Bayley won the Raw Women’s Championship in mid-February by defeating Charlotte Flair in an excellent match on Raw and subsequently defended the title against the deposed champion at Fastlane. Bayley retained the title in controversial circumstances which lead to a triple threat match between Bayley, Flair and Sasha Banks being booked for WrestleMania 33.
Dana Brooke finally stood up for herself in the face of constant humiliation from Charlotte Flair, and whilst that story could be over and done with next week there is a chance Brooke could find herself in the title match too. All the while Nia Jax has been running roughshod over the women’s division on Raw, and despite her Fastlane loss to Sasha Banks, she would be a strong addition to the match.
For months it was rumoured that the Raw Women’s Championship would be defended at the Ultimate Thrill Ride in a four-way match featuring Bayley, Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks and Nia Jax, but when the match was finally announced Nia was nowhere to be seen. After months of building Jax up, this was somewhat surprising, and it isn’t entirely shocking to hear that WWE officials may not be completely sold on the three-way just yet.
The potential addition of Dana Brooke is more surprising, however, given her non-status on WWE television over the past few months. On the one hand, this could be seen as a great opportunity for Charlotte’s former protege, but equally, it could be interpreted as WWE trying to get as many people on the card by any means necessary.
This situation will surely be cleared up this coming Monday on RAW. The WWE Universe will see where Dana Brooke and Charlotte are headed following their fall-out last week, and Nia’s status will hopefully become clear too. With just 16 days to go until WrestleMania 33, it is unlikely that WWE will leave it to the last minute to set up the show, and WWE fans can be forgiven for assuming Dana and Nia will know their roles sooner rather than later.
The story should have been so easy to tell. Bayley defeating Charlotte Flair for the RAW Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 33 and ending Flair’s pay-per-view undefeated streak in the process was the lowest-hanging fruit and a moment that everyone knows should have happened. Instead, we are getting a messy multi-person match that feels like a non-event as opposed to the next step in a true revolution.
