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Photo credit: WWE.com.
In her first defending title since she won the women's gross championship, Ronda Rousey beat Alexa Bliss at Hell in a Cell on Sunday to retain her title.
Bliss tried to slow down the champion by attacking her ribs. Most of the time, the strategy was successful, with Rousey clearly favoring his ribs throughout the match.
However, Rousey was still able to lock the armband, after which Bliss fired immediately.
WWE @WWE
#And even!
@RondaRousey RETURN the #RAW #WomensTitle by doing @AlexaBliss_WWE TAP OUT on the #Armbar! #HIAC https://t.co/xrP7yTBmvK
Kevin Berge of Bleacher Report found positive and negative points in the match:
Kevin Berge @TheBerge_
Alexa Bliss has dominated far too much, but this seemed to be Ronda Rousey's least scripted performance and is still impressive. #HIAC
Like Berge, Adam Silverstein of CBSSports.com thought Rousey had made a lot of progress in the ring:
Adam Silverstein @SilversteinAdam
Ronda Rousey is a total natural. Never more apparent than tonight. You can match the WrestleMania match to the planning and match Nia Jax up to the difference in size. Her movement quadrupled in the last month and she seems to belong to the family. Super star. #HIAC
Sunday's match was a SummerSlam rematch, in which Rousey easily beat Bliss to become the Raw female champion for the first time.
This victory paid off for the former UFC star after Bliss suspended his match against Nia Jax at Money in the Bank by cashing in the contract she won earlier in the evening to claim the women's gross title .
Bliss went to great lengths to enter Rousey's head to take over SummerSlam, but that was not enough to prevent the inevitable crowning of The Baddest Woman on the Planet.
WWE @WWE
EXCLUSIVE: @RondaRousey says she's no stranger to fighting and winning while she's hurt, and tonight was no exception to #HIAC. https://t.co/PtwFVv81LW
Since SummerSlam, the Goddess has used force in numbers, with Mickie James and Alicia Fox accompanying her every week.
Rousey was helped by Natalya, but Bliss's plot has done much to make her look like a viable challenger to Hell in a Cell despite the massive disadvantage of size and strength that she has given up to the champion.
After defeating Nattie in an episode of Raw a few weeks ago, Bliss used James and Fox as decoys to cut Rousey's knee and throw her in the steel steps.
As Rousey picked her up and chased her away, it was clear that Bliss would need to use more to beat the incumbent and become a six-time women's champion.
There was also an intriguing ripple around the game since it had already been announced that Bliss would face Hall of Famer Trish Stratus at Evolution's paid session on October 28th.
That added stakes to Sunday's match in making Bliss against Stratus a title game if she could find a way to get Rousey's bracelet back.
Knowing the Stratus fight in advance may have been a death kiss for Bliss, as it distracted the attention from the task at hand in Hell in a Cell.
Regardless of why she fell short, Bliss was not able to resume the Women's Raw Championship, which means she can now fully devote her efforts to the Dream Match vs. Stratus match.
As for Rousey, construction can now begin toward her possible major evolution as Raw's champion.
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