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Sasha Banks won the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship from her one-time best friend and tag team partner Bayley at this year's WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view in a thrilling match-up. Usually, Banks has trouble defending titles, but this time, she has already successfully defended the gold in a rematch against Bayley. She also came out strong at WWE Survivor Series, where she defeated WWE RAW Women's Champion Asuka.
As Banks moves on from her rivalry with Bayley, more members of the SmackDown roster will be turning their eyes towards Banks and her title.
Since the WWE draft, the roster has been slightly altered, which opens up some opportunities for different superstars to compete for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship. Here are five potential new opponents for Banks on WWE SmackDown.
#5 Billie Kay
Like Banks, Billie Kay is also a former WWE Women's Tag Team Champion. Fans have seen the pair meet in the ring previously, most notably when Sasha Banks and Bayley dropped the women's tag team titles to The IIconics at WrestleMania 35.
The IIconics broke up earlier this year after they lost a stipulation match, and Kay and Peyton Royce were later separated in the WWE Draft in October. Since being drafted to SmackDown, fans haven't seen much of Kay in the ring, but she has excelled in backstage segments and on commentary due to her fun persona and remarkable comedic timing.
Fans seem to really be getting behind Kay recently. She is skilled in the ring, and she's also an impressive talker. It would be great to see her have a high-profile feud against the WWE SmackDown Women's Champion Banks at some point. Here, their history as rivals in the tag team division could be explored, and their differing stories regarding the downfall of their respective tag teams also offers a compelling narrative.
#4 Tamina
Tamina has been a WWE superstar for over a decade now, and she has been involved in multiple high-profile storylines along the way. This WWE superstar was most recently seen attempting to earn her way onto Team SmackDown for WWE Survivor Series, though she was ultimately unsuccessful.
Earlier this year, Tamina also challenged Bayley for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship at WWE Money in the Bank, but it ended up being a losing effort as Sasha Banks, who was at ringside to her friend, cost Tamina the match and helped Bayley get the win.
Tamina and Banks have history that could be revisited and explored again in the future. Tamina was a member of Team B.A.D in 2015, the group that Banks joined for her main roster debut. This group was alluded to at WrestleMania 36 during the fatal-five way elimination match, where Tamina, Banks and Naomi briefly called-back to their former alliance.
Tamina could emerge as a challenger for Banks' WWE SmackDown Women's Champion. The bad blood between these two could be used as potential leverage for a feud in the future.
#3 Natalya
Natalya has been a huge part of WWE for the past twelve years, and she is been a multiple-time champion on the main roster. She has also portrayed various characters, as she has evolved from a sympathetic babyface to a villainous heel.
Currently, Natalya appears to be a classic heel. On WWE RAW earlier this year, she was cruel to Liv Morgan, her partner in a tag team match at the time. Natalya then briefly aligned with Lana, but she turned her back on the former Ravishing Russian after they were defeated by Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke.
Natalya was drafted to SmackDown in October. After a few unsuccessful attempts, Natalya eventually qualified for Team SmackDown at WWE Survivor Series.
When Sasha Banks returned to WWE following a break in 2019, her first target was Natalya. Banks attacked the veteran superstar during her return segment, where she showcased her new look and fresh heel persona. Since then, the roles of these two competitors have completely switched, as Banks is now a fan-favorite face. A potential feud between Banks and Natalya would offer fans a chance to see this compelling dynamic in action.
#2 "The EST of WWE" Bianca Belair
Since Bianca Belair moved to the blue brand, WWE seems to be hyping her up as the next big star of the women's division. She has been featured in multiple video packages on WWE television in an effort to demonstrate why she has been been dubbed "The EST" of the company.
Belair also had a prominent role at WWE Survivor Series. She won the first spot on the women's Team SmackDown by winning a triple threat match, and she was instrumental in bringing the team together. She was also the last remaining member of Team SmackDown before her shocking elimination via countout alongside Nia Jax.
As of the most recent episode of SmackDown, Belair seems to be heading into a rivalry with a former WWE SmackDown Women's Champion after she argued with Bayley about their team's performance at WWE Survivor Series.
This potential rivalry with Bayley will likely propel Belair to the top of SmackDown's women's division over the next few weeks. Hopefully, after this feud, Belair will be ready for her first big title feud on the blue brand. Currently, both Sasha Banks and Belair are playing babyface characters. However, both competitors have shown that they can find success as heels, so one of them could turn in order to start the rivalry.
#1 Carmella
Carmella has already made somewhat of a beeline for Sasha Banks on a handful of recent episodes of SmackDown. After a series of vignettes showed a mystery blonde woman, WWE later revealed that these clips featured Carmella herself. Since her return, Carmella has turned heel, and she has been calling herself "untouchable."
Launching Carmella into a high-profile rivalry so soon after her reemergence would be great for the performer, as Banks is a main-event player on the blue brand. As a result, this prominence could also cement her as one of SmackDown's most popular superstars.
Carmella and Banks haven't feuded against each other yet, so a potential rivalry between the two might feel fresh. WWE already seems to be heading in this direction, as Carmella has attacked Banks a few times since she returned to SmackDown. Banks also recently got some revenge by attacking Carmella and locking her in a Bank Statement that was broken up by WWE official Adam Pearce.
Hopefully, fans will see an interesting rivalry between Banks and the newly-revamped Carmella continue to unfold on SmackDown.
