Bianca Belair battles Sonya Deville & the WWE hometown curse on next week’s Raw

Most fans have been viewing Bianca Belair’s upcoming Raw Women’s title defense against Sonya Deville as a standard, quick, post-WrestleMania challenge for The EST. Something that will allow her to kill some time and pick up a win or two on B-level PPVs premium live events before she moves into her next big program.

And maybe it still is. But WWE’s made it a little more interesting by booking Belair vs. Deville in Bianca’s hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee.

Is the “hometown curse” probably isn’t any more of an absolute than “standing tall on the go home means you’re losing at the event itself” when it comes to WWE’s unwritten rules. But it’s one wrestlers talk about, and the company itself leans into.

Could this spell doom for Belair’s second title reign? Probably not, but someone who’s spoiled an EST homecoming in the past is still lurking in the shadows since losing to Bianca at ‘Mania...

We’ll see. At least the “hometown curse” doesn’t factor into the other segment announced for April 25’s show. Neither Bobby Lashley or Omos is from the Volunteer State, so their arm wrestling contest will certainly be a straight-up affair with no shenanigans.