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WWE News: Naomi Undergoing Major Changes Upon Return, Could Be Sasha Banks’ Partner at WWE Battleground

By Will McCormick
Published on: 20:02 PST, Jul 21, 2016

WWE didn’t truly start giving their women the same kind of opportunities as most WWE superstars until recently. AJ Lee is given a lot of credit for breaking through a lot of barriers and opening the door for Nikki Bella to become the longest reigning WWE Divas Champion of all time, which led to NXT’s women reinventing what it meant to be a female performer in WWE.

Now, the women’s division has been rebranded and holds more prestige than it ever has before. However, there is still a consistent problem with the way WWE books some of their performers. WWE television still puts too much focus on the WWE Women’s Champion and not enough to the rest of the women’s roster.

The WWE Draft and brand extension could fix that problem, but the women’s roster is deeper and more competitive than it has ever been in WWE history. The door should be open for some performers away from the title with almost nothing to show for their hard work and time with the company because there is only one prize to chase in WWE’s women’s division.

[Image via WWE.com]
Naomi is the perfect example of a WWE performer who has worked her way from the bottom only to get stuck in the midcard without a true opportunity to become the WWE Divas or Women’s Champion during her WWE career. She has been with WWE since 2009 but hasn’t been able to get a break for one reason or another.

However, she was drafted to SmackDown during the WWE Draft, and the winds of change are coming for Naomi. Recently, CageSideSeats showed her teasing on Twitter that there will be some major character changes when she returns to WWE:

Feel the Glow is the new motto for Naomi’s character when she returns and she is teasing a fresh new look when she returns to SmackDown. As of this writing, it is unclear what Naomi’s character direction will be upon her return, or when her return to WWE television will be, but there is a possibility that she could be the mystery partner for Sasha Banks at WWE Battleground.

[Image via WWE.com]
Most WWE fans that were waiting for Bayley to be drafted to Raw or SmackDown during the WWE Draft this week are now hoping that WWE officials didn’t have her drafted earlier this week because she will be making her debut at WWE Battleground as the mystery partner of Sasha Banks against the WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte and Dana Brooke.

Much of the WWE Universe is still hoping for Bayley’s debut even though The Boss has already denied it as a possibility. The issue now is that the fans are so preoccupied with whether or not the mystery partner is Bayley that anyone else is going to be considered a disappointment. If WWE meant for Sasha’s partner to be Naomi all along, she might be walking into the lion’s den.

Naomi has a history with Sasha Banks because they were two-thirds of Team B.A.D and returning to help The Boss against Dana Brooke and Charlotte has the potential for Naomi to become a strong face in the eyes of the WWE Universe. However, if she is booed out of the building because she is not Bayley, that backlash could come back on her in a very negative way.

There will be more opportunities for Naomi to get television time on SmackDown after she returns. WWE appears to be trying to change her on-screen personality again and her look, which could be the change of character she needs to be elevated to the next level of the women’s division. If she returns at WWE Battleground, she just needs the WWE Universe to get on her side.

[Image via WWE.com]

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