10 New Directions For WWE After Royal Rumble 2017
8. A Women's Reshuffle On Raw
The Rumble’s third Kickoff match saw Nia Jax brutally destroy former title contender Sasha Banks in little over five minutes. Most fans expected The Boss to lose beforehand, but few predicted it’d come in such shockingly one-sided fashion. Three months removed from her groundbreaking PPV main event with Charlotte, Banks has slid all the way to the bottom of the pile.
Charlotte vs. Bayley opened the main card, and it was a typically strong performance from two of the brand’s better wrestlers. In the end, Charlotte scored the victory with a Natural Selection on the edge of the ring, and these outcomes should have big implications on the road to WrestleMania.
It’s widely assumed that Charlotte, Bayley, Banks, and Jax will face-off in a four-way in Orlando. If that’s the path WWE are taking, then they have laid the perfect foundations. Bayley’s character always works best when fighting adversity and bouncing back from defeat, and Jax needed a signature win to put her monster character over the top. Charlotte’s PPV streak, meanwhile, still needs some extra padding before somebody eventually snaps it, and she looked stronger than ever last night.
These stories will likely intertwine and come together over the next few weeks, building towards the eventual title match. Banks and Bayley might be rock bottom at the moment, but they have plenty time to catch-up with the heels ahead of April 2nd.