With WrestleMania 36 on the horizon and the match card still to be finalized, the rumor mill is swirling with speculation regarding title matches. At the time of this writing, the SmackDown Women’s Championship has yet to be confirmed, but it could involve Bayley defending her coveted prize against multiple challengers.
The latest news, which comes courtesy of TalkSport ‘s Alex McCarthy’s Twitter account, has revealed that the current plan is for Bayley to defend the title against Naomi, Sasha Banks, Lacey Evans and Carmella in a six-pack challenge. At the time of this writing, the final opponent is still to be revealed, but the WWE roster certainly isn’t without its shortage of potential participants.
As The Inquisitr reported earlier, Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss aren’t expected to be involved in the SmackDown Women’s Championship hunt as they’ve challenged the Kabuki Warriors for their Tag Team titles. However, that match is also speculation for now, and nothing will be certain until the card has been set in stone.
McCarthy’s report also claims that he’s asked his WWE sources if the company plans on inserting Cross and Bliss into the tag team match. If that match goes ahead, it leaves a spot open for an underutilized female superstar to get an opportunity at the biggest show of the year, as Bliss or Cross would likely compete for Bayley’s title if they were available to do so.
BREAKING NEWS: @itsBayleyWWE has announced that she will defend the #SmackDown Women’s Championship at #SuperShowDown . pic.twitter.com/tKzXE8YkHz
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) February 15, 2020
McCarthy also noted that what he’s heard isn’t concrete information, and the “fluid” nature of WWE means that the rumors should be taken with a grain of salt. His source said these were the plans “as of this morning,” which means that the card is still subject to change.
As noted by Sportskeeda , there were reported plans for Bayley to face Banks in a one-on-one match at the event. “The Boss” has planted some seeds in recent weeks which suggest she’ll turn on her tag team partner, but the injury she suffered before the Royal Rumble — which could be a storyline as she focuses on The Mandalorian — appears to have put an end to those plans for now.
WWE has teased a split between Bayley and Banks in the past, but they’ve remained by each other’s side through their ups and downs. However, now that there’s a big title to be fought for, the company might split the team and pit them against each other in a rivalry in the lead up to WrestleMania 36 .
