The match
Ronda Rousey defends the SmackDown women’s championship against Natalya in a singles match at tonight’s (Sat., July 2, 2022) Money in the Bank pay-per-view (PPV) in Paradise, Nevada.
The story
Ronda Rousey won the SmackDown women’s championship nearly two months ago when she broke Charlotte Flair’s arm at WrestleMania Backlash. Rumor has it that Ronda was supposed to enter a feud with Sasha Banks shortly thereafter, but Banks walked out on WWE in mid-May, leaving the champ without an opponent for June’s Hell in a Cell event.
Flair is still off television, and WWE needed to find a new opponent for The Baddest Mom on the Planet. Enter Rousey’s former close friend, Natalya. Nattie won a six-pack challenge on the June 3 episode of SmackDown to earn a future title match with Rousey. The title match was made official for Money in the Bank. Since then, WWE has turned this into a battle of submission specialists, with Ronda underestimating the effectiveness of Natalya’s sharpshooter and paying the price for it.
Let’s get one thing out of the way right now; Natalya is extremely unlikely to walk out of Money in the Bank as the new champion. It’s pretty clear that she’s a placeholder opponent for Ronda until WWE can find a bigger star to take on the champ. Most wrestling fans understand that this match will probably end with Natalya tapping out to Ronda’s armbar.
That being said, in some ways Natalya is already the winner. She and Ronda tried to spice up their feud on social media, where Natalya eviscerated Ronda for her dumb hot takes on life and potentially leaning into dangerous conspiracy theories. Ronda’s out here talking about cupcakes and handjobs, while Natalya is getting the better of her at every turn.
Their social media beef spilled back into the ring for a segment on SmackDown where Nattie cosplayed as Ronda. The Saddest Mom on the Planet was eventually confronted by Rousey, so she threw an empty stroller at the champ and ran away.
The time for talking, tweeting, cosplaying, and stroller-throwing is over. Natalya is determined to make Ronda tap out with her rack out. Can she get the job done at Money in the Bank? There’s only one way to find out.
Find out who wins by tuning into Money in the Bank and keeping it right here at Cageside Seats!
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