With Wrestlemania just 19 days away, all eyes are on the women’s division to see the build-up of the Smackdown locker room. There were two matches on the show tonight in hopes of furthering the storylines of these competitors. The first match had the most substance which was a match we have seen many times, but always delivers: Charlotte Flair versus Natalya.
Flair and Natayla know each other so well that this match had a lot of counter moves. It was, and always is, a match where each woman knows their opponent better than they know themselves. The beginning of the match was pretty equal, as neither woman was able to stay on the offense. Flair attempts to do whatever she can to dominate the match as she knows Asuka is watching her every move due to their championship match at Wrestlemania looming.
Flair gives several chops to Natalya, which ends up in Flair tossing her overhead onto the mat by the ropes. Natalya bounces back by tripping Flair, who lands face first in the bottom turnbuckle. As both competitors get back to a vertical base, Natalya attempts the discus clothesline, to which Flair stops it by a boot to the face. The match continues with an attempt on a figure eight lock by Flair but Natalya ends up on the offense with a powerbomb and a superplex, but is unable to put her away. As both ladies lay in the ring after the superplex, Carmella‘s music hits.
Carmella, with a referee in tow, races down the ramp and into the ring and attempts to cash in her Money In The Bank contract. The bell did not ring for the attempt of the cash in and Carmella turned around to a knee to the face by Flair. Natalya capitalized from the distraction and rolled up Flair for the win.
After the match, Carmella posted on twitter that she is still Ms. Money In The Bank:
I’m still Ms #MITB ? #SDLive pic.twitter.com/9X0YBxENEU
— MS Money in the BANK (@CarmellaWWE) March 21, 2018
In a WWE Exclusive, Natalya exclaims how once again a Hart beats a Flair:
EXCLUSIVE: @NatbyNature defeated #SDLive #WomensChampion @MsCharlotteWWE tonight, but she's not stopping there…
She just declared herself the future winner of the @WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal! pic.twitter.com/2T5ZILUFnv
— WWE (@WWE) March 21, 2018
The second match of the night featured two-thirds of the Riott Squad: Sarah Logan, and Liv Morgan, take on Becky Lynch and Naomi. This match was rather short, however, it showed good teamwork between both teams. Ruby Riott was definitely trying to assist her squad, but the match ended with Lynch locking in the disarmher on Logan who taps out.
The match was a buildup for the Women’s Battle Royal match at Wrestlemania, to which Naomi, Lynch, and all three Riott Squad members will be in.
EXCLUSIVE: @RubyRiottWWE @YaOnlyLivvOnce & @sarahloganwwe are ready to embrace the PACK mentality in the @WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal! #SDLive #WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/Kzne8Ogfq7
— WWE (@WWE) March 21, 2018
Thoughts:
I feel like overall the build up for Wrestlemania is going well. Having Flair and Asuka staying away from each other this week was a good thing to build the excitement for the title match. The more they keep those two women apart, the better.
Carmella’s cash in attempt was good to keep her in the back of Flair’s mind, however, as a fan, we know she won’t cash in before Wrestlemania. I still feel that Carmella will cash in at Wrestlemania. I hope it is successful, as the first woman to win the Money In Bank should cash in successfully. I would love to see her cashing in on Asuka and shocking the world to defeat Asuka’s streak, but more than likely she will cash in on Alexa Bliss or Nia Jax.
The build up for the Women’s Battle Royal is happening as well. I feel on the Smackdown roster they are trying to focus on the tag team aspect. Lynch and Naomi will have each other’s backs and The Riott squad will continue their pack mentality. I hope the focus a lot more on the rivalries within the participants of the battle royal to make it more exciting. Lastly, some call-ups from NXT would be amazing, mainly the Iconic Duo.
What did everyone think about the show? Do you think that the build up for Asuka vs Flair is happening well? Who would you like to see Carmella cash in on? Who do you want to see in the battle royal as a surprise? Comment below!!
