13 Ups And 16 Downs From WWE Royal Rumble 2019

5. Banks, Rousey Deliver Aggressive Title Bout

During the past year, most of the accolades foisted up Ronda Rousey’s matches have been about how she’s exceeded expectations and improved steadily from match to match.

But Sunday’s Raw Women’s Championship match against Sasha Banks was notable for another factor: Banks being super-aggressive in attacking the UFC Hall-of-Famer. Sasha didn’t back down and instead went right at Rousey, keeping her off-balance with a flurry of knees and submission moves.

At one point, Banks wrapped Rousey up with a submission hold, yanking her injured right arm back while bending the fingers at the same time, something you’d see Pete Dunne do on NXT UK. You could make the argument that Sasha took Ronda further than she has been at any point during her brief in-ring career.

Rousey would manage to pull off a gutwrench powerbomb and Piper’s Pit for the pinfall victory – which might be her first such win. But the match also reminded fans that Banks – after months of mostly teaming with Bayley – is capable of delivering the goods in singles action.