On tonight’s Friday Night SmackDown, the fans will find out who will challenge Bayley for the SmackDown Women’s Title at SummerSlam. The Role Model has held the title for now 308-days and counting. The event takes place on Aug. 23 and after the announcement from Stephanie McMahon last week, many women across all three brands are chomping at the chance.
McMahon announced that on this week’s SmackDown there will be a Triple Brand Battle Royal. This means that all three brands will have women represented. The idea is to allow those that have been wronged by The Golden Role Models to get some payback.
At this time still there have been no official announcement of how many women will be in this match, how many from each brand, or even who the women are themselves.
With that as an open playing field, let’s discuss five women who we think may benefit the most from a title match and perhaps a win at the biggest event of the summer. These are in no particular order.
Naomi –
A former two-time SmackDown Women’s Champion herself, Naomi has some experience to holding gold. However, if you ask many people, she hasn’t had enough praise or championships as some of her colleagues. Her biggest moment one would argue is her second time winning the SmackDown Women’s Title at WrestleMania in her hometown of Orlando, Fla.
Recently fans and also many fellow wrestlers have rallied behind Naomi. On social media a #NaomiDeservesBetter hashtag went trending after her consistent loses. She was able to rebound from this with a win against Lacey Evans.
After missing most of 2019, Naomi returned in January at the Royal Rumble to a resounding response from fans. Since then, besides a short chase for the title against Bayley she has been on the losing end of her exchanges.
Could this maybe be the chance to really put Naomi over moving forward?
Sonya Deville –
This one may be a wild card or misplaced as a choice but there is no doubt that Sonya Deville is ready for a title shot/run. The reason this may not happen is she is still firmly planted in her storyline with Mandy Rose. After her recent attacks with her former teammate it would make sense to have at least one more big match between the two before moving on.
With Deville’s turn on Rose it has catapulted her into a different level of success. More eyes are on her and not just for her in-ring skills but also her mic skills as she has excelled at every promo she has given.
It seems it is just a matter of time for Deville to grab a title.
Rhea Ripley –
Ripley is just one of the more obvious choices from NXT that could get this win and chance at the blue brands title. If it were to be a competitor from the black and gold brand, Ripley has had plenty of experience since Survivor Series mixing it up with women from the other brands.
A former champion herself, there isn’t any doubt that she will once again hold gold. Which gold is the question? She may not be getting another chance at the NXT Women’s Title, so the most logical solution is to move her to a different brand.
Ripley vs. Bayley would actually be a great match to see and something refreshing from what keeps getting recycled on the SmackDown brand.
Bianca Belair –
This one may be a little bit of a wildcard much like Sonya was, however, Bianca is a great choice to get this match. She hasn’t done too much since moving to RAW after WrestleMania in April. She has had a few random matches and a feud with Zelina Vega but even that has been randomly done at two different times.
Moving Bianca over to SmackDown could do a lot for both her and the brand. The brand needs some fresh faces and regardless if Bianca wins the title or not, Bayley needs different opponents at least.
It is also a popular opinion that she is well overdue for a title in the company. Mainly because she never received one in NXT.
Mickie James –
Mickie James is the one woman on this list that should need no explanation. Since returning to WWE in late 2016, James has honestly been nowhere near the title picture. Besides maybe a one-off title match, the six-time women’s champion is way overdue for that seventh reign.
A win at SummerSlam against Bayley and an official move to SmackDown could rejuvenate both James’ career and the blue brand. James returned this past Monday on RAW in a backstage segment with Natalya and Lana. She did make a claim that she is ready to lead the locker room and become a champion again.
She has also made remarks at going for another title in interviews prior to her return. James has been out of action for over a year recovering from a knee injury and waiting for the right time to return. Now may be just the perfect time!
Some Honorable Mention choices could be: Tegan Nox, Shayna Baszler, or Nia Jax.
Who do you think is going to take the win tonight and become Bayley’s number one contender for the SmackDown Women’s Title? Let us know in the comment section below.
Check back in with Diva Dirt to see who will face Bayley at SummerSlam.
