Opinion
Ronda Rousey, Nikki Bella & The Pressure To Make WWE Evolution A Success
Ronda Rousey and Nikki Bella will square off for the Raw Women’s Championship at Evolution on Sunday, October 28. WWE fans know this. But what they don’t know is how good this match will be, or should be. The fact is that Rousey, for all she’s accomplished, still has a lot to prove.
This match needs to be top notch and it needs to be memorable. WWE cannot simply throw the champ in the ring with the star of Total Bellas and expect that magic will happen. It’s up to both Ronda and Nikki to stand up and deliver.
This is what a high pressure situation feels like and both of these Superstars are surely aware of it. Evolution has caught so much heat from fans, mostly because of WWE’s failure to promote the event. Indeed, it’s as if the company has focused solely on Crown Jewel and nothing else.
But Evolution was supposed to be different. This was not a run of the mill pay-per-view, quickly forgotten the day after it happens. This was the first ever all-women’s pay-per-view, which meant it deserved every ounce of attention that WWE could give.
It also deserved a much better card, which has been another point of contention among the WWE faithful. Yes, all of the big names are booked. But none of the matches truly have a “big fight feel.” The only exception is Becky Lynch versus Charlotte Flair and that bout may very well steal the show.
It’s a Last Woman Standing Match, which means Lynch and Flair should hopefully have enough time to work in order to tell the story. The SmackDown Women’s Championship is on the line, which means the importance of the match is definitely high. Flair and Lynch have great chemistry and there’s every reason to believe that this match will be an instant classic.
But despite how great that match will be, it’s Rousey versus Bella that must make a lasting impression. This is especially true for Ronda, who has become the face of the Raw women’s division. She’s also become the face of WWE women’s wrestling, at least to the outside world. She is the former UFC champion that made the transition and took pro wrestling by storm. If she’s not on her game at Evolution, then everyone around her suffers.
For Nikki Bella, this match is her chance to prove she can still perform at a high level. Her ring work since returning has not been sharp, giving her critics ample opportunity to scrutinize not only her, but her place in WWE as well. Has the women’s division evolved beyond her? After all, The Bella Twins rose to prominence when the women of WWE still referred to as Divas.
Therein lays one of the major storyline points of this feud. Nikki Bella, for all of her stardom and mainstream crossover success, is a Diva and not a pro wrestler. She’s glam, she’s superficial and she’s commercial. Nikki Bella is a product of WWE’s star-making machine, rolled off the assembly line and presented as an empowered and highly confident woman.
At one time, she and her sister were the best that WWE had to offer when it came to the women’s division. The Bella Twins were it. But everything changed of course when Charlotte, Becky, Bayley and Sasha Banks came to the main roster. From that point on, The Bella’s dominance in WWE was immediately challenged.
So when Ronda Rousey arrived in WWE, the table had already been set. Expectations were high for her but most of the anticipation surrounding Rousey came from her level of ability. Could she work? Would she fit in? The desire to see how she would look in the ring overrode everything else. But when it comes to Nikki, many fans assume that the women’s division has already passed her by.
She is the veteran in this match and she will surely call the match. Ronda Rousey is in her hands. But even as Nikki is the ring general of the equation, Ronda is the one that has taken the torch of leadership for women’s wrestling in WWE. Rousey is a major star and the company trusts her to not only show up, but show off.
Rousey and Bella could not be more different and that is why they’re perfect together. WWE has written the narrative and each one is playing her part. All that remains is to step into the ring and give fans the kind of match that Evolution deserves. This is where the pressure comes in.
Evolution has indeed been poorly promoted and the card is weaker than it should be. The event did not sell out in record time as the company would have wanted. WWE is shining a spotlight on the event now but it may be too little, too late. However, none of this is on Rousey and Bella.
All of the chaos is background noise for them and it should be. Nikki and Ronda have to focus on their match at Evolution and more importantly, they have get their match over. It’s not enough that Nikki Bella is one of the most recognized WWE performers outside of the company. It’s also not enough that Ronda Rousey is the most recognized female athlete in the world.
All that matters is Evolution. The same rules apply here that apply to the male Superstars of WWE. Ego, pride and the need to shine are very real things. Fans have to assume that the same motivations driving men to want the best match on the card are driving the women of Evolution as well. Rousey and Bella may or may not go on last. They may or may not need to.
But at the end of the night, the woman that has become the face of women’s wrestling must have established herself in the ring as the Alpha Female of WWE. The face of the Divas movement must remind everyone of just how good she is and why fans shouldn’t go to sleep on her. Each woman knows what must happen, just as they know how important Evolution is to women’s wrestling in WWE. They only get one chance to make it count.
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Opinion
Chris King: The Wyatt Sicks’ Wasted Potential By WWE
Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.
Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.
