Kickoff Match
Alicia Fox vs. Sasha Banks
So, here’s a match... but it is an unprecedented THIRD women’s match on Raw’s latest pay-per-view (PPV) card... kind of, considering it’s on the pre-show... but still!
The Road to TLC
It’s a short one.
While this iteration of their rivalry really just started this past Monday when The Boss tapped Foxy with a Bank Statement and Alicia flipped out and assaulted both Sasha and an official backstage, it’s not the first time around for these two.
They’ve actually been set opposite one another frequently since Fox was on Team Bella and Banks was leading Team B.A.D. during the faction era of the then-Divas Revolution. Their rivalry was revisted when Sasha allied herself with Rich Swann while Alicia was serving as Noam Dar’s girlfriend/manager in an early attempt to infuse 205 Live with some Raw stars.
This current version heated up when Nia Jax didn’t show up for work one Monday. Okay, that’s just a rumored reason why Alicia is in this spot instead of Jax. And Fox was paired with Emma for a tag match against The Boss and Hug Connection on Oct. 2, a week before Nia missed her first Raw.
The next week, Fox was in the Fatal 5Way which General Manager Kurt Angle booked to determine Asuka’s opponent at TLC. She was eliminated by Sasha, which may have fueled this past Monday’s meltdown...
Voila! Kickoff match.
What’s at stake?
It may be that both women have won by virtue of being around to do whatever Vince McMahon’s script calls for. The Chairman is a notorious workaholic who doesn’t mind being questioned as long as his employees do the job for which they’re paid. If they were behind Nia, or jockeying for position with her, they may be better off than they were a couple weeks ago.
Whether there’s anything to that or not, Banks and Fox will probably leave here roughly where they came in. Sasha will turn heel someday. Alicia will probably be fed to Asuka soon, disappear for a while and return when they need someone to act crazy.
At least she has a shirt.
Find out if this match, or anything in the Raw Women’s division, matters on Sunday night, and right here at Cageside Seats!