By Matthew Klink (@klinkmatt)

August 14, 2018

A tale as old as time…the hero/face who is a little green on the mic, faces off against the villain/heel who is good at getting a rise out of the crowd. It’s similar to how Ric Flair used to operate. The face never had to be the best and most polished as long as they were in the ring with someone who could sell. Go back and watch the Netflix hit, GLOW if you want a little more proof. It might not be accurate to today’s wrestling drama, but it definitely knows the aspects of working with what you’ve got.

Ronda Rousey challenging Alexa Bliss is a tough match to pick because there are so many variables to chew on. Will being champ mean Rousey is full time? Is the crowd ready to groan if Bliss walks away with the title? Is there a better opportunity for the WWE and Rousey at Evolution if she is a non-title holder? Is it good for the WWE to have Bliss get obliterated by the baddest woman on the planet? Is Natalya being out going to affect the match direction? I guess I’ll have to chew right through these to come up with some answers.

Rousey going Full Time

The fun of this match has clearly been Ronda Rousey and the aura, toughness and mystique she carries into the arena with her. We’ve only gotten a few short glimpses of Ronda so far and what we’ve seen has been impressive. These short glimpses of the one-day future champion are because she is already a megastar in the eyes of pop culture and sports. She’s been living the Dwayne the Rock Johnson’s schedule for a while now (movies, TV, and general celebrity). Obviously the difference in her path is going backwards to find a career in pro wrestling rather than using it as a jumping off point.

As Rousey gets acclimated with the Pro-Wrestling lifestyle, we may just have to get acclimated with having a new wrestler who has other interests. I’ve already claimed a couple of times that Rousey was ready to become a full-time wrestler, but then turned out to be wrong both times. That’s nothing against her, as I too, am looking for a new job that operates outside of this blog. I still love the blog, but I need money man!

So that being said, Rousey is a human like us all. Maybe if she’s not quite ready to become a full-timer, the WWE knows she’s not quite ready to hold a title. None of us know her schedule, so at this point, we can only assume that more of the same is to come. So there is a knock against Rousey walking away with the title.

Bliss holding the title too long

The other fun side of this match is Alexa’s ability to get heat from the fans. While part of her heat can be attributed to some ‘go away’ heat (from fans who don’t understand how she could be champion) the other part is from her gift of gab. Alexa knows (her character) is not the most talented in the ring and her winning championships comes from her ability to out-think opponents and making friends where it counts. What makes her truly great is that, to your face, she’d never acknowledge she’s aware of it.

All of that being said, she still is getting some (I am stressing ‘some’ here) ‘go away’ heat. ‘Some’ ‘go away’ heat can turn into a ‘go away’ forest fire in a matter of days. Bliss is talented enough to turn that heat into something that works for her. She won’t care if the fans want to hate her forever, because what is important to her character is looking like she’s the best. She doesn’t actually have to be ‘the best’. And the fans…if they give her ‘go away’ heat…they’ll be playing right into her dirty tricks and make her success that much sweeter. I’ll say the fan heat is a good way to build an even stronger heel and bodes well for Bliss’ chance of walking out of SummerSlam with the title.

WWE Evolution

Ronda Rousey is a key asset for the WWE right now. And keeping in mind there is a match card that needs to be filled with high quality matches, as well as matches that come with intrigue and interest outside of title matches, key assets will be needed to fill out the card. The card should be treated like any other Pay-Per-View and must be presented as a full three-hour show (complete with a pre-show). That being said, what better way to add a match to the card than having a feud with, arguably, the most exciting female superstar on the roster.

Putting Rousey in a title match will ruin an opportunity to flesh out this card. While we don’t know anything yet about the booking or ideas to build up different feuds, a match with Rousey will be easy write and will get those outside of the WWE Universe to tune in. While it would look nice to cap off the night and have Rousey walk away with the title, it might be better to have a Charlotte Flair or Sasha Banks (representatives of the Women’s Revolution) do so.

Another thought for Evolution was something discussed on the podcast. Was Rousey destined to feud with Natalya? With Natalya losing her father there is a great chance she’ll miss SummerSlam. Also, while trying to make Rousey a face, it’ll be hard to root against Natalya in her current situation. I feel if there was a plan, it would have to take one hell of an accomplished artist in writing to make us root for Rousey and believe anything involved in that storyline.

It did make sense to have them feud. Rousey had been training with Nattie and they would know each other well in the ring. Being able to work with tendencies built through Rousey’s introduction to pro wrestling would’ve been a great chance to work a tenured vet and give Rousey the opportunity to really stretch her in ring move set. On top of a chance to let Rousey show off, it would’ve been perfect to fill out the Evolution card with a passionate, emotional feud. I r0eally do think this could be out of the window now.

Rousey’s character should destroy Bliss

During the build of Ronda Rousey, she has been painted as an ultra-talent in kicking ass. Her whole persona is built on the idea that when that frown turns on, you’re not getting out of that ring with both arms. Just ask the security team that met Rousey in the ring on Monday.

While shenanigans are always an option, it would hurt Rousey’s character to not have an opportunity to destroy Bliss. The fact that this can still be accomplished after the match or on Monday Night Raw doesn’t bode well for Rousey. She can walk away from SummerSlam and still be a high profile superstar without the title. That opportunity to beat-up little Miss Bliss could come right after she cheats her way to holding the title. Rousey will get a chance to dish out some pain and still look strong without a title.

I am not one hundred percent sure that Bliss can be redeemed in some way in losing the title.. She does talk a big game, but her character thrives on being able to say she’s the best. If she isn’t holding the title, it could mean she’s on her way to meeting quite a losing streak. Or at least a long enough “halfsies” (win some and lose some) streak. Which we all know, doesn’t do favors for anybody.

Taking a look at all of the evidence, I don’t see Rousey winning her first Women’s title at SummerSlam. She will eventually, but with the first Evolution on its way and the WWE needing to fill out that card, I just can’t see them losing an opportunity to use her celebrity in a different way. I do smell a feud starting at SummerSlam. If Bliss is going to win she’s gonna need some help. Whoever that is could be Rousey’s opponent for the next couple of months.

For Alexa, this is great. She’ll continue to get heat, as she should, and will be able to build  up a great Championship match with someone else for Evolution. I’m sure Nia Jax would still like a chance and Ember Moon wouldn’t hurt either.

But! What do I know?

All of us will soon with SummerSlam coming up this Sunday! August 19th with the show starting at 7PM EST.

We are fully booked booked for SummerSlam! I am loving this card. If you haven't made plans yet, don't forget to be on your couch on August 19th for the biggest show of the summer! Catch up with the Brothers of Discussion Analysis of every match here on BODPodcast.com

Carmella vs Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women's Championship
Ronda Rousey vs Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women's Championship
AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe for the WWE Championship
Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Title
Dolph Ziggler vs Seth Rollins for the Intercontinental Championship
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Jeff Hardy for the United States Championship
Braun Strowman vs Kevin Owens for the MITB Briefcase
The Bludgeon Brothers vs the New Day for the SmackDown Tag Titles
The B-Team vs The Revival for the Raw Tag Titles
Baron Corbin vs Finn Balor
Daniel Bryan vs The Miz
Rusev and Lana vs Andrade "Cien" Almas and Zelina Vega
Sunday, August 19th, 7PM EST

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