It’s that time of the year again, folks; it’s unfortunate and downright awful that so many WWE superstars got released today. I’m not going to list all of them, but I am going to talk about one of my favorite factions,
The Wyatt Sicks. Nikki Cross, Joe Gacy, Erik Rowan, and Bo Dallas (Uncle Howdy) were something special. After Bo’s brother Bray Wyatt’s tragic passing, WWE felt like there was a hole that needed to be filled. Wyatt was one of the most creative and brilliant characters, and Bo would be taking over his brother’s concept and bringing it to life. In 2024, at the end of an incredible documentary highlighting Wyatt’s career and struggles, Bo appeared on the screen portrayed as Uncle Howdy. The last time Uncle Howdy was seen on-screen was at the 2023 Royal Rumble, where Wyatt defeated LA Knight in a Pitch Black Match. Howdy jumped off a structure onto Knight.
This post-credit scene sparked so much speculation and excitement that Wyatt’s brother would carry on his legacy and possibly debut the faction that was Wyatt’s concept. On the June 17th episode of Monday Night Raw, The Wyatt Sicks made their dramatic debut ,destroying the backstage area as well as “murdering” Chad Gable. It was such an iconic arrival for Howdy as he made his menacing walk from the back into the audience who were chanting “Holy Shit.” The Sicks and American Made (Chad Gable and The Creed Brothers) battled for months, with The Sicks being victorious. On the September 9th episode of Raw, The Sicks defeated them, with Howdy getting the win with Sister Abigail.
The following year, The Sicks would move over to Friday Night SmackDown, and it seemed like WWE had a plan in place. They would win the tag team championships from The Street Profits and start to look dominant. Now, what should have happened next is Howdy should have won the United States title. The Sicks could have held all the gold over on the blue brand, but it never happened. The Sicks entered into a never-ending feud with The MFT’s (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, JC Mateo, and Talla Tonga.) It started off exciting, and the WWE Universe was red-hot for their interactions.
After months of repetitive matches and The MFT’s stealing their lantern, the feud grew tiresome and boring. Even Tama asked Solo why they are still holding onto the lantern, as it was destroying them as a whole. Finally on the SmackDown before Mania, Tama
gave the lantern back to Howdy against Solo’s wishes. Please explain to me why both factions fought almost every single week instead of just having one final blowoff match at WrestleMania.
It should have been either a massive street fight or a falls count anywhere match on the grandest stage of them all. Instead, it turned into a meaningless week-after-week extravaganza that benefited no one. The MFTs won the rivalry, and The Sicks don’t even work for WWE anymore. This was the same criminalized creative process that Wyatt dealt with during his first run in the company.
We’ll never know how much of a dangerous force The Wyatt Sicks could have been in the WWE. For all their careers’ sake, I hope they stay far away from the company for as long as possible. Every superstar that was cut deserves better!
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Opinion
Chris King: Bloodline Saga: Is This the Right Call For WWE?
Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns is once again World Heavyweight Champion after his dominant win over CM Punk at WrestleMania 42. On the following night on Monday Night Raw, The OG Bloodline came back together as a well-oiled machine as The Usos stood side by side with Roman. With the WWE Universe asking who would be the first to challenge “The Tribal Chief,” Jacob Fatu shocked the world by answering the call.
Fatu is running hot after his impressive win over Drew McIntyre and feels like he is ready to become the new world champion. This bloodline segment ended Raw, and it picked right back up on SmackDown with even Solo Sikoa and the MFTs involved. This is now two shows that have been centered around The Bloodline saga, and it’s made me question whether or not WWE should be retelling this story.
The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, The Usos, and Solo Sikoa) ran WWE for over four years as Reigns’ henchmen, doing his dirty work to retain his title. Even though Roman has declared he doesn’t want Jey and Jimmy to serve him, it sure seems like WWE are spinning their wheels. Fatu could add a whole new chapter into the story, even if he’s not able to beat Roman at Backlash. “The Samoan Werewolf” could be forced to do the same thing as Jey did all those years ago and fall in line.
In my opinion, I feel like Fatu should be challenging for the Undisputed WWE Championship because that’s a title I feel like he should win. I understand standing up to your blood and trying to prove you’re the best, but I don’t think this is the right move. It feels like 2022 all over again, as The Bloodline is the central focus on both shows. If Fatu doesn’t win, what happens to all his momentum he’s been building over the last two years?
Why did WWE make this the best choice for storyline purposes? Why couldn’t creative have come up with a different challenger for Roman? There are so many other superstars that could challenge The Tribal Chief, such as Rusev, Bron Breakker, Gunther, or even a returning Sheamus.
I just can’t help but question WWE’s logic here, and it kind of reminds me of all the times The Shield reunited. Could WWE be pushing the same storyline too many times here? Could the WWE Universe get tired of this rinse and repeat cycle of The Bloodline Saga?
Are we about to see all the weekly episodes solely focused on The Bloodline again? Will it be cinema… Yes. Is there still money in The Bloodline… Yes. Was it the right call? That’s to be determined!
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