It looks like the SmackDown Women’s Championship match has been moved to the main show of WrestleMania 33. This is based on a tweet from WWE Superstar Becky Lynch and the WWE website.
You spoke up. You're awesome. Thank you . #WrestleMania
— Rebecca Quin (@BeckyLynchWWE) March 31, 2017
As noted earlier, the SmackDown Women’s Championship match was scheduled for the Kickoff show, along with the Cruiserweights Championship match and the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. The WWE website has since been updated to show that the Women’s match, where Alexa Bliss will defend her championship belt against every available woman on the SmackDown Live roster, is now part of the main show.
So who is going to be in the match? We know for sure that Alexa Bliss, Becky Lynch, Naomi, Natalya, Carmella and Mickie James are all scheduled to compete. There is also likely to be a surprise entrant or two, given how vague WWE has been by saying “every available woman.” Don’t be shocked to see Tamina make a return, or a woman getting called up from NXT.
While it’s great to see the women getting taken more seriously, it could have some negative repercussions. Because the match has been moved up to the main show, it’s possible it will get shortened to squeeze it into the schedule. The SmackDown Live women’s roster is stacked with great talent, so these women should be given a big opportunity to shine. Hopefully the match hasn’t been cut in half to accommodate the move.
It’s also a shame to see the Cruiserweights Championship still on the Kickoff show, but logistically something has to go before the main show starts. The only other match I could see taking its place would be Jericho vs. Owens, but those two are in too big a feud to have it blow off on the Kickoff show. With fewer matches, hopefully Neville and Austin Aries are given the opportunity to put on a longer match. These two are top performers, so expect this to be must-see wrestling, regardless of how long the match ends up being or where it is on the card.
So what do you think? Are you happy to see the SmackDown Live women get their due? How would you organize the WrestleMania 33 card? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
