Mickie James reacts to the Triple Brand Battle Royal, Bayley has a surprising response

Stephanie McMahon showed up on the latest episode of SmackDown in a video conference segment featuring Bayley and Sasha Banks. She announced a Triple Brand Battle Royal for next week's episode of SmackDown.

The match will feature competitors from RAW, SmackDown and NXT and the winner will go on to face Bayley at SummerSlam for the SmackDown Women's Championship.

Mickie James, who has not wrestled a televised match since WrestleMania 35, took to Twitter and teased the possibility of returning for next week's Battle Royal:

Bayley acted all surprised in her reaction to Mickie James' tweet:

Mickie James was out of action due to a torn ACL injury, and she recently revealed during an interview with Chris Van Vliet that she was medically cleared to return and was waiting for the perfect moment to make a comeback.

"The doc had already cleared me, so I was literally just getting that last two weeks to get cleared to come back to in-ring action, and everything got shut down. So, I went home, and I just haven't been back since. There's no need to take that risk of going there if I'm not doing anything. I would rather bide my time and wait for the perfect opportunity. I'm going to go in and take all the championships," she said. "I'm going to be my own tag team partner and I'm going to go in there and take those championships first, and then I'm going to take both of the women's championships at the same time."

Triple Brand Battle Royal to determine the #1 contender for Bayley's title

As confirmed by WWE's Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon, Bayley's SummerSlam title challenger will be decided in next week's Triple Brand Battle Royal. While several women have already put their names in the hat; WWE is yet to confirm the participants.

With NXT also being involved in the picture, Rhea Ripley's name was unsurprisingly brought up instantly, and the former NXT Women's Champion even reacted to the match announcement. Bayley responded by sending an unlikely request to Ripley.

WWE has many female talents who are either sitting on the sidelines or are involved in secondary storylines on TV. Bayley surpassed three hundred days as the SmackDown Women's Champion, and it was time for the WWE to freshen things up with regards to Bayley's next title feud.

WWE may not take the title off The Role Model at SummerSlam, but a Superstar could get the exposure by working a high-profile championship match against the champion at the biggest PPV of the Summer.

When it comes to the competitors of the Battle Royal, WWE could either announce them in the days leading up to the next episode. The other option would be to keep it a surprise until the match is aired.

WWE should ideally confirm a few names to build up the anticipation, and the familiar names from RAW and SmackDown could be added to the match.

WWE has the chance to elevate a new Superstar or give a title opportunity to an underutilized talent. Who do you back to win the Triple Brand Battle Royal on the next edition of Friday Night SmackDown? Let us know your picks in the comments section.