Photo credit: WWE.com.

Ronda Rousey Beats Ruby Riott, Retains Raw Women's Title at Elimination Chamber

Mike Chiari

Ronda Rousey kept her spot in one of the WrestleMania 35 main events by beating Ruby Riott to retain the Raw Women's Championship at Elimination Chamber on Sunday.

With No. 1 contender Charlotte Flair sitting at ringside, the former UFC star made quick work of Riott, forcing her to tap out in an armbar.

After the match, a suspended Becky Lynch arrived. She needed to use crutches after injuring her knee at a live event over the weekend and turned them into weapons, attacking both Rousey and Flair.

Rousey has had her eye on WrestleMania since beating Sasha Banks at the Royal Rumble, but a potential stumbling block was thrown in her path in the form of Riott.

On a recent episode of Raw, Rowdy took her frustrations out on The Riott Squad after a verbal confrontation with Lynch. 

While The Baddest Woman on the Planet made quick work of Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan, Riott had no interest in getting involved and instead preserved herself by heading for the locker room.

That turned out to be a smart move on Riott's part since she was granted a Raw Women's Championship match against Rousey at Elimination Chamber, which gave The Riott Squad a chance to enjoy a historic night as a group.

In addition to Riott getting a crack at Rousey, Morgan and Logan qualified to be part of the Elimination Chamber match to crown the first WWE women's tag team champions.

Sunday marked the biggest match of Riott's career, but she didn't go into it without at least some knowledge of what Rousey brings to the table.

In October, Rousey and Riott faced each other three times over the course of a week in different types of matches. After beating Riott in a singles match on an episode of Raw, Rowdy and The Bella Twins teamed up to beat The Riott Squad at WWE Super Show-down in Australia and then again on Raw.

Rousey and Riott went their separate ways after that, but they clashed again Sunday in a match that had major WrestleMania implications.

It seemed as though Rousey was more focused on Lynch and Flair during Monday's episode of Raw after WWE Chairman Vince McMahon suspended The Man for 60 days and announced that The Queen would challenge for the Raw Women's Championship on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

Riott flew under the radar because of that, but Rousey still managed to take care of business and keep her WrestleMania match intact.

With Riott seemingly out of the picture, the focus will now shift solely toward WrestleMania and whether Rousey will face Charlotte, or if Lynch will find a way to get herself added back into the match.

           

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