The Accor Arena wasn't ready for that title defense
If you were awake for the early broadcast of WWE RAW from Paris this morning, June 8, you saw Sol Ruca prove exactly why she has the gold around her waist. Watching her defend that Women's Intercontinental Championship wasn't just a match, it was a statement. She moved through the ring with a fluidity that makes most of the roster look like they're wrestling in cement boots.
The internet is currently a warzone of opinions regarding Sol Ruca’s first title defense, and frankly, some of you need to put the phone down and stretch. We have the purists arguing that the pacing was off, while the new-school fans are treating her like the next generational icon. It is the usual buffet of bad takes served with a side of over-analysis.
The enthusiasts vs. the 'seen-it-all' crowd
The hype train for Ruca is moving at breakneck speed. You have people posting clips of her handspring into an elbow strike, claiming she is the most athletic talent to emerge since the 2010s era of NXT. These fans aren't wrong, but they are loud enough to shatter glass. They see a star; they are ready to strap the rocket to her back and declare the women's division solved for the next five years.
Then you have the skeptics. These are the people hanging out in the darker corners of the message boards, clutching their pearls because the match structure didn't follow the 1990s blueprint of a slow burn. They are complaining that the finish happened too quickly. They claim the booking is protecting her too much, preventing us from seeing her actually struggle against a veteran worker.
The contrarians are the absolute worst of the bunch. They are currently arguing that her standing shouldn't be this high because she lacks the mic time of a top-tier heel. It is the classic moving goalpost move. If she wrestles well, she has no character. If she cuts a promo, she shouldn't be holding a belt. It is exhausting to witness.
My take: The win matters, but the mistakes remain
Let's cut through the noise. Ruca is the right champ, but the booking team at WWE is playing a dangerous game. Keeping a title on someone this fresh requires more than just high-spot highlight reels. During the 6/8 broadcast, we saw flashes of brilliance, but we also saw an awkward scramble near the ropes that just looked messy. It pulled me right out of the immersion.
The enthusiasts want to ignore the missed spot, and the skeptics want to pretend the whole match was a disaster because of it. Neither side is looking at the reality. Ruca has the potential to anchor this brand, but the agents behind the curtain need to stop booking her like she’s in a demo reel. She needs a proper, grind-it-out war that lasts longer than 12 minutes to prove she can handle the main-event spotlight.
If they continue to hide her behind these short, high-speed contests, we aren't going to get a title run that means anything six months from now. Look at the history of these mid-card titles. They either become a stepping stone to glory or a burial ground for gimmicks that lose their steam within a quarter. Right now, she is on the edge between both.
I will give the booking team this: they knew the Paris crowd would eat up the spectacle. Bringing a high-flyer to a city that appreciates flair was a smart bit of geography-based strategy. That doesn't fix the fact that the Women's IC division still feels like it lacks a clear direction. We need feuds, not just collection-building title defenses. Sol Ruca is carrying the belt, but is anyone actually chasing her? Currently, the field feels hollow.
We are sitting here in early June, waiting for someone to step up and challenge her properly. If the writers don't give her a credible antagonist by the end of the month, this title will feel like decoration by July. I love the energy she brings, but I really don't want to watch her wrestle the same three opponents in a rotation for the next two months. Let's see some actual stakes, some heat, and maybe a bit of character development that doesn't involve her flipping off the top turnbuckle.