Following up last year’s showcase between Smackdown‘s Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair and RAW‘s Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss, WWE is going back to that formula for 2018’s Survivor Series. Announced on this week’s RAW, it will be Becky Lynch taking on Ronda Rousey in another champion vs champion clash. And while this is the first match announced for the card, it also might be the most intriguing.
Given the amount of shows WWE has booked over the last two months, its hard to believe that we are just under three weeks away from another one, Survivor Series. One of the big four PPVs, Survivor Series has become the card of brand bragging rights and this year looks to be no different. Despite the fact that all PPVs are co-branded now, Survivor Series is still billed as the one night where superstars from the two brands face off against each other.
And while there is talk that there won’t be the Team Smackdown vs Team Raw matches from the prior years, the theme of the card is still meant to pit the two brands against each other in certain matches. That likely means there will be more champion vs champion showdowns announced, including a potential dream match of Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins taking on United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura.
So far however, the only announced match is another dream match as The LassKicker faces off against the Baddest Woman on the Planet. And it should be a good one as this will be the first time ever these two armbar specialists have shared a ring period. That includes dark matches, house shows, etc. With Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey being on different brands for their entire careers thus far, this is the first and perhaps only chance for a while, fans will have to see the two top females in the company lock up.
Following her victory at Evolution, Rousey was approached by Lynch, champion to champion, in a backstage segment. The two kept calling each other champ before Lynch stepped up to Rousey and said she’d be seeing her real soon. Sometime after this segment was recorded, Rousey began following Lynch on Twitter to which Becky had an excellent troll reply.
https://twitter.com/BeckyLynchWWE/status/1056890653374853120
Perhaps WWE’s best Twitter follow these days, Lynch’s response was brilliant. At Evolution, Ronda Rousey vs Nikki Bella main evented the show whereas the second to last match of the night went to the Last Man Standing match between Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. Smackdown’s title match received critical acclaim and high praise and while Rousey vs Bella was better than most expected, it didn’t hold a candle to the match of the year candidate that preceded it. Hence Lynch’s astute tweet that Rousey “tried” to follow her, albeit unsuccessfully.
Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey have the opportunity to build to something really special, even if they are on separate brands. Rousey has started to find her way in promos and Lynch is, pun-intended, “straight fire” on the mic. With three weeks to go, these two could really go in on each other without having to even come face-to-face once. Though, that being said, a final Raw or Smackdown contract signing for the two would be an epic confrontation.
GET. READY. FOR. THIS.#RAW #WomensChampion @RondaRousey squares off against #SDLive #WomensChampion @BeckyLynchWWE at #SurvivorSeries! pic.twitter.com/ICHLsATWj8
— WWE (@WWE) October 30, 2018
The two champions have proven themselves to be drawing points for their respective brands. Lynch’s program with Flair was the best thing on Smackdown for months and Rousey’s run as Raw Women’s Champion has certainly not disappointed. Evolution may be in the rearview mirror, but its effects are lasting.
That being said, don’t be surprised if the first match announced ends up being the last match to go on. All the talk has been on a Rousey/Flair program main eventing this upcoming WrestleMania but WWE could pull the trigger on women main eventing a big four PPV before that. Of course, the women first made that history when the women’s Royal Rumble from last year went on last, but if Lynch and Rousey do main event Survivor Series it would be the first time a women’s singles match main evented a big four PPV.
And if that does happen, it will be every bit because of the two women in the ring, who deserve and have earned the right to that stage.
