Ronda Rousey Beats Sasha Banks, Retains Women's Title at WWE Royal Rumble 2019

Ronda Rousey beat Sasha Banks at the Royal Rumble on Sunday to remain undefeated and retain the Raw Women's Championship.

Although Rousey has relied on her patented armbar submission to catapult up the women's division in WWE, she had to dig a little deeper to put away Banks. Rousey countered out of a Fujiwara armbar and rolled Banks into position for Piper's Pit, her spin on the Samoan drop.

That was enough to keep Banks down for the count.

TV Insider's Scott Fishman thought both stars came out looking strong as a result of the match:

The bad blood between Banks and Rousey may not be over, though, as Banks seemingly referenced the dueling Four Horsewomen factions in WWE.

After having run through nearly the entire Raw women's roster, the former UFC star specifically called out The Boss a few weeks ago in hopes of facing her at the Rumble.

Rousey was highly complimentary of Banks and said she looked up to her and wanted to get inside the ring with her even before she signed with WWE.

The Boss obliged, but she was first tasked with beating Nia Jax to become the No. 1 contender for the Raw Women's Championship, which she managed to do by tapping out The Irresistible Force.

That set the stage for the long-awaited clash between Rousey and Banks, but the mutual respect they held for each other turned into anger and resentment in the weeks leading up to the Rumble.

After Rousey and Banks teamed to beat Jax and Tamina on Raw, the champion angered The Boss by suggesting that beating her would be among her biggest accomplishments in WWE.

Banks didn't take kindly to the insinuation Rowdy would simply defeat her on her way up the ladder, and that created some much-needed tension ahead of their bout.

Rousey has made a bigger impact in a shorter amount of time than perhaps anyone ever to step foot inside a WWE ring.

She beat Alexa Bliss to win the Raw Women's Championship in just her fourth match, and there has been constant buzz regarding The Baddest Woman on the Planet becoming the first female to main-event WrestleMania as well.

While her accomplishments are impressive, Banks has arguably done more for the women's evolution in WWE than almost anyone else.

The Boss, Charlotte Flair, Bayley and Becky Lynch raised the bar for women's wrestling and accomplished a long list of firsts that had long eluded female wrestlers in WWE.

Sunday's match was significant since Rousey and Banks are both trailblazers in the world of women's wrestling, but after retaining the title, it is the former who is best positioned to be part of a massive match on the WrestleMania 35 stage.

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