What’s the story?
During her appearance on Jim Norton & Sam Roberts show, Charlotte Flair said that she is sure that both the RAW and SmackDown Women’s Championship matches will be on the WrestleMania main card.
It has been rumoured recently that the SmackDown Women’s Championship will be on the kickoff show.
In case you didn’t know...
The Women’s division has gone a long way in WWE, and 2016 was one of the most monumental years that saw a huge push of the women’s division. The years leading up to 2016 were the stepping stones for the women of NXT and WWE to break the barrier and prove that they can be the main event.
2016, beginning with WrestleMania 32, a new Women’s Championship was introduced, and Charlotte Flair (the final Divas champion), Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch battled in a triple threat match to determine the first ever WWE Women's Champion(now the RAW Women's Champion).
The three women put on a stellar match, which many believed was the match of the night, making it the first ever WrestleMania where the women put on a match of the night contender.
For the brand split, a trio of women was called up from NXT – Nia Jax, Alexa Bliss, and Carmella. The brand split saw a new Women’s championship introduced on SmackDown, and it also saw more women get opportunities to shine than before. An example of this would be Becky Lynch, Alexa Bliss, and Naomi of SmackDown Live.
There are two women’s matches on the WrestleMania 33 card – a fatal-4-way for the RAW Women’s Championship, and a multi-woman match for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. There has been some doubt among fans that the SmackDown Women’s Championship match may end up on the kickoff show.
The heart of the matter
Here’s what Charlotte had to say about both Women’s matches:
"I will consider us the main event. It's one of the matches. That's because we have a story that's been building. And we have two women's matches. I know there were two matches last year, one on the pre-show. This year, I'm pretty sure RAW and SmackDown both having matches on the show (main show)"
It seems that the RAW Women’s division is prioritised over the SmackDown Live women’s division. Regardless, SmackDown Live’s creative team has done a wonderful job of utilising every available woman on the roster.
There may still be a high chance that the SmackDown Women’s Championship match may still be on the kickoff show. The same can’t be said for the RAW women’s championship, however, as it features three of the four horsewomen, and will be featured as one of the marquee matches.
This is not to say that there isn’t any possibility whatsoever of the SmackDown Live women making it on the main card, but the RAW women are almost guaranteed to have a main card spot.
What’s next?
Regardless of whether the match will be on the preshow or not, the women of SmackDown Live will look to make a mark at WrestleMania. They have a huge opportunity to do so this year. Expect the women of RAW to put on a tremendous showing, even if it is not on the same level of last year.
Author’s take
The fact that two women’s matches are on the card itself is an achievement on its own. WWE has also found a way to get almost all the women possible on the card, so it will be a great moment for all the women involved. Hopefully, the SmackDown Women's Championship match will have a good stipulation to add some spice to it.
Hopefully, both matches get a spot on the main card as they deserve to.
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