So Sunday saw RAW’s first exclusive PPV, Charlotte and Nia Jax dominated the night and the table is wide open again for something new and fresh! …oh how I was that was true, instead this week’s RAW probably sent you to sleep. If it didn’t, then you are definitely a loyal fan! Anyway, let’s get to it so you guys can make your own decisions!
Our first female Superstar to make an appearance this week is Lana! After finally getting involved in Rusev’s match against Roman Reigns at Clash of Champions, would she get involved tonight? Well yeah, she got on the apron and tried to stop Reigns hitting his Superman punch… but that was about it really.
The only women’s match this week is between Bayley and local competitor Anna Fields. In a match that literally ran 2 minutes; Anna awkwardly dominated the first minute, while Bayley used the other minute to hit all of her signature moves for an easy victory. Tom Phillips interviews Bayley post-match, who says that while she didn’t come up victorious at Clash of Champions, she’s just on the start of her journey and won’t stop until she’s “Hugging that Women’s Championship”.
Next is time for WWE RAW Women’s Champion Charlotte to address the crowd following her victory at Clash of Champions. She comes down to the ring accompanied by Dana Brooke and is quick to gloat about her accomplishments after defying the odds and defeating Bayley and Sasha Banks. Charlotte admits that she’s not ‘The Huggable’ Bayley or ‘The Internet Darling’ Sasha Banks, but she’s ‘the Moneymaker and the face of this division’.
The ego trip is cut short by Sasha Banks, quickly addressing that she wasn’t pinned in the triple threat match. She reminds everyone that she still wants her one on one singles match rematch for the Championship, causing an eruption of ‘Yes’ chants. After calling her “Sasha ‘Wanks’” (ermmm…is that PG?), Charlotte decides that she will take up Sasha’s offer for a rematch… but for next week. It doesn’t take long for things to break down, ending up with Sasha clearing the ring and throwing the Champ and her protege out on their behinds. Looks like the clear message has been sent for next week!
Thoughts: Oh RAW team… what was this? I’ve honestly not had to do a Redux so boring since I started doing these. Where was Nia? Why was Bayley squashing a jobber? Why is there no continuation of Dana’s problems with Charlotte? Where are all the other women?
This week’s saving grace is probably Charlotte’s mic work here. That was probably her best promo to date and she’s made the most improvement of the NXT ‘14 crop. It’s amazing to think that she’s the least experienced of the Four Horsewomen and she’s become such a solid all-round Superstar. I just want to see her feud with Dana Brooke get to the next level already, all this on and off tension is holding the back of a really fresh feud.
As I said in my ‘thoughts section’ in the Clash review, it’s a shame right now because Bayley, Sasha and Charlotte are some of the most popular and talented women that this division has seen. We’ve just seen them feuding between all combinations for the best part of 3 years now. I don’t know what happened with Sasha’s injury, but that weird title change and rush to call up Bayley has really got the writers confused and it seems like they’re just sticking with what they know is best. I’m happy Bayley is on the main roster and I know Sasha and Charlotte will probably have another amazing women’s match, but when there is a flourishing SmackDown division, we need to see something fresh in the RAW division.
So speaking of someone fresh, where the hell was Nia Jax? Fresh off her first ‘long’ match on the main roster… and she’s nowhere to be seen. I don’t know what the WWE were doing when they called her up and brought her to RAW and it seems like they don’t really know either. She’s squashed jobbers, she’s squashed the main roster jobber (sorry Alicia fans but lets be real), the title picture is about the Horsewomen… so Nia is pretty much an afterthought. I’m not even the biggest Nia fan, but it would have just made sense for booking purposes and gaining steam since she’s finally mixed it up with other talent.
So did you find RAW as boring as I did? Are you happy that we’re getting Sasha Banks VS Charlotte again? Do you think Nia Jax should be doing more? Sound off in the comments!
