Really interesting match card. I went in hoping this wasn’t a squash and that we’d get to see further progression of Saraya’s in-ring ability at this new stage of her career. All week I’ve also been thinking of how Saraya and Skye Blues diametrically opposed personalities would make for a fun dynamic. It’s more likely that this match is a mere fixture to put Saraya over ahead of Revolution but I’ll keep an eye out to see if this spins off into another storyline. Maybe. One day.
Adjusting In
There’s no doubt that Saraya absolutely looks like a star. And, just as it did when she was Paige, her pale complexion sets her apart. She’s absolutely someone who exudes star power, which is the hardest part in this business. As for in the ring and as a character, I feel like there are some things that worked in WWE and would still work over there that Saraya is still finding her footing with. Turning heel has helped a lot with the character and I feel like her adjustment into wrestling in this company is coming.
The Match
In this match with Skye Blue, while every sequence either went fine or, at worst, got powered through, there were a couple wonky parts that I attribute to Saraya. The whole time during the match I was feeling like Saraya has an opportunity to really re-invent her in-ring style, much like Chris Jericho has. I kept thinking during this match that I’d love to see Saraya move to a submission finisher and then she pulled a great submission finisher that I totally forgot was in her arsenal. It’s perfect. Besides looking great, it has a lot of escape points in the setup.
As far as the match quality, this was fine. More importantly the booking protected Skye Blue for the most part as it was essentially a handicap match with all of Toni Storm’s outside interference. I actually laughed at how fast Toni snapped suplexed Blue on the floor and then fast walked away.
Post-Match
The post-match shenanigans essentially setup exactly what I had predicted for Revolution.
Having Jamie Hayter challenge both Saraya and Ruby Soho in a triple threat match gets us to where we need to be. But that having been said, depending on how generous you wish to be, you may applaud Jamie’s character for being so brave and honourable or, if you’re less so, you may think Jamie is thick for putting herself in a match where she can lose without getting pinned. Let’s just hope she retains at Revolution so we don’t have to entertain the latter.
