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At Elimination Chamber, Ruby Riott will challenge Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women’s Championship.
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The match seems like a bit of a non-sequitur given that Rousey’s attention is mostly focused on Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair.
Besides that, while Riott is, in reality, a very skilled professional wrestler, her character has hardly been set up as a believable threat to the Baddest Woman on the Planet.
The general sense is that WWE booked this match just to fill time, and to get Rousey on the card so fans she drew to WWE have a reason to watch. But what if there’s more at stake?
What if Riott actually wins?
It’s a longshot, but there are ways for WWE to reach this shocking conclusion. This article takes a look at how WWE might get there, why, and what it might mean for WWE women’s wrestling and the women’s roster moving forward.
#4 The Riott Squad wins all the gold
The Riott Squad has largely been an afterthought in the women’s division since their debut—cast in filler roles to round out battle royal rosters and play the default heels to better-featured faces.
If WWE wanted to lend them a huge dose of credibility, though, what better way than to have them walk out of Elimination Chamber with all the championship gold available to them?
That would mean Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan walking out the first Women’s Tag Team Champions, and the even bigger upset of Ruby Riott beating Rousey for the Raw Women’s Championship.
Riott has the chops to work this featured role, too.
Anyone who followed her work for smaller promotions pre-WWE as Heidi Lovelace, or even her face tenure in NXT is well aware that she can go in the ring and work the mic better than she’s had the opportunity to do much of on Raw or SmackDown.
Heading up a triumphant trio would be a fitting reward after her lackluster first year on the main roster.
#3 Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair are involved
There’s little question that Ronda Rousey is on the road a WrestleMania collision with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, regardless of what storyline machinations may sidetrack them and fill TV time for the nearly two months between now and then.
If Rousey were to suffer this huge upset loss at Elimination Chamber, we can rest assured that it doesn’t so much represent a demotion for Rousey as another wrinkle in this ongoing storyline.
Maybe Lynch’s interference adds heat to her issue with Rousey and compels the Baddest Woman on the Planet to champion The Man getting reinserted into her ‘Mania match.
Or maybe this Flair’s way of trying to get Rousey out of the title picture so she can challenge the easier prey of Ruby Riott at WrestleMania.
Regardless of the logic behind the choice and what may follow, we have to assume Lynch, Flair, or both stars would be involved if Rousey were to lose.
#2 Echoes of Holly Holm
One aspect of Ronda Rousey’s journey that WWE hasn’t yet incorporated into her wrestling career is that of a woman who lost fights and, in so doing, lost her confidence. Understandably, WWE has focused on her MMA dominance to sell her as the real deal and further her credibility as a wrestler.
However, there may be an even richer, and more relatable story to be told if WWE looks back to when Rousey, out of nowhere, suffered a crippling loss to Holly Holm. (That’s not to mention her subsequent defeat at the hands of Amanda Nunes that effectively ended Rousey’s UFC career.)
Riott beating Rousey—perhaps complete with a Riott kick doing her in, not unlike Holm’s iconic kick to Rousey’s head—could allow WWE to tell a truncated version of Rousey’s comeback story, with a happier ending.
More importantly, it could add a new wrinkle to Rousey’s character in WWE after having her confidence shaken by a surprising loss.
#1 Riott drops the title back at Fastlane
It’s admittedly quite unlikely that Ruby Riott actually defeats Ronda Rousey and takes the Raw Women’s Championship at Elimination Chamber.
Rousey has been booked as a dominant force, and Riott hardly comes across as a kayfabe credible challenger.
That’s not to mention that Rousey is set for probably the biggest match of her career at WrestleMania, likely as not in the main event position, meaning it would be very odd for WWE to book her first loss less than two months earlier.
Even in a world where Riott does pull off that historic upset, though, it’s difficult to imagine her actually carrying the Raw Women’s Championship into WrestleMania.
Particularly with Rousey, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch in the mix, Riott simply doesn’t fit in a title holder.
If WWE were to go the unconventional route of giving Riott this win, we have to assume it would only be to set up Rousey taking the title back off of her at Fastlane or a featured match on Raw.
Conceivably, Flair or Lynch could beat Riott instead, though that feels like an even more unnecessarily convoluted road to WrestleMania.
