What’s the story?
On the SmackDown show Talking Smack, General Manager Daniel Bryan announced that Naomi will challenge Alexa Bliss for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.
The match was earned after Naomi defeated Bliss on the Royal Rumble Pre-Show, as well as the latest episode of SmackDown.
In case you didn’t know...
Naomi has pinned Bliss twice since she became the SmackDown Women’s Champion. Her first victory was in the six-woman tag team match on the Royal Rumble Pre-Show, where Naomi teamed up with Nikki Bella and Becky Lynch to take on Bliss, Natalya, and Mickie James.
Before Bliss won the Championship, Naomi defeated Bliss at the SmackDown pay-per-view No Mercy. Bliss was originally scheduled to face Lynch for the SmackDown Women’s Championship, but Lynch was injured and could not compete.
The heart of the matter
Naomi spoke about how it was her dream to win the Women’s Championship and defend it in her hometown of Orlando, Florida so expect that to be brought up in promos and interviews going forward.
Bliss has been the Champion since the SmackDown Exclusive pay-per-view TLC, so it’s unlikely that the WWE would have Bliss drop the championship this soon.
What’s next?
There are two weeks until the Elimination Chamber and not much time to properly build up a Championship match, so logic would dictate that Naomi’s dream of walking into WrestleMania the SmackDown Women’s Championship is unlikely.
Sportskeeda’s take
Both Naomi and Bliss are great competitors so their match will likely be a fun match, but there’s little to no chance of Bliss losing the championship this early. Bliss just won the title about two months ago and hasn’t had a single feud with the Championship against anyone aside from The Irish Lass Kicker.
If Bliss was to lose the title, it would make more sense for it to happen down the line as she is just beginning to be established as the top star in the SmackDown Women’s Division. So when the bell rings following the end of the match between Bliss and Naomi, expect Bliss to be the one who retains the Championship.
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