ALL WOMEN IN THE RING
Let's start with the first match in the Kickoff: 6-Women Tag Team match.
It's nice to see returning Mickie James in action, even at Royal Rumble Pre-Show. Even as supporting character for Alexa Bliss and Natalya, until her re-establishment as WWE Superstar and her rivalry with Becky Lynch get more and more heated and reach the point where James will face the Irish Lass Kicker in a One-on-One competition.
It was nice to see Naomi getting the well needed victory/push at the Kickoff! All of us felt the Glow... Alexa Bliss felt it to the level of causing her pain in the ribs, after that stunning Split-legged moonsault, at the end. We have a full landscape changing in the Blue brand, women's division!
It was nice to see all of the SmackDown Live active women's division on display!
The match was good.
HIT BY A RUNNING BRICK WALL
Don't tell me that we didn't warn you! No, we were concerned when we made our pre-Rumble article. We wanted the Boss to win... but we told you that this match is about Nia Jax's establishment as RAW's dominant force.
I don't have a lot to say about this battle. Actually, the moment I have learned that Jax won, I lose interest to watch it closely. Yeah, Sasha put a good fight, but at the end Nia just squashed her and this was a good win for her.
Nia needed this victory. Since the Draft, many people - fans and analysts of women's wrestling, have a doubts about Jax's draft to the main roster. I personally, was happy and worried for her, at the same time. Nia is powrhouse, she is pretty and sort of charismatic, and someone, really different for the WWE typical ideal picture of female wrestler, from the last 5-10 years. Her character must be managed carefully, that's why they continued to feed it with infamous jobbers. The battle with Sasha, the rivalry between them at all, is a great way to push Jax and Banks, to their limits.
Sasha's role was to help Nia, by losing to her. This is what many well established wrestler did when they were threatened to fall in the black hole of lack of ideas. The Boss had a long and exhausting, title exchanging rivalry with Charlotte, which finally ended. It was too early to let her repeat her rivalry with Bayley, because the memroies of WWE Universe about their rivalry in NXT were still alive and it would be more interesting if Bayley got the title, so she can put it on the line in this eventually re-new rivalry between them. So, Sasha was sent to lose to Nia Jax and helping the 'newbie' to get some heat on her character.
A BLOODSTAINED VICTORY
Like it or not, Charlotte's Natural Selection, brings her another victory (16th on PPV). Her record continues...
I wish to think that Bayley and WWE creatives, somehow heard our plea. Bayley showed some new moves at the beginning and in the middle of the match. That Hurricanrana executed while she was between the bottom and middle rope, this interesting Face plant in the middle, they were something new and fresh. Even her reversal of Charlotte's Figure Eight, was interesting.
Some critics didn't like the match. They compare it with their Monday Night RAW's battles. But at the end when Charlotte stood with a blooded mouth, holding the belt, many of us felt that it somehow was a little bit more special that their usual fights. Both women worked hard for this title match, and kayfabe or not it had its bloodstained end.
We hope to see Bayley as RAW Women's Champion, because it will be a more competitive reign, because the other women's characters had seen Bayley's character as 'someone who had luck' but when the luck is over, they could defeat for the gold, which is not a true.
Overall RAW women's division is consisted of four interesting characters who fight each others at this point - Bayley, Nia Jax, Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair. Dana Brooke and Alicia Fox are trying to do something at Main Event, but everything in RAW is concentrated over Charlotte's title reign, most of the time. Since Emmalina's debut looks like to happen in 2018-19 (this is sarcasm) and Tamina's, Paige's and Summer Rae's returns are delayed for unconfirmed and unknown period of time in the future, we are hostages of the usual storylines between Charlotte and Bayley or Charlotte and Sasha Banks.
