The WWE rumors are swirling with regards to all of the WWE Championship situations as the road to WrestleMania 33 unfolds. Just recently, Bayley captured the Raw Women’s Championship for her first ever reign. However, she also won the title in a match which involved some outside help, leading to speculation this could cost her the title. With that said, there are now rumors starting up that Bayley might be able to accomplish a feat that no other women’s wrestler has been able to do yet at a pay-per-view.
During last Monday’s Raw, Bayley defeated Charlotte Flair to win the women’s championship, giving the “huggable” superstar her first main roster title. The win came with Dana Brooke interfering on behalf of Charlotte and then Sasha Banks rushing to ringside to also intervened. After Banks took care of Brooke on the outside, her handy crutch came into play, allowing Sasha to cause Charlotte to break her submission hold on Bayley. From there, the “Bayley to Belly” suplex helped Bayley capture the pinfall victory.
WWE Raw Sasha Banks and Bayley in ring
Sasha Banks was on hand to assist Bayley in her title match and then celebrated with her friend afterward. [Image by WWE]
A recent Q&A session from 411Mania‘s Wyatt Beougher and Kevin Pantoja debated the merits of giving Bayley the women’s title in the manner WWE did. There’s been some disagreement by WWE fans over the decision to have Bayley win the title on television rather than at a pay-per-view event. Basically, the opinion is that it would have been a bigger win for Bayley if she was the first women’s wrestler to defeat Charlotte at a PPV.
Pantoja indicated that Bayley’s recent win on Raw is just another way to help Charlotte along on that continued undefeated streak at pay-per-view events.
“…knowing the history of Charlotte and the Raw Women’s Title dampened the moment for some. I sent my friend, a big Bayley fan, a text about the result. His first text was happy but he instantly sent another saying ‘She’ll just lose it to Charlotte at the next PPV.’ Everything on Raw feels like a vehicle for Charlotte. That’s how I feel about this. Bayley should have been the one to end Charlotte’s PPV streak and get the title.”
It’s still possible that Pantoja may get his wish, although not at the Fastlane pay-per-view in early March. It’s unknown what sort of match Bayley will compete in at the event, but one would have to imagine that Charlotte could regain the title in the coming weeks. That could set up something interesting for WrestleMania 33. Concepts that have been floating around include a potential Fatal Fourway match for the big event in Orlando, Florida, which would feature Bayley, Sasha, Nia Jax, and the expected champion Charlotte.
As of this report, Paddy Power recently published odds for which of the Raw women’s superstars will be the champion at the conclusion of WrestleMania. Bayley is the early favorite, with odds of 1 to 2, followed by Charlotte at 10 to 11. In third place is a tie between Nia Jax and Sasha Banks. at 7 to 2. Interestingly, Paige, who has been missing from the ring for months, is next on the odds at 10 to 1. Other women’s stars listed include Dana Brooke, Emma, Alicia Fox, and the biggest longshot, Summer Rae.
Charlotte Flair undefeated at WWE PPVs
Charlotte Flair is currently undefeated at WWE pay-per-view events. [Image by WWE]
Charlotte’s undefeated streak at pay-per-views gives her the type of hype and credentials that WWE previously used for one of the all-time legends, The Undertaker. As many fans remember, Taker was undefeated at WrestleMania events heading into WrestleMania 30 and then saw his legendary streak snapped. In the case of Charlotte, her streak has not endured over years, but if continued, it can give her and the women’s division some major drawing power for the future.
That raises the question of how WWE moves from Bayley as champion to Charlotte as champion in the coming weeks. Here at the Inquisitr, one piece of speculation is that Bayley will be stripped of the title on Raw as soon as Monday night due to all of the outside interference. That would mean Charlotte reclaims the title. The other speculation is there will be a rematch at Fastlane, whether Bayley is champion or not, and it could lead to the Fatal Fourway match for the women’s title at WrestleMania.
If WWE ends up making a Fatal Fourway at Mania with Charlotte as champion, then it seems to give Bayley a win to win the title without Charlotte actually being pinned or submitted. The other rumors that continue to circulate are Sasha Banks is going to turn heel soon, which could end up having these friends fighting in a one-on-one match for the title at Mania. Still, one would think WWE wants their top women’s star, Charlotte Flair, holding the belt when the pay-per-view arrives on April 2nd.
WrestleMania moments are created each year, and it wouldn’t be surprising if there is a bit of a build over the coming weeks for Bayley to recapture the Raw women’s title on “the grandest stage of them all.” Whether or not she does it by defeating her best friend Sasha, or snapping Charlotte’s undefeated streak at pay-per-views, is another question, but the latter would certainly have fans talking about the plucky underdog’s historic win.
WWE fans, do you believe that Charlotte will have the Raw Women’s Championship heading into WrestleMania 33? Should the win streak be snapped by Bayley at the big pay-per-view, or should Charlotte hold onto that accomplishment for longer?
