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Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss Talks TLC And Asuka Debut

Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss Talks TLC And Asuka Debut

The Raw pay-per-view takes place tonight in Minneapolis...

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

The latest pay-per-view on the Raw brand takes place tonight, as TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs emanates from the Target Centre in Minneapolis.

Evidently the main talking point going into the show is the in-ring return of the one and only Kurt Angle 11 years after he last slugged it out for the company. The Raw GM has been drafted in as a replacement for Roman Reigns after he was one of many superstars to have picked up a "viral infection" that has affected the roster.

The American Hero will team with Raw Tag Team Champions Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, the two other members of The Shield, to take on the team of The Miz, Sheamus and Cesaro, Braun Strowman and the recently returning Kane in a five on three TLC match.

Further excitement comes in the form of the other exciting alteration made to what was looking like a fairly underwhelming card. Bray Wyatt/Sister Abigail has also been ruled out of competing against Finn Balor for what feels like the 338th time, and instead Smackdown's AJ Styles will lock horns with The Demon for the first time ever. It's the very definition of a dream match.

But it's also another big night in the women's division, with three women's matches taking place. For starters, four-time Raw Women's Champion Sasha Banks takes on Alicia Fox, while Alexa Bliss defends her Women's Championship against the veteran Mickie James, who returned to WWE as Bliss' right-hand woman.

Then, there's the eagerly anticipated main roster debut of the undefeated Asuka as The Empress Of Tomorrow looks to make an instant impact on Raw by beating Emma.

Ahead of TLC, we had the pleasure of speaking to women's champ Alexa Bliss about her defence, the debut of Asuka and the possibility of an all-women Royal Rumble.

SPORTbible: How excited are you for your defence of the Raw Women's Championship against Mickie James?

Alexa Bliss: I'm very excited for TLC. I have had a little bit of history with Mickie James on Smackdown Live and now coming to Raw. Yes, I've been teasing her a bit when I called her "old" but she also needs to realise she can't take my title away, it's not going to happen. I knew what I was getting myself into when I brought brought her back to WWE and I'm not going to bring her back to take my title.

SPORTbible: Will you have one eye on Asuka's match? Obviously she is debuting against Emma.

Alexa Bliss: Absolutely. I'm really excited for Asuka to be here [on the Raw brand] and I'm definitely going to watch. I trained with Asuka in NXT for a year or two years maybe and I've seen her develop and grow. I'm really excited to see her on the main roster and see how she can do.

SPORTbible: How much would you relish a big pay-per-view match with Asuka?

Alexa Bliss: I would love to have a pay-per view match with her. I'd love to see her try and take my title, and be the first person to ever beat Asuka.

SPORTbible: The Mae Young Classic was on recently and was very successful. There were a lot of great female competitors there, what did you make of the athletes on show and who caught your eye?

Alexa Bliss: I loved watching the Mae Young Classic, I was there at Full Sail for the last tapings. Kairi Sane is awesome, I loved watching Toni Storm, Shayna Baszler and all these women because they all brought something different and were very intense. It bodes well for what is happening for women in our industry - to see them going out there giving their all and being the next step in our revolution.

SPORTbible: You mentioned the women's revolution, there's a lot of talk about there being a women's Royal Rumble. Do you think that is the next logical step?

Alexa Bliss: I would love that, I would love to see that happen. It would be a lot of a fun, and I think a nice little step in our women's revolution to show that it's still progressing and that everyone is after that title.

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Topics: Raw, WWE