Why THIS WWE Raw Match Was Restarted Last Night

Messy scenes played out on last night's episode of WWE Raw, as Adam Pearce was made to restart a six-woman tag pitting Charlotte Flair, Mandy Rose, and Dana Brooke against Shayna Baszler, Lacey Evans, and Nia Jax.

The bout ended awkwardly when Baszler was counted out after failing to answer a 10-count while fighting with Charlotte Flair outside the ring. Unfortunately, the performers looked as confused as anyone else as the referee made his call, though it was essentially correct: Baszler did miss the count.

Adam Pearce then emerged during the commercial break, gathering with Baszler, Jax, and Evans on the ramp to order the match be restarted. The heels then ended up winning when Jax pinned Brooke.

PWInsider's Mike Johnson reports that Pearce's intervention was improvised. The referee had called the match like a shoot, as WWE officials are instructed to do, leading to Baszler's unintentional countout.

Not counting 'The Queen of Spades' out would have gone against WWE's edict, so the match had to be restarted in order to reach the originally intended finish: the heels going over.

Baszler and Jax now advance to Royal Rumble 2021, where they'll challenge for Flair and Asuka's Women's Tag Team Titles.