WWE Evolution: 5 possible shocks

The first WWE pay-per-view to consist solely of women, WWE Evolution, takes place in Uniondale, New York on October 28.

Ronda Rousey will defend her Raw Women’s Championship against Nikki Bella in what is expected to be the main event, while Charlotte Flair will challenge Becky Lynch for the SmackDown Women’s Championship in a Last Woman Standing match.

The NXT Women’s Championship will also be defended, with champion Kairi Sane taking on Shayna Baszler in a rematch from TakeOver: Brooklyn IV, but it remains unclear if the NXT UK Women’s Championship will appear on the show.

Another featured match will see WWE Hall of Famers Trish Stratus and Lita join forces against Alexa Bliss and Mickie James, while The Riott Squad will face Sasha Banks, Bayley and Natalya in a six-woman tag.

Elsewhere, the final of the 2018 Mae Young Classic will be contested between Io Shirai and Toni Storm, and there will be a Battle Royal featuring women from WWE’s past and present to determine a new #1 contender for either the Raw or SmackDown Women’s Championship.

In this article, let’s take a look at five possible shocks that could happen at the historic event.

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#5 Women’s Tag Titles are introduced

Alexa Bliss will be involved in a tag match

The WWE rumour mill has been running wild over the last few months with speculation that the company could be looking to introduce Women's Tag Team titles in the not-too-distant future.

WWE chief brand officer (and on-screen Raw Commissioner) Stephanie McMahon addressed the topic in July, telling Sky Sports that "it’s something we’re keen on implementing as soon as we are able to".

So, with Evolution on the horizon and fans questioning the importance of the three non-title/tournament matches on the card, what better time to introduce the titles than on Sunday?

The underwhelming build-up to Trish Stratus and Lita vs. Alexa Bliss and Mickie James hasn't exactly got fans hyped for the match, but they would definitely care about it if the newly introduced Women's Tag Titles were up for grabs.

#4 NXT invades the Battle Royal

The NXT women dominated the WrestleMania Battle Royal

Naomi won the inaugural WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal earlier this year, but the biggest moment from the match came when six women from NXT – Kavita Devi, Peyton Royce, Dakota Kai, Bianca Belair, Taynara Conti and Kairi Sane – stood tall at one stage against almost the entire women's main roster.

So far, the following 21 names have been confirmed for Sunday's Battle Royal: Tamina, Billie Kay, Peyton Royce, Ember Moon, Alicia Fox, Nia Jax, Dana Brooke, Asuka, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Carmella, Lana, Naomi, Torrie Wilson, Michelle McCool, Alundra Blayze, Ivory, Kelly Kelly, Maria Kanellis, Molly Holly and Zelina Vega.

Notice anything about them? There are no representatives from NXT!

Stephanie McMahon said during her Evolution announcement in July that over 50 women will be part of the show, which is a lot more than what is currently being advertised.

With that in mind, is it too far-fetched to think that there could be a huge invasion of women from NXT? Even if they don't feature at the start of the match, could they get involved during or after it in a Nexus-style attack by decimating the legends and members of the main roster?

#3 The MMA Four Horsewomen make their mark

The two sets of Horsewomen had a confrontation in 2017

Ever since Ronda Rousey, Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke had a confrontation with Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and Bayley at the 2017 Mae Young Classic, people have been speculating when WWE will begin to build towards a match between the Four Horsewomen of MMA (Rousey, Shafir, Duke & Shayna Baszler) and the Four Horsewomen of WWE (Lynch, Flair, Bayley & Sasha Banks).

Early suggestions that the match could happen at Survivor Series in November seem to be wide of the mark, especially with Lynch and Flair currently involved in one of the most heated rivalries in WWE, but that doesn't mean the MMA Four Horsewomen can't join forces on Sunday.

The most likely chance of this happening is if the likes of Brie Bella and Stephanie McMahon try to help Nikki Bella in her Raw Women's Championship match against Ronda Rousey.

Shafir, Duke and Baszler could then appear and even up the numbers by helping "The Baddest Woman On The Planet" retain.

#2 Io Shirai vs. Toni Storm steals the show

Toni Storm is one of the world's most popular wrestlers

For those who haven't caught up on the Mae Young Classic, this year's tournament has featured some of the best WWE matches of 2018 so far.

Io Shirai has defeated Xia Brookside, Zeuxis, Deonna Purrazzo and Rhea Ripley on her way to the final, while Toni Storm progressed past Jinny, Hiroyo Matsumoto and Mia Yim before overcoming veteran Meiko Satomura in an instant classic in the semi-final.

The buzz around Evolution is all about Ronda Rousey vs. Nikki Bella and Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair, but the Mae Young Classic final between Shirai and Storm genuinely has the potential to be among the top WWE pay-per-view matches of the year.

Both women will feature heavily on WWE programming after the event, with Shirai heading to NXT and Storm featuring on NXT UK, and this gives the two women the perfect platform to show how good they really are.

#1 Sasha Banks betrays Bayley

Sasha Banks and Bayley are back on the same page... or are they?

Sasha Banks has competed in 12 televised matches against members of The Riott Squad over the last six months, while Bayley has faced the trio on 11 separate occasions in the same amount of time.

With stats like that flying around, it's no wonder why people are questioning the logic behind this relatively meaningless Banks, Bayley & Natalya vs. Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan & Liv Morgan match taking place at WWE Evolution.

Banks and Bayley have been two of WWE's most prominent female Superstars since the Women's Evolution began, so it'd be fitting for them to be involved in one of the biggest moments of the night this Sunday.

The two women have had an on-again-off-again friendship throughout 2018 but neither one of them has had a particularly good year storyline-wise, with the likes of Nia Jax, Alexa Bliss and Ronda Rousey being seen as a bigger priority on Raw.

If that's going to change, the Sasha and Bayley friendship surely can't last much longer, so could a betrayal be on the cards once and for all at Evolution?