Update: A dark main event occurred when RAW went off the air last evening. In a video from reddit, Becky Lynch makes her way to the ring and passes Seth Rollins on the stage. The majority of fans are focusing on the relationship aspect of the two’s exchange. The more important takeaway from this is that Lynch faced Lacey Evans in a championship match. This match clearly could have been on the show and the match that we witnessed could have been different. Dear WWE, your women still exist.
This weeks RAW from Kansas City, Mo. was…well…pretty much the same as last week. Women’s Tag Team Champions The IIconics attempted to seek retribution against RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch and her partner Nikki Cross. The women continue to receive one match that has no meaning behind it. In fact, the first 45 minutes of a three-hour long program had zero matches from any gender and showcased Brock Lesnar twice.
To make matters worse, the match that was constructed was the same as last week without Alexa Bliss sipping her coffee and Lacey Evans. That being said, the match itself was better overall than last week.
It appears that WWE continues to have no clear direction with the women’s tag team division. The commentary during the match even alluded for Lynch and Cross to get a go at the titles. They are grasping at straws at this point.
Unfortunately, since the show was basically the same for the women as it was last week it makes it harder to pick out some winners and losers. However, this is what we were given, so this is what we have.
WINNER: Nikki Cross
Nikki Cross continues to deliver both in and out of the ring. Her character is getting her over with the fans and her in-ring ability puts the icing on the cake. She worked the majority of the match this evening and it suited her well.
The only downside is just pairing her up with either Lynch or Bliss. Although she has great chemistry with Bliss, making Cross another lackey for her may not be the best thing. Cross needs to stand out on her own.
WINNER: Becky Lynch
For all intents and purposes, the main reason why Lynch is a winner is that she picked up the win for her team. It was a little shame that Cross did most of the work and Lynch picked up the win at the end, but she is the champ.
What did come out from the results of the match was Lynch debuting what appears to be a new finisher. The finisher shadows the Rock Bottom. Afterward, commentary refers to this move as the MANhandle Slam. So if this move is going to continue at least it will be nice to see something besides her submission.
As far as the losers for the night it would be easy to just list The IIconics again. Last week they were the losers of the week as they continue to lose their matches. They have these shiny new tag belts and nothing is happening. They did lose their match again this week, however, the real losers seem to be the women involved in the backstage barbecue.
LOSERS: The women wrestlers involved in the barbecue backstage
Throughout the evening many superstars were involved in various barbecue backstage segments for the Memorial Day holiday. During one of the segments, Naomi and Tamina stared each other down and stood face-to-face. This encounter ended with the two laughing together instead of starting a fight.
Other women that were seen included Carmella (who was helping R-Truth) and Dana Brooke. WWE constantly puts on these segments during holidays. The segments themselves aren’t necessarily the problem. The problem surfaces when nothing comes from the segments. If this is the start of a Team B.A.D. reunion then maybe this will help the tag team division. If this reuniting does happen then they have the potential to be in the winner’s category at a later date.
To start off RAW the viewers didn’t witness a match until the last 10 to 15 minutes of the first hour. In that time period, there could have been at least one other women’s match. Women wrestling fans strike out again this week.
Hopefully tomorrow night’s SmackDown will be a better showing this week than RAW.
What did you think of tonight’s show? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section!
Don’t forget to check back in with Diva Dirt for SmackDown’s Winners & Losers.
