5 things that could happen on smackdown live next week

#2 Six-Way women’s match, loser is out of the Rumble

Charlotte and Naomi stand tall after defeating two-thirds of the Riott Squad

I’m going way out on a limb here, but this is a really intriguing idea for me. Since there are too few women on the roster to do any qualifying matches to gain entry into the Rumble match, why not do the opposite? RAW has 10 active women, not including the champion, Alexa Bliss, all of whom will surely be in the match.

SmackDown has 7, technically speaking, or 8 if you count Becky Lynch, but for the sake of argument we aren’t counting Becky. Plus with Natalya’s comments at Clash of Champions, she will be out of the picture for a little while as well. That means, excluding the champion, Charlotte, SD Live has 6 active female competitors (Lana doesn’t count).

In order to make it an even 15 for the Rumble match (leaving 5 spots open for surprises, returns, or NXT stars), one woman can’t make the cut. So do a six-way, one fall match with Naomi, Tamina, Carmella, Liv Morgan, Ruby Riott, and Sarah Logan in which the woman who takes the pinfall or taps out loses her opportunity to get into the Royal Rumble match. Maybe even give the winner the coveted final spot?

Either way, Carmella ends up taking the fall, which just fuels the fire for her. She still holds the MITB contract so she can get a title shot at any time, but she hates the fact that she won’t be part of the historic match. It can be a great opportunity for her character to grow. I know this is a gigantic long shot and is about 1% likely to happen, but I think it would be a great story.