This past year at the Royal Rumble, former WWE Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey made her shocking return to the company after a nearly two-year absence. The last time she was on WWE television, Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch became the first set of women to main event a WrestleMania pay-per-view. The match ended in a controversial fashion that saw Lynch beat Rousey to win both the WWE Smackdown and Raw Women’s title, though it was pointed out Rousey’s shoulders were not down on the mat for the full three count. Still, Becky Lynch became the first woman to ever pin Ronda Rousey in WWE.
WWE sort of addressed a Rousey/Lynch match by the 2022 Royal Rumble winner burying Becky’s big win. Granted, the ending to the WrestleMania 35 is questionable, but Rousey never even brought up the notion that her shoulders weren’t on the mat for a full three count. She dismissed Becky’s win and then proceeded to treat the current Raw Women’s Champion as she wasn’t a threat by taking her down with ease. Here’s the thing, the money match is Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey. In some ways, I admire WWE’s attempt at long-term storytelling as Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair is also the right call. The latter gets to avenge her embarrassing loss at Summerslam and confirm her status as the main event star in the women’s division. However, the problem with that match-up is the company mistakenly ran their feud into the ground by consistently having these two pitted against one another. Still, the idea of Becky Lynch putting over Biana Belair is great. However, the company still should’ve chosen Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey.
Who could forget the invasion where Lynch stormed Raw and took out Ronda Rousey with her group of Smackdown stars? From there, the chemistry between Rousey and Lynch was off the charts good, until WWE decided to add Charlotte Flair for no good reason. It was understandable why Charlotte fought Ronda at Survivor Series, but Flair always felt like the third wheel when it comes to this rivalry. Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey just doesn’t have much juice. The crazy thing is that there’s a layered backstory that the company could really tap into. It’s the fact that Charlotte randomly turned heel in their Survivor Series match by violently attacking Rousey. If Ronda chose Flair for personal reasons to get revenge, then that would’ve been a great motivation for her pick. But it wasn’t. That’s the main reason that Flair/Rousey isn’t clicking because the company is really playing off their history.
Even then, Rousey should want to avenge her first loss against Becky Lynch. That’s a bigger fish to fry, especially since it was under shady circumstances. However, it isn’t just the fact that Lynch is a better opponent for Rousey, it’s also because Lynch is the stronger promo. Rousey and Flair’s promos have been lifeless for the most part because the chemistry just isn’t all there. Plus, neither of them are particularly great at promos. Lynch is actually a master in this area. She’s able to get the crowd invested into her words and rivalries. Lynch could’ve brought the best out of the former Raw Women’s Champion on the mic that would’ve kept the heat for these two going strong. Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey was a good match and it’ll surely be up to par quality wise, but all the excitement for it just isn’t there. It’s bad enough that Flair’s character is a mess. Ronda’s isn’t any better, though thankfully, she’s no longer dancing between babyface and heel. However, Rousey feels more natural as a heel. When the company opted to turn her during the WrestleMania 35 build, she felt more confident in her role and her persona fit better. Rousey just feels out of place as a babyface and the company is making the same mistake by going with her as an unstoppable babyface once again. That huge push in the first place is why fans grew bored and started resenting Rousey. Flair/Rousey II had to happen at some point, but it didn’t need to happen at WrestleMania.
It could’ve taken place at Summerslam or even Survivor Series. This is a not shot at both women because they’re trying their best to work with the material they have, but it’s actually bringing the stock of the former Raw Women’s Champion down. WWE made a mistake by choosing Flair/Rousey first, and it may could back to haunt them later.
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