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We have seen Charlotte Flair and Natalya clash several times in the past. Two of the best workers in the current WWE women's roster, their matches are always above par.
Shane McMahon stipulated last week that since Natalya used a steel chair to hold on to her championship, the last time the two women met (at Hell in a Cell), she would have to defend her title again on the go-home show of SmackDown Live before Survivor Series 2017, next week. Natalya, of course, was not too pleased.
The winner of this match will fight for brand pride at Survivor Series 2017. Will it be the cranky and crazy cat lady or the genetically superior Charlotte Flair who goes on to battle The Goddess of WWE?
We believe that it should be Charlotte Flair, and here are five reasons why we think so.
#5 Natalya is not an exciting champion
No one disputes the fact that Natalya is one of the best in-ring workers not just on SmackDown Live, but perhaps in the entire women's roster. However, ever since she has become the SmackDown Live Women's Champion, the division has not fired on all cylinders.
Her gimmick is not fully fleshed out, and while Natalya is not really a bad promo at all, she hasn't been put in enough compelling programs to have her character react to situations and get the audience invested in her gimmick, really. While it is not entirely her fault, she hasn't been an interesting women's champion yet.
Charlotte Flair looks the part, has been a flagbearer for the women's division in the past (when it was far more exciting than it is right now), and can be a great representative for the women on SmackDown Live when they battle the RAW women.
#4 To boost ratings
Let us throw some facts at you, from the previous two weeks. SmackDown Live, two weeks ago, only scored a meagre viewership figure of 2.119 million. This was the second lowest number of the whole year. A really disappointing statistic indeed.
The very next week, AJ Styles defeated Jinder Mahal to become the new WWE Champion, and even though it was a taped show aired from the United Kingdom, the show bounced back in terms of viewership, scoring a sum total of 2.603 million viewers.
Title changes have traditionally only happened on pay-per-view (except for a one-off on television, once in a while), but the television audience sometimes does not feel like watching the weekly television program, because quite often, nothing of significance happens in it.
If another title change were to happen on television, it would keep the audience hooked on for another week and give SmackDown Live a solid number, heading into Survivor Series 2017 this weekend.
#3 The babyface-heel dynamic
There has literally been no build for the big Survivor Series 'battle of the brands' match between Alexa Bliss and Natalya, thus far. While The Miz and Baron Corbin have been trading insults on social media and even taking shots on TV, Alexa Bliss and Natalya have only made passing references to one another, over the past few weeks.
It also makes no sense to book two heels against each other considering that the crowd will not know whom to root for.
If Charlotte Flair were to defeat Natalya and go into Survivor Series as the SmackDown Live women's champion, at least there would be a definite babyface and heel.
Who knows, really? One of the reasons for the lack of build between the two women could be the fact that Natalya vs. Alexa Bliss was never really meant to take place.
#2 For Carmella to cash in
Carmella has not really seemed like a threat to Natalya, thus far, even though she holds the Money in the Bank briefcase that she can cash in at any time and win the championship Nattie holds!
It makes a lot more sense to have a babyface like Charlotte Flair look over her shoulders at all times at an imminent threat like Carmella cashing in her contract, as compared to another heel like Natalya doing so.
By putting the belt on Charlotte Flair, WWE is creating a brand new storyline with friction between The Queen and Carmella, going forward. It may just be what Carmella needs, after seemingly having split with James Ellsworth.
#1 A much bigger match
Charlotte Flair carried RAW on her shoulders over the past year, and in some ways, Alexa Bliss did the same for SmackDown Live in 2016. During the Superstar Shake-Up, both women ended up switching brands and never faced one another.
Alexa Bliss even addressed the big dream match between the two women in a recent edition of RAW Talk, where she welcomed the idea. This is a marquee match and a definite clash of the champions.
We hope that WWE does the right thing and put the belt on Charlotte Flair this week. It would really elevate the division, in many ways.
Stay tuned to Sportskeeda for live updates, results and a 'Best and Worst' recap of SmackDown Live on Tuesday night, this week.
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