6 Ups And 6 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (March 11)
1. And Another Thing…
Just to add on to the venting about the Raw Women’s Championship storyline…
Why did WWE feel it was necessary to over-complicate and muddle the build to WrestleMania for this triple threat? This was a very simple, easy angle, with fans chanting repeatedly for Becky Lynch, hating Charlotte Flair, and turning on Ronda Rousey.
Rather than build naturally, we had: Becky battle a knee injury for the past six weeks; Deus Ex McMahonchina insert Charlotte into the match in Lynch’s place; Rousey turn heel by basically calling wrestling fake; and Becky “winning” her spot back because Ronda attacked her during a match rather than earning it herself.
Let that all sink in. One or two of these elements on their own worked fine. Becky’s injury and suspension wasn’t bad, but everything that has followed since her reinstatement has been Overbooking 101.
Worst of all, Ronda’s method of getting heel heat – threatening to expose WWE as a carny sideshow – is just insulting. It doesn’t make us want to see the triple threat more, it just makes us feel like chumps for watching the product and being directly insulted – and again, not in a way that makes us boo the character as part of the show.
The thing is, this match will probably be somewhere between really good and outstanding, and that’s all anyone will talk about after WrestleMania. The tanked buildup and stupid writing of the past month will be forgotten. So we’ll memorialize it here.