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WWE Raw: Ruby Riott Should Be Nia Jax’s Next Challenger

By Kevin Parvizi

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Although the Riott Squad as a whole has been met with mixed reviews, most members of the WWE Universe have quickly grown to appreciate how talented Ruby Riott is. She should be ticketed for a WWE Raw Women’s Championship program with Nia Jax.

At WWE Fastlane 2018, Ruby Riott entered her SmackDown Women’s Championship match against Charlotte Flair in a difficult situation. Not only was all the pressure on her to shine in the ring in her first Pay Per View title match on the main roster, but the build to the feud didn’t flatter her. Riott, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan were given poorly-written promos, convoluted segments, and a whole bunch of losses before Riott received her opportunity at Charlotte.

What ensued was a match that exceeded expectations, even though most clued-in fans understood that Charlotte and Riott would put together a solid match. After the main event, this was the second-best match on the Fastlane card.

Since then, Riott has had a brilliant TV match with Becky Lynch on SmackDown Live and moved to Raw. She, Morgan, and Logan have been busy pestering the frenemy combination of Sasha Banks and Bayley. More importantly, Riott has defeated both superstars in singles matches, asserting herself as a force to be reckoned with.

Of course, the current Raw Women’s Champion, Nia Jax, calls herself a “Force of Greatness”. Although Alexa Bliss cut another scathing, delusional promo on her former best friend, Jax should be done with Bliss by now. She’s already defeated her convincingly on Pay Per View twice, and Bliss has never gotten the upper hand on Jax.

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That should lead to Jax facing a new challenger. Riott’s opportunity at the Woman’s Money in the Bank Briefcase seemingly came and went on the last episode of Raw, because she was defeated by Ember Moon in a Triple Threat match that also featured Banks. Now, Riott could be out of the title picture entirely, she could get a second-chance match to qualify for the ladder match, or she could be Jax’s feud for Money in the Bank.

I could see the WWE lopping off a few title matches at the dual-branded Money in the Bank Pay Per View, but I expect – and hope – for the Raw Women’s Championship to be defended by Nia. After all, she is a bad-ass, fighting champion (everything that Bliss wasn’t).

To me, Ruby Riott has already established herself as the No. 1 contender for the title. Bayley and Banks are both former Raw Women’s Champions (Banks a four-time champ, at that), so defeating them back-to-back is no small feat.

Beyond that, what other heels on the Raw roster can Jax face next? Nobody wants to see another Bliss vs. Jax match. That much is obvious. Mickie James isn’t really a believable opponent either, because she was in tandem with Bliss during the bullying storyline and was consistently ragdolled by Nia. Furthermore, James is in a big-time storyline with Natalya and Ronda Rousey, who is being kept away from the Raw Women’s Championship picture for as long as needed.

Riott is the logical option here, and she is, in kayfabe, the one who has done the most to earn an opportunity at Nia. Plus, the added dimension of Logan and Morgan will make this feud even more interesting for Nia, because she is billed as a dominant beast who can crush opponents. Meanwhile, Riott is the savvy, in-ring technician with the brilliant mind of a formidable villain and two crazed sidekicks who will stop at nothing to help dethrone Jax.

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I could see the WWE moving in other directions with their next Raw Women’s Championship feud for Jax, and I could even see Riott winning the Money in the Bank briefcase this year. But I’d like to see a Riott vs. Jax feud, and Ruby has done so much in the ring to earn another opportunity at a Women’s Championship program.

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