As Extreme Rules inches closer, we have our first women’s match announced for the event. By the end of RAW, we now know that one-half of the Women’s Tag Team Champions Sasha Banks has challenged RAW Women’s Champion Asuka for the RAW title at the upcoming event. This news came after Banks and Bayley successfully defended their tag titles against The IIconics.
There were three matches this week which included the following:
Sasha Banks & Bayley vs. The IIconics -Women’s Tag Team Championship
Liv Morgan vs. Natalya
Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair – RAW Women’s Championship
First, before the action even got underway we witnessed Nia Jax unhappy that Charlotte Flair was getting her way yet again with a championship match. She sat in the ring and wanted her voice to be heard, only to be interrupted by R-Truth first who mistook her for Akira Tozawa. After that was over with, Flair showed up.
Flair stated that Jax wasted her past two title opportunities so she is just upset over that. Jax then went on a tirade about how Flair is only where she is due to her father. She concluded with the fact that Flair hasn’t beaten her. This ended up in a brawl where Jax targeted Flair’s left shoulder which would be detrimental to her as she still had to have her title match with Asuka.
The match itself between Flair and Asuka was as always a joy to watch. The smart champion that she is, Asuka focused on the left arm that Jax tortured earlier in the night. This was just what she needed to secure her successful defense with an Asuka Lock to cause The Queen to tap out.
Shortly after the match, Flair would have a run-in with Jax yet again and was left battered as the left arm was the continued focus. As we know now this was a way to write off Flair as she will be taking time off.
The second match of the night involved what was brewing from last week. Last week, Natalya and Liv Morgan teamed up to face The IIconics. The team of Nattie and Morgan quickly broke down as the pair argued about their loss. This caused Lana‘s attention to be perked as her husband Bobby Lashley has asked for a divorce.
This week Nattie took on Morgan in singles competition with Lana by her side. After an argument between Lana and Morgan was enough to distract Morgan. Natalya capitalized with the Sharp Shooter causing her opponent to tap out. The new pairing of Lana and Natalya celebrated her win.
Later on in the night, a distraught Morgan was approached by her former Riott Squad leader, Ruby Riott. She wasn’t having the interaction as she has had a rough past couple of weeks due to her crippling losses. Riott seemed concerned as Morgan walked off. Could we be seeing a reunion of the pair in the near future?
The last match of the evening was the highly anticipated match between The IIconics and Bayley/Sasha Banks for the Women’s Tag Team Titles. These two teams always put on a good match and it is good to see The IIconics show what they can do.
Banks and Bayley had the victory in their sights once Banks went for the Three Amigos. As she went for the third, Peyton Royce would counter and shove Banks into Bayley knocking her off the apron. Royce would get a near fall.
Billie Kay attempted to help her teammate but Banks warded off both of them as she knocked Kay outside the ring. Banks would then lock in the Bank Statement causing Royce to tap out to secure the championships.
After the match, Banks challenged Asuka for a match at Extreme Rules for the RAW Women’s Championship which can be read here.
Let’s get into this week’s Winners & Losers:
WINNER: Nia Jax
Personally I enjoyed what Nia brought to the table this week. I enjoyed seeing her fight with someone instead of Kairi that could match up with her size-wise. I was half hoping for a Nia vs. Charlotte match with a stipulation at Extreme Rules which is what I thought this was leading towards. Of course with Charlotte being reported as taking a leave that won’t be the case.
WINNER: Asuka
She won against Charlotte and caused her to submit on top of that. Great booking. Now we know that it was a way to write Charlotte off, but a
LOSER: Liv Morgan
At least we are getting Liv on our screens, but not in the win column. There is promise however with the possibility of putting her back with Ruby Riott. At this point the two together would help them both out and the tag team division. She is seeming pretty defeated and her push has been halted. Hopefully, we can get her to a better status shortly.
LOSER: Charlotte Flair
For obvious reasons, Charlotte didn’t look too well this week. They did a nice job at writing her off however and a good way to bring her back if they want to pick it right back up when she returns.
I am also pretty intrigued by the Nattie/Lana pairing. Having Nattie go over on Liv was a little weird as normally she is one to put over the younger stars. I can’t be the only one who wants Lana back in the ring and has hope that she and Nattie could win the tag belts. Or am I?
What did you think of this week’s RAW? Who were your Winners & Losers? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
