The WWE Monday Night Raw Women’s Championship match at Roadblock was one of the best matches of the night. Charlotte challenged Sasha Banks for the women’s title in a 30-minute Iron Man match. However, the end really spoiled the match as Sasha Banks was up on Charlotte and tapped out, despite watching the clock tick down to only two seconds left.
Charlotte then beat Sasha Banks in sudden death overtime. By that time, the fans really stopped cheering and caring about the entire decision, which had to affect the overall feeling of the match itself. According to Wrestling Observer Radio , the entire idea for this finish came from Vince McMahon.
The sources indicate that Vince McMahon felt the fans would completely buy into the finish. He believed that the fans would count down the final seconds and then Sasha Banks would have to tap out from the pain. McMahon reportedly believed this would be a huge moment to put the fans behind Sasha Banks winning the match in overtime.
The same segment pointed out that Vince McMahon was ready to move on from Sasha Banks. According to the hosts, McMahon sees Bayley as the biggest face in the women’s division on Monday Night Raw and wanted to move on to her so that Bayley and Charlotte could fight for the title. Word is that McMahon wants Bayley to lead the division after WrestleMania .
Sadly, this puts Sasha Banks in a tough position. While Vince McMahon apparently believes that Bayley is a better face than Sasha Banks, the tapping out made Sasha Banks look weak, especially as a face. The worst part was the fact that Sasha Banks was looking at the clock and still gave up instead of holding on for the final two seconds.
The fans at the arena clearly felt the same as they did after that tap out and never got back into the match in overtime. Jim Ross took to his blog this week and talked about how the fan reaction really hurt the match in the end.
“I enjoyed the match but how the finish was executed was perplexing to me unless it is going to lead to a persona change for either women. The live audience, arguably, harmed this match more than any on the card considering the stipulation and positioning on the card.”
Jim Ross also said that it was probably for the best that this match was not the main event of the show. With Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins ending the show by putting Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens through tables, the fans left happy.
Fans were not happy after the Hell in a Cell match and the Iron Man loss for Sasha Banks did not leave them happy either. It will also be hard for Sasha Banks to recapture her heat after this match.
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The WWE took a smart step on Monday Night Raw when they had Sasha Banks come out with her leg taped up and on crutches. It was clear that the WWE wanted to show how injured she was as an explanation for her giving up her title.
It also helps that they are putting Sasha Banks in a feud with Nia Jax. If the WWE really wants to keep Sasha Banks as a face, having her face a monster like Nia Jax will help to put her back on top. The injury angle and Nia Jax trying to take advantage of it is a great storyline but Sasha Banks has a long way to go in order to reclaim her standing in the WWE.
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