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Atlanta!
The Headliners
It’s been three-on-three in the blue brand’s women’s division for a while now, but that was just for respect, and bragging rights, and abstract concepts like that. Now that a shot at Naomi’s actual Women’s championship is at stake, don’t expect the alliance between Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch, or the Welcoming Committee trio of Natalya, Tamina & Carmella, to hold.
As former titleholders themselves, Natty, Charlotte and Becky have to be considered top threats to win tonight’s Fatal 5Way to determine who will next challenge Naomi. A powerhouse with a championship pedigree like Tamina also has to be taken seriously.
But maybe we should be paying most attention to the Princess of Staten Island. Not only does Carmella have a couple pins on the champ in recent weeks, she also has back-up in the former of friend-who-is-a-boy James Ellsworth.
We’ll be watching closely to see how this goes down - and for signs of whether commissioner Shane McMahon is going to put the losing ladies into a Money in the Bank ladder match on June 18.
The Title Scene
New WWE champion Jinder Mahal’s Punjabi celebration came off pretty well last Tuesday, in the arena and in terms of YouTube views. Now that Randy Orton knows his rematch is coming at the next pay-per-view (PPV) however, don’t expect The Viper to let the Maharajah and his sidekicks the Singh Brothers tout their accomplishment without a response - likely in the form of a RKO.
United States champion Kevin Owens wasn’t originally in McMahon’s plans for the WWE title MitB ladder match, but he talked his way into it. Which probably means the belt won’t be on the line in St. Louis. But it does mean KO will have his hands full with not only the man he beat via count out at Backlash, AJ Styles, but also the other guys in the bout - Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler and Shinsuke Nakamura.
Breezango went through every Fashion File in their case log, and the still couldn’t figure out a way to get the tag titles off Jimmy & Jey Uso in two chances last week. What’s next for Tyler Breeze & Fandango? And is this the week The New Day graduate from Talking Smack to #1 contenders?
Other stuff to keep an eye on:
- Getting ready for the ladder match isn’t the only thing Zayn will be doing. Sami will also be trying to heal up for his latest beatdown at the hands of Corbin... and probably looking for a chance to strike back against The Lone Wolf, in or out of Money in the Bank.
- Maybe this is the week Team Blue updates Rusev’s story?
- Maybe this is the week Lana graduates from vignettes to wrestling, or at least showing up on stage?
- Will SmackDown turn out to be a “Land of Opportunity” for guys like Tye Dillinger and Mojo Rawley? Or are they destined to be more in the Apollo Crews mode?
Three weeks until Money in the Bank!
What will you be looking for on SmackDown Live tonight?