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A big title feud in the Women's division could be set to end as soon as the Royal Rumble 2020. On the latest episode of Dropkick DiSKussions, Tom Colohue spoke in length about the SmackDown rivalry and what lies ahead. You can listen to the full episode below:
In essence, Colohue told Korey Gunz that despite the investment in it, the SmackDown Women's Championship feud seems like a throwaway one where Lacey Evans has little to no chance of winning.
"Lacey Evans, for all the push that she's had - this does feel like a throwaway feud. Just a bit of a time killer. Which is a shame and I think it's been used in a very clever way because they've turned Lacey Evans which was always the plan. You bring her in, you get some heat behind her however you can. At the time they needed a heel, so they got a heel. They needed a heel to feud against Becky Lynch.
Although he doesn't believe Evans' pro-American gimmick is enough on a personal level, he's aware of the effect it has on the larger audience:
"But you can't keep Lacey Evans down. Her entire plotline is essentially, "I'm American!". People are always going to chant for The American and America. You look at the marine history, it's a good storyline - it's effective, it's a good character trait. It's not quite enough personally, for me, but they brought in the parenting and the fact that she wants to be a good role model for her daughter and you've got that comparison. Bayley says she's a role model and Lacey Evans being a role model. You got to wonder how much of that was intentional.
He praised Bayley for listening to what was told to her and how she presents herself on Twitter.
"Because I think Bayley has adapted to what she's saying and what she's doing on Twitter to the opponent she's with. Bayley's been really smart, pretty much since she moved to SmackDown in how she presents herself on Twitter. She's been wise. She was given a heads up backstage and she really listened to it and been on point. So I think Bayley does win there - I think Sasha Banks gets involved - as a way to help that along. Mostly this will be the end of the feud or the end of a possibility of Lacey Evans.
He also believes that there needs to be another woman bought back into the fray - naming Carmella as the best option:
"There are other people - I think Carmella needs to come back into the fray, for example. So, whatever the plan is for WrestleMania - I do believe the plan is Bayley vs Sasha Banks. They need to start pulling the trigger and elevating a few more people. At the moment, the SmackDown Women's Championship scene seems a bit stagnant even though the rest of the women are very well-featured"
Ultimately, it does appear as though this is the end of the road for Evans' title push for the time being. It takes time to build and she's only touching one year on the main roster. She's been heavily featured in title feuds since then.
She's virtually guaranteed to be a future Women's Champion - but right now, it's time to tell the story of Bayley and Sasha Banks.
