35-year-old former champion to make final appearance on upcoming WWE SmackDown? Exploring potential future direction
WWE SmackDown embarked upon a new era this past Friday as the show marked its return to the USA Network after five years on FOX. However, one of the most prominent names on the brand could be making their last appearance on the program next week.
The star in question is Bayley, who has been a regular face on Friday nights over the last couple of years. She has been embroiled in a feud with Nia Jax over the last few months and even lost the WWE Women's Championship to The Irresistible Force at SummerSlam. While Bayley is looking to regain her title, she could very well end up competing in her last match on SmackDown next week.
The 35-year-old will team up with Naomi to take on Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton. The person to secure the pinfall between Bayley and Naomi will get a future title opportunity. However, the stipulation also states that whoever gets pinned among the four women will have to leave SmackDown permanently.
With WWE teasing a rift between Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton, the duo could likely end up winning the match and staying on the same brand to progress their storyline. The situation could also be beneficial for Bayley if she takes the pin and joins RAW, where Liv Morgan would need a babyface challenger if she retains her gold against Rhea Ripley at Bad Blood.
Veteran wants to see Bayley and Naomi get the double pin on WWE SmackDown
While the outcome of next week's women's tag team match is highly unpredictable, wrestling veteran Dutch Mantell would like to see both Naomi and Bayley get the pinfall. He wanted fans to decide the next challenger between the two by votes.
"What if they had a double pin, both of them on top of Nia or Tiffany and they get one-two-three? So who gets the win? Then put it up to fan votes and just throw it out there. Involve the fans in this and have one winner and you see where the support is."
WWE has not used the fan voting system to determine matches in a very long time. The company earlier used to have a Cyber Sunday premium live event where one aspect of every bout was determined by fans through voting.