Word is that with Smackdown moving to Fox in just over a month, WWE’s Brand Split will be back in full effect. For now, though, they still seem to be observing the Wild Card Rule, even if it doesn’t get name-dropped as much as it did at first. Take Bayley, for example: She’s the Smackdown Women’s Champion, but on Monday she appeared on Raw for a match against Nikki Cross, a member of the Raw roster. Then, on Smackdown, she had a match against Lacey Evans, also a member of the Raw roster. In a backstage video WWE released online, the champ expressed her frustration at this state of affairs:
Sorry to stop you but that’s just it…Raw’s Lacey Evans. Nothing against Lacey, that was a hell of a match from her. But, I’m tired of wrestling the girls from Raw. It’s nothing against them, the division is stacked, they are great athletes, they’re all amazing superstars…on Raw. I’m the SmackDown Women’s Champion. I want to compete against women from SmackDown, from Smackdown Live, the Smackdown division. The Carmellas, Zelina Vegas, Kairi Sanes, that would be so cool. What about the real Liv Morgan? Where’s she at? I would love to have a match with Liv. I want to prove Charlotte wrong when she says I’m not elevating the championship or this division. It’s because I don’t get a chance to. Give me that chance. I need that chance. I’m going to show Charlotte how far I’m willing to go at Clash of Champions.
Whether this was scripted or off the cuff, she makes a really valid point. The Smackdown Women’s Roster is being massively underutilized. Carmella is lots of fun as R-Truth’s comedy partner, but she hardly ever wrestles her own matches anymore. Similarly, Zelina Vega mostly appears as Andrade’s manager, but she’s a great wrestler in her own right. The Kabuki Warriors, Fire & Desire, and the IIconics have all already lost pretty definitively against the Women’s Tag Team Champions, so why not put some of them in singles competition? Lana isn’t on TV at all right now for somewhat mysterious reasons, and Liv Morgan seems to be taking a break on the eve of a character reboot (and hopefully Bayley mentioning her implies she’ll be back soon). Ember Moon got a match against Bayley at SummerSlam (although it doesn’t seem to be leading anywhere for her) and Charlotte’s always got plenty to do, but the rest of the Smackdown women deserve better than what they’ve been getting. Here’s hoping that Bayley putting so fine a point on it implies that change is in the air.
