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After months and months of convoluted storytelling filled with twists and turns, the triple threat bout between 'The Man' Becky Lynch, 'The Queen' Charlotte Flair and 'Rowdy' Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women's Championship has finally been made official for Wrestlemania 35.
Judging by the importance given by the WWE creative in the narratives of their weekly episodic shows, it is more than likely to be the final match of the marquee event. If this happens, it would undoubtedly be a huge step forward for the 'Women's Revolution'.
However, the involvement of the Raw Women's Championship has invariably led to certain collateral damage for the women's division in the WWE. Let us look at the easons why this is so.
#1. Smackdown Women's Championship has been completely ignored and undermined
The biggest downside of the triple threat match being for the Raw's Women Championship is that it has severely affected the credibility of the Smackdown Women's Championship. It must be remembered that this championship has been the epicenter of the Women's division in the past 12 months. The journey of the Irish Lasskicker becoming The Man was told all under the umbrella of this championship. At the same time, it did not undermine the relevance of the Raw Women's Championship.
However, when we look at the possible main event of Wrestlemania 35 for the Raw Women's Championship, it involves two of the biggest superstars from Smackdown Live. On the other hand, WWE Universe seems to have forgotten the Smackdown Women's Champion, Asuka. Notably, it was against Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch at TLC 2018 pay per view that Asuka went on to become the Smackdown Women's Champion.
Therefore, whilst the story for the Raw Women's Championship has been grabbing all the attention and spotlight, the Smackdown Women's Championship and its holder have been unfairly ignored and sidelined.
#2. The rivalry has never been about the championship
When the foundations of this triple threat rivalry were set during Survivor Series 2018, the primary motivating factor for all the three individuals involved was this: Who is the best of the three?
First, it was the overwhelming build up for the announced match between the then Smackdown Women's Champion, Becky Lynch and the Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey, which could not happen due to Becky's unfortunate injury.
Then it was the eventual beating which Becky's replacement, Charlotte Flair gave to Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series 2018.
The entire narrative had been about a championship title. It had always been about Becky Lynch's desire to eventually get her match with Ronda Rousey, which she couldn't. It also had Charlotte Flair's desire to stay the Queen of WWE and Ronda Rousey's desire to prove that whether it is MMA or Professional Wrestling, she is the best in the planet. The championship is just a secondary and it rather undervalues the credibility of the Raw Women's Championship as well.
#3. Opportunity missed for building new female main-event stars
The main event spot for the triple threat match is immensely remarkable. However, it cannot be ignored that the Women's division in the WWE is heavily concentrated on a few individuals, with the rest of the roster not finding any support from the WWE Universe.
If WWE wishes to build up a Women's division on an equal footing with the Men's division, it needs to build stars who could pique the interest of the fans around the globe.
If the triple threat match had been a non-title match, it would not have reduced the relevance or importance of the match. Therefore, it could have been used as an opportunity to give other superstars in the roster to fight it out for the Raw Women's Championship and the Smackdown Women's Championship at Wrestlemania 35, whilst the three biggest superstars of the Women's roster could still have gotten the main event spot for a grudge match to determine the best wrestler amongst the three.
