. And if a challenger can finally catch them on the wrong night, it will be because Saturday’s blueprint forced the contenders to level up. Either way, the women’s tag titles took a meaningful step forward on Saturday—anchored by champions who showed they’re ready for the fight.
