7 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE Raw (3 Mar - Results & Review)
1. A No-Win Scenario
A couple of months ago, if you were looking at the Raw roster and trying to pick the best match for the Women’s World Championship, many fans would have zeroed in on Rhea Ripley vs. Iyo Sky. If you asked for an outside contender to take Iyo’s place, Bianca Belair would have been a popular choice to check the box of a WrestleMania dream match.
Then the booking started falling into place, and everything landed on Monday with Rhea and Iyo squaring off for the title, with the winner facing Belair at 'Mania. While a singles match for the women’s world title would be more ideal, it was very easy to see a scenario where the match ends without a conclusive winner, necessitating a triple threat between three excellent wrestlers.
But the match played out in a very weird way, with Bianca ringside clapping for both women and cheering on the competition of it all. However, Ripley inexplicably took it as Belair rooting for Iyo and went out to confront the EST in the middle of the match. This is some Vince McMahon-brained booking here. The two got into a shoving match – and the referee amazingly (but correctly) didn’t call for a disqualification – before Rhea went back in to finish off Sky.
Iyo reversed an avalanche Riptide into a hurricanrana and put Rhea away with a moonsault to win the title. Now we have a clear champion and a clear contender, but there’s also the specter of what WWE is going to do with Ripley.
Had she lost via shenanigans (Judgment Day run interference, referee missed a foot on the ropes, etc.), then there might be something there. Instead, you get the feeling WWE is going to shoehorn Rhea into the match under the flimsiest of pretenses rather than making the controversy more understandable.
This could test the limits of Ripley’s popularity with fans – getting preferential treatment and being inserted into the match might go over fine because Rhea is so popular, but it could strain that relationship.
All of it feels like the next steps are going to be very forced and labored. WWE has earned a good measure of trust, but this one deserves a wary eye.