Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair at Survivor Series Was Masterful Storytelling

The women of WWE did it again.

This time it was Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair at Survivor Series on Sunday, going on second-to-last and putting together an unforgettable performance. Not only was it one of the year's most enjoyable matches, but it also told a great story, laid out some blueprints for the future and, more important than anything, offered something most WWE stories don't have lately—continuity.

Flair snapped during the match, struggling to overcome Rousey and eventually breaking in a way most wouldn't have predicted. She ended up costing herself the bout while undergoing a full heel turn, beating the daylights out of the former UFC star and leaving her bloody and in need of assistance to get out of the ring.

But the bigger point here was a callback to Flair's title loss against Becky Lynch, where the hottest property in WWE right now pulled out all the stops to beat The Queen, teaching her a lesson in how being ruthless is the only way to the top. This all clicked together in superb storytelling fashion while managing to make both Superstars look great in the process.

It was a gritty affair all-around, but even some of the sluggishness from both (likely because the match was thrown together in less than a week) played into the authenticity of a fight that quickly devolved into one of the most violent acts we've seen from female Superstars in WWE.

Maybe this was the plan for the original match and WWE just copied and pasted Flair into Lynch's role. Either way, it works—and now we have a few interesting possibilities for three top names instead of two moving forward.

Planned or not, this is the second time the top women's feud in the company has made everything else forgettable. The first was earlier in the week when Lynch led an invasion angle of Raw, got dropped by Nia Jax's ridiculous follow-through on a punch and had to take time off for a serious injury. The response completely overshadowed the fact that Daniel Bryan, of all people, not only won a world title again but also did so while turning heel.

Fast-forward to Sunday; this classic between Flair and Rousey made the main event between Bryan and Brock Lesnar forgettable. Which isn't to say it wasn't a great match. The Yes Man got dominated before using some foul play to almost steal a win. They pulled off a unique all-heel match and told a great story, even consistently working in injuries before the finish.

It just wasn't nearly as good as Flair-Rousey and didn't boost long-term storytelling ramifications like them.

The end result is a superb launching pad for the road to WrestleMania 35 and a nice character shakeup—especially for The Queen.

It's hard to imagine WWE has the same problem it did with Lynch when turning her heel, either. The fans were cheering for Flair despite the dastardly actions Sunday night, but that felt more like the byproduct of fans backing The Irish Lass Kicker through her actions, attacking a person in Rousey who has been her main target for weeks now.

Best of all, WWE can go any number of ways it wants now. If that was a taste of the first-ever women's main event at WrestleMania, it hinted at what a full-length match with an actual result could be. Going Triple Threat and adding in Lynch would make some sense as well.

One way or another, while doing some shuffling and perhaps title changes, The Lass Kicker will eventually get her hands on Jax, and all three will cross paths and have problems with each other.

Whatever way WWE decides to go, the storytelling over the past few weeks with the top of the women's division has shown enough to justify trust from fans. Every single Superstar on the roster won't get the same treatment, but it's no coincidence attention to detail over a long-term storyline and listening to fan reactions have produced one of the hottest talents this side of some legends (Lynch) and a feud worthy of a WrestleMania main event.

One way or another, these three will be involved in shaping the WrestleMania main event scene this year, with Sunday's classic at Survivor Series merely a hint of what all involved are capable of doing on any stage.