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What happens in Vegas... gets broadcast out to more than three million people on USA Network and other international television partners!
The Headliner
Been a couple months since the ladies were the first thing WWE.com’s preview touted about a show, and the fact the Women’s title match between Charlotte Flair and Bayley isn’t being presented as capital-H historic is probably the best sign of progress we’ve had in a while.
Maybe it’s because this isn’t the Queen and the Hugster’s first tangle for the title. Charlotte proved to to be the better woman in their Royal Rumble match, but that Bayley has continued to be able to pin her in non-title and multi-person matches really seems to bug the champ.
It was a pin after a Bayley-to-Belly in a six-person mixed tag match on the Rumble fallout show which prompted General Manager Mick Foley to book this rematch, and inspired Flair to resume mocking her challenger as “just Bayley” - a fangirl who doesn’t deserve to share a ring with wrestling royalty such as herself.
It’s been a good build, but the real question on a lot of fans minds is... how is this setting up WrestleMania? No one expects Charlotte’s remarkable pay-per-view (PPV) win streak to end until the Showcase of the Immortals (if there, even), and whoever Raw sends to the ring in Orlando has the task of following what Flair, Sasha Banks & Becky Lynch accomplished in Texas last Spring.
Will we get a third helping of Bayley vs. Charlotte? A Triple Threat? Fatal 4Way?
And while we’re all looking forward to Mar. 5’s Fastlane and beyond, there’s tonight. WWE wouldn’t return to the pattern they employed for Flair/Banks and have the Huggable One win on Raw and lose on PPV in a few weeks... would they?
The title scene
Sure, they’re still holding the Universal and United States championships. But who cares when Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho are about to give us the first ever Festival of Friendship! Even with title defenses coming up against Goldberg (for Owens, confirmed) and Sami Zayn (for Jericho, kind of confirmed), this celebration has to mean there’s no way the Best Friends will ever split up! Right?
It looks like we have some new faces in what’s been a three-team scene. Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows kept the tag titles last Monday when they triggered a disqualification during Sheamus & Cesaro’s rematch by mixing it up with Enzo Amore & Big Cass at ringside. With the Certified Gs moving in, will the Celtic Warrior & Swiss Superman follow New Day and move out of the championship picture?
With Rich Swann nursing an ankle injury, it looked like Neville could enjoy being cruiserweight champ in peace for a while. But thanks to a victory in 205 Live’s #1 contender scramble, he now has fellow Brit - and Extraordinary Gentleman - Jack Gallagher to worry about.
Other stuff to keep an eye on:
- Raw’s newest signee, and Triple H’s Destroyer, Samoa Joe picked up a huge pinfall victory over Roman Reigns in last week’s main event. But it was the involvement of Braun Strowman that layed a key role, and builds to the Big Dog’s next PPV challenge. So what’s next for Joe?
- WWE is still playing it coy, but word is Seth Rollins will be back (from the knee injury he suffered working with Joe two weeks ago) in time for Mania. That likely means his showdown with Trips is still a go, but doesn’t provide any answers regarding The Game’s hitman.
- With an assist to Charlotte’s mind games, Nia Jax picked up a win over Bayley on Feb. 6. The Queen’s psychological warfare might cost the Hugster more than a loss when it comes to Sasha Banks, however, as Raw continues depicting the breaking of The Boss.
Three weeks until Fastlane!
What will you be looking for on Raw tonight?