What’s the story?
WWE have announced a Fatal 5 Way match to crown the number one contender to Naomi’s Smackdown Live Women’s Championship featuring Becki Lynch, Lana, Tamina, Natalya and former four-time RAW Women’s Champion, Charlotte.
Charlotte spoke to WWE.com on last night’s Smackdown Live fallout show to discuss her chances of being the first ever female Triple Crown winner in WWE history.
In case you didn’t know…
In her short time in the WWE, Charlotte has already had a storied career. It was just four years ago that she made her debut on NXT. Since that time she has gone on to become the second ever NXT Women’s Champion before heading to the main roster to become a four-time RAW Women's Champion, main eventing multiple Monday Night Raws and being involved in both the first Hell in A Cell match and PPV main event in women’s history.
Charlotte was brought to Smackdown Live by Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan to head up the Women’s division following the loss of Alexa Bliss to Monday Night Raw, but as yet she has been unable to capture the Smackdown Live Women’s Championship, thanks to the former Welcoming Committee of Tamina, Natalya and Carmella standing in her way of victory.
At Battleground, Charlotte has the chance to cement her legacy and become the number one contender to Naomi’s title heading into the biggest fight of the summer, Summerslam.
The heart of the matter
Following the two Women’s Money in the Bank ladder matches it seem’s only fair that this match take place to decide the Number One Contender, and the inclusion of Lana following two definitive losses to Naomi will likely just add fuel to the fire of the other women competing to come out of the match as the winner.
Although faced with stiff competition Charlotte was feeling confident following Smackdown Live and had this to say.
“At the end of the day I am the Queen, I came to Smackdown Live to represent a brand and be the best... and be the first ever Triple Crown Winner.”
The competition is fierce in this match, in Becki Lynch, Charlotte will be battling against her best friend, and former champion Natalya, is a veteran in the business and one of the best in the ring, while it will be interesting to see how this new alliance between Tamina and Lana has an affect on the match. All of these competitors will want to be a part of Summerslam, winning this match is their best chance to be on the card.
What’s next?
There are still two weeks to go before the July 23rd Battleground PPV so anything can happen between now and then. The competition is strong on Smackdown Live in the Women’s division and you also have to consider how current Miss Money in the Bank Carmella will play into things leading up to both Battleground and next month’s Summerslam.
Charlotte has been involved in some of the biggest women’s matches in history, so don’t be surprised to see her win this match to go onto challenge Naomi for the title at Summerslam.
Author’s take
In her short time in WWE, Charlotte has arguably already had a Hall of Fame career, some even arguing that she might be the best women’s wrestler ever, which I agree. She has already been involved in countless classics both in NXT and on the main roster and I expect her to come out on top in this match and go on to defeat Naomi and become the first female Triple Crown Winner at Summerslam and cement her legacy as one of the best in history.
It may be short lived though, as we’ve seen in previous Summerslams such as 2013 when Orton cashed in on Daniel Bryan; so, expect Carmella to walk out of Summerslam as Smackdown Live Women’s Champion, but let's hope James Ellsworth stays out of it this time.
When your father is Ric Flair you have a huge challenge living up to that legacy but Charlotte is well on her way to living up to it as she continues to be one of the top stars in the company going forward.
How did Ric Flair spend $1500 at a pizza place? More details here
