Ronda Rousey technically claimed the victory against Charlotte Flair at Survivor Series, but after being taken to the woodshed by the six-time Women’s Champion, it’s a stretch to say The Baddest Woman on the Planet was the winner of the evening. Rousey surely knew this, so the open challenge she issued on Raw (over the protests of Acting General Manager Baron Corbin) wasn’t so much about retaining her title as reasserting herself as a Superstar worthy to hold the Raw Women’s Championship in the first place.
The challenger was Mickie James, who hoped to take advantage of Rousey’s wear-and-tear to net her seventh Women’s Championship. She landed a few swift kicks up and down Ronda’s bruised torso, but The Baddest Woman on the Planet quickly answered with a trifecta of Piper’s Pits. The Armbar was hardly necessary at that point, but Rousey applied it anyway. She earned the win, but at considerable cost: The champion was clearly worn down by the effort as she made her way back up the ramp, much to the delight of her WWE TLC challenger Nia Jax. Waiting atop the ramp with Tamina at her side, The Irresistible Force polished up her fist in Rousey’s face and walked away with a smile as a warning of things to come.