WWE Women’s Wrestling Weekly: Superstars Reap New Era Benefits
By JB Alexander
Credit: WWE.com
TLC was just as big of a night for the women of WWE as we all knew it would be. Three marquee matches saw to it that the women’s division was properly represented and these ladies continued to prove that they’re the biggest thing going for WWE these days, but their exceptional performances might have been overshadowed by the much-hyped appearance by Vince McMahon the following night on Raw.
In many ways we’re looking at a brand new era in WWE. Thankfully, this seems to already be spicing up the recently ultra-dull Monday Night Raw brand, but the ripple effect is going to be felt down to the very foundation of the company. On Monday the McMahon family promised us new faces and new match-ups, which essentially means every single roster – including NXT and NXT UK – will be experiencing some changes.
This will perhaps be felt most strongly by the female WWE Superstars of each brand, considering the rapid growth the women’s divisions are experiencing. It was a hugely eventful week for women’s wrestling, so bear with me as I try to make sense of it all.
Credit: WWE.com
Women Predictably Dominated TLC
As expected, the women of WWE absolutely ran the show at the 2018 TLC. It might be the first time in WWE that we actually knew ahead of time that the women would be the biggest story of the night (except for Evolution, of course) thanks to WWE openly presenting them as the main story heading into the show.
Natalya and Ruby Riott had an emotionally charged feud going into TLC and perhaps the most solid storyline of any match on the show. It was an exciting tables match where it was impossible not to root for Natalya as the sentimental favorite after weeks of Ruby Riott torturing her with taunts about Natalya’s late father Jim Neidhart. Natalya got the ultimate revenge when she launched Ruby Riott through a table from the second rope while wearing her father’s famous leather jacket.
Ronda Rousey successfully defended the Raw Women’s Title against Nia Jax in a match that was better than I thought it would be, to be perfectly honest. The hype leading up to this match was outright terrible with far too much energy spent on over-managing the heat Nia Jax recently got from injuring Becky Lynch. As a standalone moment, though, Ronda and Nia had a really fun match that ended with Ronda kissing Nia’s famous “face breaker” fist before locking in the armbar and making the Irresistible Force tap out.
Credit: WWE.com
Finally, the triple threat match for the SmackDown Women’s Title took the main event spot at TLC, as we all knew it should. Despite the storied history of women at TLC, this was the first time women have ever been able to compete in an actual TLC match of their own. They didn’t disappoint; Charlotte Flair and Asuka challenged incumbent champion Becky Lynch in a match that was all about proving women can throw down just as well as men in one of the most chaotic matches in WWE.
The true story coming out of TLC, though, was Ronda Rousey coming down to the ring to push Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch off a ladder, costing them their chance at the SmackDown Women’s Championship and practically handing the title to Asuka.