Raquel Rodriguez hopes to battle some familiar faces in the finals of the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship Tournament.
Rodriguez and Aliyah advanced to the next round by defeating Shotzi and Xia Li on the August 12 episode of WWE SmackDown. Likewise, Dakota Kai and IYO SKY clinched a spot in the semi-finals by defeating Dana Brooke and Tamina on the August 8 episode of WWE Raw. Rodriguez has plenty of history with Kai, as they won the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship twice together. She also battled SKY, previously known as Io Shirai, during her time in NXT.
Speaking on the August 17 edition of WWE's The Bump, when the possibility of facing Kai and SKY in the tournament finals came up, Rodriguez made it clear that she would like to see that outcome because she loves competition.
"1000%, yes. I love both of those women. They are just aggressive and hungry, and I know first-hand how hungry Dakota Kai is for gold. So I know that these women’s tag titles really mean a lot to both of those women, and I love competition. If I can get into the ring with both of them, I know the competition is just gonna be there. So yes, I am looking forward to meeting them and getting in the ring," Rodriguez said.
When asked to describe what makes their team better than the other duos in the tournament, Rodriguez emphasized that she and Aliyah have plenty of experience because they have been working together for a long time. She also noted that they are difficult opponents to prepare for.
“I think what it is us that we have experience together. We’ve built our friendship up through the five years that we’ve known each other working at NXT together. So we already have that chemistry , but it’s definitely a duo that nobody’s really seen, and I don’t think anyone can really prepare for. Because when you prepare for one opponent, you’re like okay, what are their strengths and weaknesses? But Aliyah and I are so completely opposite but so on the same mind and wavelength as well that I just feel like no one’s gonna be able to prepare for us. We are just indestructible right now," she said.
In the next round of the tournament, Rodriguez and Aliyah will face the winners of the match between Sonya Deville & Natalya and Nikkita Lyons & Zoey Stark on the August 19 episode of WWE SmackDown.
Elsewhere in the bracket, Alexa Bliss and Asuka advanced to the next round this past week on WWE Raw. More information is available here.