What’s the story?
The recently-drafted Charlotte Flair defeated Naomi in a singles match on SmackDown to earn herself a shot at the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Naomi and Charlotte will face off against each other on the next edition of SmackDown LIVE in a singles match for the same.
In case you didn’t know...
Charlotte was recently drafted to SmackDown LIVE as a part of the Superstar Shake-Up after having lost a fatal-four-way match for the WWE RAW Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 33.
The match had also featured Sasha Banks, Nia Jax and reigning Women’s Champion Bayley. Charlotte was eliminated by Bayley herself.
The heart of the matter
In only her second week on SmackDown, Charlotte got the opportunity to face off against Naomi in a singles match to earn a shot at the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship.
SmackDown began with Charlotte demanding an opportunity for the Championship, citing her credentials for the same. She was interrupted by the reigning champion Naomi, who proceeded to inform her that there were no queens on SmackDown. Naomi would then go on to attack Charlotte, tossing her out of the ring.
Also read: WWE News: Charlotte accepts Nikki Bella’s challenge for a high profile match
This caused Shane McMahon to come out. McMahon made the non-title match official for later in the night and then added that Charlotte would be the #1 contender if she were to win. Further down the night in a backstage segment, Charlotte was greeted with some hostility by her fellow women on SmackDown Live, however, no physicality was registered.
Charlotte would then go on to face Naomi in a hard-fought match that put the athleticism and skillset of both women on display. Here’s a clip from the match itself:
Charlotte would win the match after hitting Naomi with a Natural Selection.
What’s next?
Charlotte will be facing Naomi next week on SmackDown for the Women’s Championship after only having been a member of the SmackDown LIVE roster for three weeks (by that point).
Author’s take
It is obvious to anyone who is a fan of the Women’s division on WWE that the four-time RAW Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair could not have been kept away from the title picture for too long, regardless of which brand she’s wrestling on.
After being drafted on to SmackDown LIVE! and with Alexa Bliss having been drafted to RAW, many expected Charlotte to go straight for the title and that is exactly what has happened.
Despite the sub-par match she had with Naomi, it is expected that the complementary styles of Charlotte and Naomi will produce a scintillating match on next week’s edition of SmackDown LIVE! and I personally can’t wait to see the classic that the two women will (hopefully) put out!
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