WWE News: Stephanie McMahon Strips ‘Raw’ Champion Of Title — Match For Vacant Belt Announced For ‘Fastlane’
With less than a week to go until Fastlane, WWE is still announcing new matches for the card and some huge news was revealed on Monday Night Raw. As fans continued watching to see what may happen with The Shield, there was an even bigger storyline brewing and Stephanie McMahon dropped a bombshell. Not only was Ronda Rousey stripped of the Raw Women’s Championship, but a big-time match was also announced and a new champion will be crowned on Sunday.
As fans know, Becky Lynch has been storyline suspended due to not following the orders of the McMahons to go see a doctor. Last week, Lynch was arrested for jumping out of the crowd and attacking Rousey while she was in the ring for her match on Raw.
After that match, Rousey demanded Stephanie McMahon reinstate Becky Lynch, but she wouldn’t do it. With that decision, Rousey threw the Raw Women’s Championship at Stephanie’s feet and walked out of the ring with no one knowing what her status was on the WWE roster.
Tonight, fans finally received an update on what is going on, and Stephanie McMahon announced a number of big revelations. Not only was Becky Lynch’s suspension lifted, but at Fastlane, she would face Charlotte Flair for the vacant Raw Women’s Championship which means Rousey was stripped of her gold.
Per @StephMcMahon, for the currently VACANT #RAW #WomensChampionship, it will be @BeckyLynchWWE vs. @MsCharlotteWWE at #WWEFastlane! #RAW pic.twitter.com/JvUyY6pG05
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) March 5, 2019
As recapped by the official website of WWE, Ronda Rousey is no longer the Raw Women’s Champion. It was not actually confirmed if she relinquished the title when she threw it on the mat last week or if Stephanie stripped it from her, but no matter which, she’s no longer the champion.
There was no match for Rousey on the Fastlane card this Sunday and, therefore, her title was not going to be defended. Now, the title is on the line and will have a new champion as Lynch and Flair are going to compete for the belt which is currently held by no one.
It’s an interesting move as WWE’s plans for WrestleMania 35 now have to change as Rousey was to defend her title against Charlotte Flair. The spot was originally supposed to have Lynch facing Rousey since she won the Royal Rumble, but the whole injury/suspension angle took her out.
Now, there is no Raw Women’s Championship Match scheduled for the biggest pay-per-view of the year.
Many thought that Becky Lynch would eventually be reinstated and simply added to the title match at WrestleMania. That would have made it a Triple Threat on the grandest stage of them all, but this changes thing entirely.
UPDATE at 10:50 p.m. Eastern
At the end of Raw, Ronda Rousey came out to demand her championship back and Stephanie gave it to her. Now, the match at Fastlane isn’t for the title, but if Lynch wins, she will be added to the championship match at WrestleMania 35.
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Of course, anything is possible and there could be a new champion crowned at Fastlane, a rematch at WrestleMania 35 scheduled, and Ronda Rousey added to it. No matter what the case may be, Rousey has had her title stripped and Becky Lynch will take on Charlotte Flair to crown a new Raw Women’s Champion this weekend.
