One week to go to the Royal Rumble and the ‘Road to Wrestlemania’! Will we be on a clear road or will we see that road change? Well RAW has been trying as hard as ever to make it work with their 4 women division, so let’s see what was in store this week!
First up, we catch Corey Graves having a pre-taped backstage interview with the Number 1 contender for the RAW Women’s Championship, Bayley. When asked about Charlotte picking on her because of being a superfan, she says that her fandom is what got her to her position; her best memories with her family… to her family now being able to watch her. Bayley talks about being ‘just Bayley’ and talking about hugging her fans, trying to share the magic of how she felt back when she was a fan. She mentions that there might be doubters out there, but she already has two victories over the Champ and she’ll be walking out with the Women’s Championship at Royal Rumble!
Obviously, it’s only fair to hear from her opposition. The 15-0 PPV Queen and RAW Women’s Champion, Charlotte, talks to Graves and immediately recalls her dad Ric Flair winning the 1992 Royal Rumble, saying that it’s in her history that the Flairs dominate the Rumble. .. while Bayley’s family watch from the couch. She mentions that she’s not sorry about having a privileged background, but shows that she’s proven that she’s one of the best competitors male and female. Talking about her rival, she actually mentions that she respected Bayley’s call-up, but it’s the fact that she went for ‘her’ title that has caused the problem. Charlotte finishes, ‘When that bell rings, I’m going to punish Bayley thinking that she’s on my level’ and reminds everyone that she will still be the Queen of Pay-Per-View and Bayley will just remain the fan.
This week’s match features our resident monster, Nia Jax, taking on local competitor, Ray Lyn. Not much to say really, as Lyn gets finished off in like 2.5 seconds with a Banzai Drop in the corner. Jax takes to the mic to dedicate her career to the ‘deceased career of Sasha Banks’. She continues to mock the injured ‘Boss’… but before she gets too carried away, Sasha Banks’ music hits and she comes out the ring limping with her crutch. However, she’s ready for a fight as she pummels Nia with her crutch! Nia charges at Sasha, who dodges it and uses her momentum to get Nia out the ring, but Sasha launches off the apron with her signature double knees to knock down the ‘Monster’.
Sasha talks backstage where it’s revealed that she’s going to take on Nia at the Royal Rumble pre-show. She says ‘Revenge is a B… and Nia’s just a girl in my world’ – clearly the Boss isn’t afraid of taking on a new challenge!
Alicia Fox and her weird love triangle took to new levels this week on RAW too. She accompanied Noam Dar to his match… but they make an appearance later in the night when Cedric Alexander (Alicia’s old beau) is being interviewed backstage. Foxy says that Cedric won’t be anything without her and Dar continues to make fun until Cedric shoves him down. Alicia calls Cedric jealous and gets angry because he almost made Noam cry! Aww!
Thoughts: All I’m saying is that all eyes are on Bayley and Charlotte this weekend. If this is going to be the WrestleMania feud, then we need these two women to steal the show. With only 4 active women on RAW, it was definitely a good move to keep them away from each other – that goes for Banks and Jax too. I just find the actual story behind their feud just really hasn’t connected – picking on Bayley for being a fan… it’s just not creative. It’s worse because Bayley proved herself time and time again in NXT, so being a ‘superfan’ doesn’t really click now. She’s an underdog, but not just s superfan anymore.
I’m all for seeing character development and fresh feuds, but Jax vs. Banks has really failed to get me interested. Sasha has made like 5 returns from ‘injuries’ in the past year that they’ve already lost their sentiment… and that is so weird to say because that really shouldn’t be ‘a thing’. However, after all those hot potato reigns, it kind of has? Either way, I’m really hoping that these two can pull off a shocker and really impress me – they have all the makings of a David vs. Goliath match, but Nia’s green-ness will be the deciding factor.
Finally, I’d like to say how much I’m loving Alicia’s weird relationship angle. Sure it’s not groundbreaking and not gonna throw her in the title picture, but it’s so nice to see her doing something fresh and not just being a jobber. This is a great example of someone being a crappy ball to run with, but is running with it well. I mean, I have no idea where this will end, but the fact that Alicia is getting a reaction is a good thing!
Are you excited for Bayley vs. Charlotte? Are you more excited for Nia VS Sasha? Do you think we’ll see any surprise female entrants in the Royal Rumble? Comment below!
