The go-home RAW before SummerSlam is now over and the women were thankfully focused on more this week. To start, although it has no bearing on SummerSlam, Maria Kanellis is no longer the 24/7 Champion.
She held the title longer than any prior female and was the first pregnant champ. She lost her title at her OB/GYN appointment. Her husband, Mike Kanellis originally pinned her in order to get the championship after convincing her to lay back and relax. Mere moments later he would lose the title after R-Truth pinned him in the “waiting room” to yet again become 24/7 Champion. Carmella hopped on Truth’s back as they high tailed it out of the “doctors office.”
There were two women’s matches on this weeks episode. The first match was a tag team match that featured the unlikely pair of Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch teaming up. They faced their respective opponents at SummerSlam Trish Stratus and Natalya.
This was Trish’s first match since the RAW after Evolution in October. Although this would be her first time back in the ring since that time she would have to wait until Sunday at SummerSlam to actually compete. She was never tagged into the match.
The match begins with Nattie and Lynch. The ladies take turns attempting to submit one another as a preview of their upcoming SummerSlam encounter which is now under the submission match stipulation. Lynch attempts to lock in the Dis-Arm-Her on her opponent as she is close to her corner which results in Flair tagging herself in.
The majority of the match from here is Flair dominating on Nattie. She taunts and keeps her opponent from tagging in Stratus. Flair fakes a tag to Lynch which of course doesn’t excite The Man. Flair continues to dominate. Nattie makes another attempt to tag in Stratus but is unable to make it to her partner.
Lynch tags herself in much to The Queen’s disgust. Flair takes out her own partner and leaves the ring walking away up the ramp. Nattie locks in the Sharpshooter on Lynch. Lynch would reach the ropes but Nattie would not break the hold at the five count. Lynch and Flair win the match due to disqualification.
After the bell rings Nattie shows no signs of letting go of her submission on Lynch. Stratus attempts to convince Nattie to let go of the hold. Nattie, in turn, shoves Stratus and leaves the ring.
As reported earlier we have new Women’s Tag Team Champions. The second match of the night was a Fatal 4-Way Tag Team elimination match for the tag titles. Yes, the tag titles were actually defended. The match was of good length and was a solid outing for the tag teams. The IIconics were finally being booked as a formidable team allowing them to clean house at the beginning of the bout. This would be short-lived however as they were the first ones eliminated as Mandy Rose pinned Billie Kay.
Rose and Sonya Deville would be the next eliminated as Rose could no longer hang on and tapped out to the Asuka Lock. The remainder of the match saw The Kabuki Warriors battling Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross. In the end, Bliss would pick up the win and the tag belts for her team from executing Twisted Bliss on Kairi Sane. This win makes Bliss a Triple Crown winner becoming the second woman to achieve this status after Bayley. This is Nikki Cross’ first title in WWE.
Let’s discuss the Winners and Losers of RAW from this week.
Winner: Natalya
Natalya continues to look strong heading into SummerSlam. She continues with her “I don’t give a crap” attitude where she shuns everyone including her own tag partner. She has been booked as the dominant factor in this feud with Becky Lynch. Of course, Lynch has delivered her fair share of retaliation, but Nattie is fairing better. Regardless of the submission stipulation, these two should put on a decent match on Sunday.
Winners: Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross
Of course, the big winners of the night are the new Women’s Tag Team Champions. Bliss becomes a Triple Crown winner and regardless of what some think of her that will not be taken away. This was the easy way to get her on the SummerSlam card potentially (if it happens), but we all knew that. Nikki Cross wins her first title in WWE as she never was able to win the NXT Women’s Championship during her tenure there. Bliss and Cross work better in the tag division, so this is a nice place for the two to grow as a team.
Loser: Trish Stratus
Trish Stratus being in the match did absolutely nothing for her upcoming bout with Charlotte Flair. She laced up her boots to literally get shoved off the ring apron by Flair and then shoved by Nattie after the match. She actually didn’t even lay a hand on Flair which in WWE’s eyes is probably “building up” the SummerSlam match. If she were to have had some sort of interaction in the match it would have been a win to see her, but alas that is not what occurred.
Losers: The IIconics
Oh, The IIconics. A team that has so much more to show. They finally were allowed to put on some great offense in a match to just be eliminated first. Losing their titles wasn’t necessarily the biggest issue. The fact that they went out first was kind of a slap in the face. Oh well, maybe they will be the first two-time tag champs in the future.
Who were your Winners and Losers of the week? Discuss your thoughts in the comment section!
Check back in with Diva Dirt for this week’s SmackDown Winners & Losers!!
