The last RAW prior to the Royal Rumble this Sunday is now over and done with. The build for the women’s Royal Rumble match itself has been dreadful, to say the least. With only six days away, there have only been a total of four women announced: Charlotte Flair, Sarah Logan, Alexa Bliss, and Nikki Cross. The main
Since being the first woman announced for the match, for the past few weeks, Flair has defeated the likes of Natalya, Chelsea Green, and Sarah Logan. This intent seemed to be to get her over as a huge contender for a win in the rumble match, which technically isn’t needed. On tonight’s show, Flair was the only talent that spoke on the rumble in a backstage interview.
There were two matches tonight. This first one was Lynch facing Kairi Sane. This was Sane’s first match since her injury that occurred at the TLC event in December. It was a solid outing. The storytelling surrounding the match kept me entertained.
Lynch was able to pick up the win as Sane would tap out to the Dis Arm Her. After the bell rings to end the match, Asuka would attack Lynch and the Kabuki Warriors would leave with the numbers game to their advantage.
The second match was the main event. It was Liv Morgan and Rusev vs. Lana and Bobby Lashley. The match seemed short but perhaps that is because the women didn’t get the spotlight as much as I expected.
Morgan did pull off a nice enziguri on Lashley which was probably the highlight of the match. Despite this, Lana was able to stop Rusev in his tracks by holding his foot causing Lashley to hit the spear and pick up the win.
Let’s get into the Winners & Losers of the week.
WINNER: Asuka
Asuka is a good winner of the week. Her heel work is genuine and entertaining to see. From the moment go during the Lynch vs. Sane bout she was making sure that she was on top of Lynch. She made sure when the referee wasn’t looking to get her jabs in to help Sane wear the champ down.
The Empress perched upon the top of the ring post for the majority of the match was different and fun. She would also get the final smack in the face much like she did last week by attacking Lynch afterward. The match for the Royal Rumble has been built up nicely. With Asuka getting the upper hand for the past couple weeks sort of speaks volumes that she will not be victorious in the end.
WINNER: Zelina Vega
Vega continues to shine in her role. Her facial expressions and her reactions during the ladder match between Andrade and Rey Mysterio was fantastic. Personally, I wish that she would be more of an in-ring competitor. Her running up the ladder to stop Mysterio makes me want to see her in a Money in the Bank match.
Although I wish she would have hit a move on Mysterio it was exciting to see her throw herself into the match.
LOSERS:
This week is another week that many different problems can be pointed out as a “loser.” There wasn’t necessarily one woman that looked bad on the show, it was just the overall feel.
The entire women’s division that have not been built for the Royal Rumble match is a huge loss. It is obvious that the majority of at least RAW and SmackDown but there could have still been some build. Any build. Charlotte Flair just talking about it is not a build.
Liv Morgan’s first match on RAW since July…she should have won. How are we going to build up her return this much just for her to lose her return match? She was also robbed of her own entrance. She did not have to enter with Rusev to his music. This pains me to say this may list her as a loser of this week, but she still looked good in the match.
Lastly, Lana’s promos have steadily gone down hill since this storyline has started. When Lana was with Rusev her promos were always great. She could work a mic and deliver what people enjoyed. I am not sure if it is just this material she is given or what, but she isn’t what she used to be. I would hate to think that losing her Russian accent is what lost her spark. She doesn’t need to still be with Rusev, in fact, I enjoy the break, but I tune out when she talks on the mic now.
These two women did get the main event nod though, that’s something to celebrate.
What were your thoughts on this week’s RAW? Who were your Winners & Losers? Would you have liked to see more of a Royal Rumble match build? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
Check back with Diva Dirt for more on the upcoming Royal Rumble event.
