8 Ups And 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (Nov 12)

Ups...

8. Rousey Motivated

Ronda Rousey
WWE.com

Heading into Sunday’s PPV, the match that fans probably are most interested in would be the women’s champion versus champion bout, pitting Ronda Rousey against Becky Lynch.

Lynch’s self-absorbed, anti-hero persona has rallied fans around her, while Rousey has exceeded expectations during her short time on the roster (while also being very well-protected). With two women who use arm-based submission holds, it could be a really fun match that could elevate both women if given the opportunity.

So when Ronda came out Monday night and told Stephanie McMahon to save her pep talk, that she was amped already to show “The Man” how to rip someone’s arm off, it felt like real anticipation. The fans chanting “Becky!” at her probably helped with that, as Rousey is going to find herself as the villainess simply by not being Lynch. Her promo later seemed to acknowledge that as she again mocked Becky’s previous jobs.

And that could make for a very interesting dynamic on Sunday. Of course, there were some other developments later on that fueled the fire…

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.