Last week the women ended the show and they ended it in a very confusing… yet predictable bang. It’s clear to see that there’s a big target on whoever the Champion is and with No Mercy just a couple weeks around the corner, the ladies of RAW are once again trying to climb to the top. Let’s see what was in store for the women this week!
Before RAW it’s announced that Sasha Banks will be invoking her rematch clause to challenge NEW RAW Women’s Champion, Alexa Bliss, at No Mercy.
The woman who caused the storm, Nia Jax, is backstage with RAW General Manager Kurt Angle and she’s not happy about hearing the aforementioned news, especially since she laid them both out last week. Angle reminds her that Banks’ shot at the title is due to her contract and reminds Jax that this isn’t the way to go about making opportunities. Speaking of making opportunities, Emma butts her way into the conversation and reminds everyone about starting the Women’s Revolution again.
Nia isn’t happy about being interrupted, which causes Angle to remind them both that they don’t just ‘ask’ for opportunities, they need to earn them. So tonight, Emma and Nia Jax will team up to take on the team of Sasha Banks and RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss. If Emma and Nia win, then the match at No Mercy will become a fatal-4-way match for the RAW Women’s Championship, but if they lose then it shall remain a Singles Match.
Following the announcement for this match, Alexa catches Sasha backstage. Sasha breaks down the stats and tells Alexa that she ‘needs’ her if she wants better chances of walking out at No Mercy with her Championship. This doesn’t rub Alexa the right way, who warns Sasha to leave her ‘Boss’ ego at the door and she should “Get over it!”. This strikes a nerve with Sasha who warns that once they win tonight, she’s going to make Alexa tap out at No Mercy.
As the women make their way to the ring, Emma debuts another theme which has a bit more of a rock vibe – still not as good as her old theme, but definitely better than the Christina Aguilera rip-off from last week. In a weird way, the match cuts to commercial break during her entrance and when we come back the action seems to have started.
The unorthodox tag teams for this match provide most of the story telling in this match. On one side, we have a deadly team of Sasha and Alexa who have had months of animosity towards each other who try to one-up each other throughout the match. On the other side of the ring, we see Nia who has no respect for Emma and pretty much watches her take a beating for most of the match.
The match mainly consists of Alexa and Sasha trying to cause more damage to Emma and trying to avoid getting Nia in the match. Once Nia finally gets the tag, she goes straight for Alexa who slaps the woman that is almost twice her size… bad move! Nia ploughs down Alexa and after a beatdown, she finishes her off with a Samoan Drop. She goes for the pinfall, which is broken up by Sasha! Alexa manages to get the tag to Sasha, who tries to put up a fight against Nia until she’s met by a running avalanche block.
A flattened Sasha becomes an easy target for Nia, who goes for the final leg drop. However, as Nia hits the ropes, Emma tags herself into the match and runs to cover Alexa as Nia gets up to her feet. 1.. 2… 3! Emma and Nia Jax are going to No Mercy! The duo celebrate together, but much like last week, Nia doesn’t do celebrations and she flattens Emma with a Samoan Drop! She signals for the Women’s Championship around her waist as her three No Mercy opponents look on in shock.
After the match, Nia Jax continues her ‘message’ by reminding everyone that she took out all three challengers tonight and will do the same at No Mercy.
Thoughts: Finally some RAW action that I can get behind! Sure, this match wasn’t amazing but it’s all about the storytelling. You’ve got two teams that hate each other, that need to get along: one team from a long developed program and another team formed of two newer developing stories. Booking-wise, it was a perfect situation and one that I certainly didn’t expect for our backwards RAW writers.
Last week just seemed like a bit of a clusterfuck and everyone here seemed to agree with my thoughts that it was all just a bit unnecessary. Thankfully, they’ve found a way to turn things around and actively spark interest into both Emma and Nia Jax. If we had another Sasha VS Alexa singles match, I’m sure we would have a lot more to complain about. This will at least help make use of some of the characters that we’ve got going on now, but having 4 women involved helps to give a lot of breathing space.
Obviously, my personal choice would be for Emma to come out strong in this push, but there’s a very small chance of that happening. Either way, they can really turn her into a threat now and take her out of the RAW division sub-league where she and a couple of girls have been stuck in. This just goes to show that the WWE can get it right sometimes, but we have a couple weeks to go until No Mercy so let’s see how they handle it. Nia is getting better, Sasha is re-established as the top face, Alexa is now the sneaky heel and Emma is the fresh grass in the field – I’m intrigued!
Are you happy with the fatal-4-way set up? Would you prefer a singles match between Alexa and Sasha? How do you feel about Emma’s new new theme? You now what you do!
