WWE Women’s Wrestling Icons Collide On RAW

The match between Natalya and Alicia Fox wasn’t either wrestler’s most important match ever, but the segments surrounding it set plans in motion that will affect the entire RAW women’s division in big ways. We saw legends return, feuds rekindle, and what could be game-changing matches announced.

First, WWE Hall of Famer and Attitude/Ruthless Aggression-era wrestling legend Trish Stratus returned to RAW, but not to wrestle—yet. Fans knew about the upcoming Stratus vs. Alexa Bliss match at the Evolution pay-per-view, but they didn’t expect her to show up out of nowhere to verbally defend her hometown from Elias’ trash talk.

Stratus—along with Ronda Rousey and Natalya—then had to deal with another one of RAW’s most cutting Superstars on the mic: Alexa Bliss. Bliss—on her way to the ring to second for Fox—called Stratus “irrelevant,” claiming she had replaced her, before bringing out Stratus’ old rival, Mickie James. Bliss also cut a promo on a rival with whom she had much less in common, Ronda Rousey, and invoked her rematch clause for the Hell in a Cell PPV.

After a short match—in which Natalya paid tribute to the Hart family legacy—we saw Natalya, Rousey, and Stratus celebrate backstage with the Bella Twins. Though Nikki and Brie Bella were present at SummerSlam and Brie is scheduled for a mixed tag team match with her husband Daniel Bryan against The Miz and Maryze at Hell in a Cell, we haven’t seen the Bellas compete as a tag team since they returned to WWE. The Bellas announced that they’re scheduled for a match next week—against Riott Squad members Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan. WWE also announced via Twitter that Rousey and the Bellas will team up for the first time ever to face the full Riott Squad at the Super Show-Down in Australia.

These women all seem to be getting along great for now, but Corey Graves pointed out on commentary that something seems off about the Bellas; and, if you think back to their promo on the SummerSlam pres-how, that theory holds water. This is, after all, the team that won so many victories using Twin Magic, as well as the antagonistic representatives of the Divas Era on the roster when the Women’s Revolution started. It’ll definitely be exciting to see the Bellas back in the ring, but maybe even more so to see how exactly they fit into the current WWE women’s wrestling landscape.