What’s the Story?
SmackDown Women’s Champion Naomi kicked off tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live by relinquishing the championship due to injury. Naomi suffered a knee injury and will likely miss her opportunity to head into WrestleMania as the champion.
Due to injury, @NaomiWWE must relinquish her SmackDown Women's Championship. #SDLive @WWEDanielBryan pic.twitter.com/2WMeZWfvDi
— WWE (@WWE) February 22, 2017
The request came at the hands of General Manager Daniel Bryan who ordered a championship match to take place between Alexa Bliss and Becky Lynch following the title being vacated which was won by Bliss; marking her second championship in the WWE.
In case you didn’t know
Naomi won the SmackDown Women’s Championship by defeating former champion Alexa Bliss at the SmackDown exclusive pay-per-view, Elimination Chamber. This title win marked the first championship of Naomi’s career and was rumored to be heading into WrestleMania 33, which will hail from her hometown of Orlando, as the champion.
A knee injury was up on SmackDown Live and many fans speculated that it was a work, but SEScoops reported that Naomi didn’t work any WWE live events this weekend and that while this confirmed her knee injury as legitimate, little was known about the injury until tonight’s episode of SmackDown.
Bliss and Lynch have been feuding since the inception of the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Lynch was the first SmackDown Women’s Champion, but would lose the belt to Bliss at the SmackDown exclusive pay-per-view TLC.
The heart of the matter
Bryan booked a match between Bliss and Lunch for the vacated championship so there will likely be a new champion crowned tonight, but this still comes as disappointing news for the former champion Naomi.
She has constantly been talking about her goal of heading into her hometown of Orlando, Florida for WrestleMania as a champion, but that no longer seems like a viable option.
What’s next?
Bliss is still in allegiance with Mickie James, who has been feuding with Lynch since 2016. These three women have dominated the SmackDown Women’s Division and will more than likely continue to do so until after WrestleMania 33.
Expect to see all three women involved in a match involving the SmackDown Women’s Division at the Showcase of the Immortals.
Sportskeeda’s Take
This comes as very sad news for Naomi who has lost one of her major goals, but this is good news for Bliss who gets to add another title win to her resume.
Hopefully Naomi makes a speedy recovery so she can continue to make a name for herself as a top wrestler in the SmackDown Women’s Division. For now, the fans of SmackDown Live will have to enjoy The Wicked Witch of the WWE continue to build up accomplishments in her young career.
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