We’re days away from what could be one of the biggest matches in WWE history, so I’m sure most of us are expecting one last hyped push to reign in interest. That cell will be descending on Champion and Challenger soon, so how did they do it? Let’s get into the RAW Redux!
Tonight sees the contract signing for the Hell in a Cell match between RAW Women’s Champion, Sasha Banks and the challenger Charlotte.
Raw General Manager Mick Foley starts the segment by stating, “you never know when a moment can be immortalised and transform a Superstar into a Legend”. He invites both of the women down to the ring to sign their contracts. He states that they’ve been breaking the glass ceiling as they’ve progressed in their careers, saying that ‘true athleticism knows no gender’ and that ‘women can accomplish anything’.
Both women are quick and willing to sign the contract, but Mick’s tone changes as he starts to warn the women how dangerous the Hell in a Cell match is. He describes it “as a living breathing entity, but it’s got no soul, it’s got no heart” intimidating fear into both of the women. The ever cocky Charlotte simply shrugs Foley’s warning as she gloats that she will be winning that Championship and ready to go to Hell and back to get it back! “You will respect your Queen… woooo!”
Sasha backs up her claim by stating that she’s ‘The Boss’ and she’ll go down as the Greatest Women’s Champion of all time. She know she may have to crawl up the ring ‘Broken’, but it doesn’t even matter! The crowd does start to turn and chant ‘Boring’, but Mick once again tries to strike fear into both women. Close to tears, he mentions how difficult it is to walk due to a missing hip socket that he suffered because of his Hell in a Cell matches., “When you look at me, you’re looking at your future”.
He mentions that he’s know Charlotte since she was a little girl and how both her and her father Ric Flair can only agree on one thing, which is her. He turns to Sasha and reveals how his children gave Sasha a signed photo from her idol Eddie Guerrero and tells her how she’s adding to his legacy. He then claims how both of them have turned him from a cynical old man, but he now believes that women can be draws and stars in wrestling.
With one last warning he asks both women to look him in the eyes before signing the contract. Charlotte takes the pen first, signs the contract and says, “See you in Boston…”. Sasha is slower to sign the contract, but replies, “And I’ll see you in Hell!”. She hoists the title proudly as a worried Mick Foley looks on. The women have been warned by the Cell specialist himself, they know exactly what they’re getting themselves in for.
Elsewhere on the card, our B-side/kick-off feud continues with Dana Brooke facing Bayley. The commentators reveal that Dana has asked for a rematch to prove that her victory over ‘The Huggable One’ last week wasn’t a fluke, but she takes to the microphone at the start of the match to state that she wants an arm wrestling match…
Hey, I’m just saying that it was me making comments about Dana’s arms last week and now it looks like she can finally put those flexing biceps to good use! Bayley takes off her ring jacket and reveals that her shoulder is taped up, following becoming ‘injured’ last week.
Referees bring in the arm wrestling table and Dana is psyched up, putting her right arm on the table – meaning Bayley will have to use her injured shoulder. The crowd turns on the events, chanting “We Want Wrestling!” and “This is Stupid!”. They boo even more when Dana easily wins the first round.
The cocky protege offers Bayley another round and this time lets her use her left arm. Just as Bayley begins to get the upperhand, Dana socks her in the face. She aims straight for the injured arm, smashing it against the arm wrestling table. Dana then charges at Bayley, only for her to counter it into a Bayley-to-belly! Dana rolls out the ring surprised and Bayley celebrates, although questionably holding onto her shoulder.
We also see one more promo teasing the return of Emma to Emmalina. Again, a load more pictures of her in a bikini… now we don’t know how explicitly her character will be linked to t&a, but the irony of this promo airing literally minutes after Charlotte and Sasha Banks have just cut an intense segment saying women can do everything. Emma is obviously gorgeous and we know she’s talented, but we’re all intrigued to find out what the hell this gimmick is about.
Thoughts: I think we all expected this segment to come up, since we can see that they’re trying to keep Sasha and Charlotte away from each other before the big match. The promo was just weird though, like why would Mick Foley stand in front of thousands of people and try to stop both the women from signing a match that he allowed them to compete in last week?
Also, why were Dana and Bayley having an arm wrestling match? The crowd chewed that segment up and spat it out, boy did it make me smile when I could hear them chant “We Want Wrestling”! As I’ve said week after week, say what you want about this ‘Women’s Evolution’, but it has made such a difference. About 10 years ago, that chant would have been “We Want Puppies!”, so if you don’t believe in this hype, then there’s more evidence for you.
I don’t know where they’re going with Bayley VS Dana, but I guess that Charlotte will be rejoining Dana soon to continue bullying Bayley. I’ve actually really started to miss the pairing, which is weird since for months they had absolutely zero chemistry. This breathing space between the two has helped to establish Dana more as a solo competitor and has actually done Charlotte a lot of good since for most of the year, she won by cheating. Seeing the two back together soon should be interested.
No sign of the rest of the women, but wait you guys. I’m pretty sure the ‘Team building’ angle heading into Survivor Series is going interesting, so we have stuff to look forward to… as if a Hell in a Cell match wasn’t enough!
So what did you think of this week’s contract signing? Are you eagerly awaiting the Hell in a Cell match? Did you agree with this week’s crowd reaction to the arm wrestling match? You know where the comment section is!
