Raw this week saw Sasha Banks defeat Nia Jax to earn a Raw Women’s Championship Match against Ronda Rousey at the Royal Rumble on January 27. Banks was not the original choice for the spot, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.
The original plan, according to Meltzer, was a rematch from Survivor Series pitting Rousey against Charlotte Flair.
It was reported over the holidays by Meltzer that WWE planned on having Rousey face Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 35. WWE nows plans on adding Flair to the bout to make it a Triple Threat Match.
“The three-way women’s match, if it’s gonna be the main event, is solid but it’s not a done deal but it is the working idea,” Meltzer said Wednesday night on Wrestling Observer Radio.
“That is why the Royal Rumble match was changed. That is why Sasha Banks is getting the title shot completely out of nowhere. Originally it was going to be Charlotte and Ronda Rousey at the Rumble and Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch at WrestleMania.”
“Now, Vince can change his mind and it’s not etched in stone. I was told specifically that if you talk too much about it, it may jinx it but that’s the working idea right now is that match.”
Banks appears, at least on the surface, to be little more than a placeholder opponent for Rousey. Once the face of WWE’s Women’s Revolution, “The Boss” has taken a back seat over the last year or so, descending into mid-card mediocrity, left behind with the emergence of Alexa Bliss, the signing of Rousey, the continued success of Charlotte, and the explosion in popularity for Lynch.
