At WWE Roadblock: End of the Line, Sasha Banks defended the gold in a 30-minute ironwoman match for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship. Did The Boss come out on top or did we crown a new champion?
WWE Roadblock: End of the Line brought the second ironwoman match in the history of WWE.
Throughout 2016, the Women’s Championship on the Raw brand has revolved around two women: Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks.
The two have exchanged the gold throughout the calendar year, with Charlotte becoming the first WWE Women’s Champion after the Divas Championship became defunct at WrestleMania 32 back in the spring. Banks became the champion most recently during a late November title match on Raw where falls counted anywhere.
Their rivalry came to a head on Sunday night in a 30-minute ironwoman match where the most pinfall and submission victories would be the Raw Women’s Champion.
The first few minutes was a feeling-out process, with neither woman looking to take a huge chance early.
#RAW Women's Championship #IronManMatch UPDATE:
— WWE (@WWE) December 19, 2016
@SashaBanksWWE - 0@MsCharlotteWWE - 0
27:00 remaining#WWERoadblock @WWENetwork pic.twitter.com/UY930wTpkc
Around the five-minute mark is where we almost saw our first victory of the contest. Banks came awfully close to locking the Banks Statement, but Charlotte was able to avoid complete disaster by rolling out of the ring.
#RAW Women's Championship #IronManMatch UPDATE:
— WWE (@WWE) December 19, 2016
@SashaBanksWWE - 0@MsCharlotteWWE - 0
24:00 remaining#WWERoadblock @WWENetwork pic.twitter.com/PR3tL4n19x
Sasha tried to gain a mental advantage by telling Charlotte, “Your daddy loves me!” As you’d expect, that didn’t sit well with the three-time champion. But, the more Charlotte looked to take control, the more Banks would keep her attack at bay.
.@SashaBanksWWE hits the #DoubleKneeDrop off the apron!! #IronmanMatch #WWERoadblock pic.twitter.com/tXD2q6b5hy
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) December 19, 2016
Banks came close once again to making Flair submit again with a straight jacket submission, but Flair was able to fight off the hold and a suicide dive that followed from Banks.
The #Straitjacket submission locked in by @SashaBanksWWE!! #IronmanMatch #WWERoadblock pic.twitter.com/fN6qwwaw0m
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) December 19, 2016
10 minutes in, but no score.
#RAW Women's Championship #IronManMatch UPDATE:
— WWE (@WWE) December 19, 2016
@SashaBanksWWE - 0@MsCharlotteWWE - 0
20:00 remaining#WWERoadblock @WWENetwork pic.twitter.com/ErVI6K4NBn
The turning point during the first fall came when Flair kicked Banks’ leg while standing on the apron, sending the champion face first right into the steps.
.@MsCharlotteWWE trips up @SashaBanksWWE, sending her CRASHING HARD into the ringside steps!! #IronmanMatch #WWERoadblock pic.twitter.com/sfnr4YpeB5
— WWE (@WWE) December 19, 2016
Flair took control of the champ after the fall, dominating the action with a slow, but brutal pace. Banks would attempt to claw back into the match, but Charlotte found a bit of a groove and appeared to be on her way to snagging the 1-0 advantage.
.@MsCharlotteWWE pounds @SashaBanksWWE's head into the mat!! #WWERoadblock #IronmanMatch pic.twitter.com/UD2J1fNJ38
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) December 19, 2016
Despite the pressure from the challenger, Flair couldn’t quite put Banks away for the first fall after 17 minutes of action.
Sasha had the heart of a champion and refused to go down, until around the 19-minute mark when Flair picked up the first fall of the match on a top-rope Natural Selection.
PINFALL TO @MsCharlotteWWE!! #IronManMatch UPDATE:
— WWE (@WWE) December 19, 2016
@SashaBanksWWE - 0@MsCharlotteWWE - 1
10:30 remaining#WWERoadblock @WWENetwork pic.twitter.com/hMRURGVW9t
The action went back-and-forth for a couple of minutes after Charlotte gained the advantage, but then in the blink of an eye, Banks stole the second fall of the match to knot the match up at 1-1.
PINFALL FOR SASHA!! #RAW Women's Championship
— WWE (@WWE) December 19, 2016
@SashaBanksWWE - 1 @MsCharlotteWWE - 1
8:00 remaining#WWERoadblock @WWENetwork pic.twitter.com/YH5nF5mAWX
With a little under six minutes left, Banks was finally able to lock in the Banks Statement and take a 2-1 advantage.
Flair got desperate in the final five minutes and attacked Banks’ knee to try and set up the Figure-Eight on the champ to tie the match.
@MsCharlotteWWE targets the injured leg of @SashaBanksWWE, with a fall to make up in less than 4 minutes!! #IronmanMatch #WWERoadblock pic.twitter.com/5r9fo6TlTG
— WWE (@WWE) December 19, 2016
The closer the match came to ending, the harder Flair attacked the knee. With about two minutes left in the match, Flair finally locked in the Figure-Eight, putting the fourth fall in serious danger for the champion. Banks reversed the pressure for a split second with 90 ticks to go, but Flair regained the advantage.
Next: WWE Roadblock 2016: Full match results
The match came down to the wire, with Banks locked in the Figure-Eight. In the final seconds, Banks had no choice but to tap and tie the match at 2-2 with no time left.
SUBMISSION TO @MsCharlotteWWE!!
— WWE (@WWE) December 19, 2016
30 MINUTES ARE UP!!
@SashaBanksWWE - 2 @MsCharlotteWWE - 2#WWERoadblock @WWENetwork #IronmanMatch pic.twitter.com/uNy7HWunq5
Like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, we got sudden death overtime. The next winner of a fall would win the match.
The official announces SUDDEN DEATH OVERTIME in the #IronmanMatch, tied at 2 falls each!! #WWERoadblock @SashaBanksWWE @MsCharlotteWWE pic.twitter.com/BxidacBLd9
— WWE (@WWE) December 19, 2016
Banks struggled to get to her feet as Charlotte took the advantage with a hard dropkick to the knee.
With a bit of blood covering her mouth and all the fight in the world, Banks locked the Banks Statement again, only to see it counted by Flair into the Figure-Four Leg Lock her dad made famous.
.@MsCharlotteWWE has the FIGURE FOUR locked in in OVERTIME of the #IronmanMatch!! #WWERoadblock pic.twitter.com/DWhgzE2OF3
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) December 19, 2016
Banks was bleeding, had just one good leg, and nothing left. She had no choice but to tap and end the war.
FIGURE EIGHT!! @SashaBanksWWE TAPS OUT!! @MsCharlotteWWE is a FOUR TIME Women's Champion!!#WWERoadblock #IronmanMatch pic.twitter.com/4q6o1dxl66
— WWE (@WWE) December 19, 2016
Charlotte became a four-time WWE Raw Women’s Champion in a year that only few have even come close to accomplishing before.
#TheQueen is BACK on the THRONE!! @MsCharlotteWWE #IronmanMatch #WWERoadblock pic.twitter.com/G7CTWj28nS
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) December 19, 2016
What’s next for Lady Flair and The Boss?