This time last year, a discussion about women’s wrestling hinged upon Charlotte and Sasha Banks. Today, the conversation starts with Alexa Bliss.
In short amount of time, Bliss went from being unknown to being the first ever RAW and SmackDown Women’s Champion. Such a meteoric rise is a result of multiple factors, but for Bliss, it stemmed from a simple mantra: seize the opportunity.
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On a recent episode of Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast, the RAW Women’s Champion discussed her mindset since last summer’s draft:
“It definitely was when I won the SmackDown Live Women’s Championship for the first time. Being drafted to SmackDown, even then, I didn’t have the confidence of thinking that I was ready because there were so many things I wanted to accomplish at NXT, like I never had a TakeOver match. I barely had many matches because I was selling Blake and Murphy and I never held the [NXT Women’s] title. There were just so many things that I knew that I just was supposed to accomplish before being able to move to the main roster and when I did, I was like, ‘well, alright, I guess I’ll come in under the radar and kick down the door’. And that was my plan and that’s how I wanted to do it because I knew that I was one of the most underwhelming draft picks, I guess. And so, I knew that going in, so I was like, ‘I’m going to run with this opportunity because if you don’t run with it, the opportunities don’t come back.’”
Entering off-radar was probably the best thing for Bliss, as she was able to mold her character without the micromanagement that a Sasha or Bayley surely encountered. That freedom to maneuver one’s character is the lifeblood of WWE.
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Bliss serves as a reminder to us and all of wrestling that to make it in this business, you can’t just be a good wrestler; you have to be a great character. In Bliss, WWE found a vibrant personality who should be able to deliver their timeless philosophies. Conversely, Bliss finds herself in a realm of swelling expectation, but by now, we know better than to underestimate her.
Currently, Bliss finds herself marching to SummerSlam as RAW’s Champion. As of now, her opponent is unknown, but rumors have her defending the title in a Fatal 4 Way featuring Nia Jax, Sasha Banks, and Bayley. Bliss has fallen off a bit since her days of SmackDown dominance, but she remains as one of WWE’s most vibrant talents.
