WWE Reveals Bayley's First Women's Title Challenger on SmackDown

WWE reveals Naomi will be the first challenger to Bayley's Women's Championship

By Matthew Aguilar

Bayley delivered an unforgettable moment at WrestleMania 40, taking down her former friend turned nemesis Iyo Sky and becoming the new WWE Women's Champion. It was a storybook moment in many ways, and the celebration continued to tonight's WWE SmackDown, where Bayley received "you deserve it" chants when she hit the ring. She also revealed who she wants her next challenger to be, but there's someone else in the picture that may end up being her longer-term feud, and the two at the center of all this are Naomi and Tiffany Stratton.

Bayley came out to a huge reception from the crowd, and the Champion took a minute to soak it all in. After the warm reception, it was time to get down to business, and Bayley said that it was also time to give out a new opportunity. She didn't get much further though, as Stratton came out and interrupted.

Stratton had an issue with not being given an opportunity at WrestleMania, but she's made her peace with that. Stratton then said that since Bayley was working her way to an open challenge, she would happily accept, adding that it was indeed Tiffy Time. Bayley laughed and said it was nice to meet her, but that she wasn't going to give an open challenge.

Bayley said she already had someone in mind, and it was someone who made a big return to WWE not all that long ago. That person ended up being Naomi, but Tiffany wasn't sold on the idea. Stratton said that Naomi couldn't find a Championship opportunity if it glowed in the dark, and Naomi wasn't about to let that insult slide.

Naomi came out and got in Stratton's face, saying that she had earned everything she received in WWE and wasn't planning on stopping now. Naomi then told Bayley that she couldn't accept her challenge just yet, as she needed to teach Tiffany a lesson. The two would then have a match one-on-one, and Naomi was clearly on a mission.

While Stratton came close, it was Naomi walking away with the win, and that also meant that Naomi had secured a shot at Bayley's WWE Women's Championship. That match will happen on next week's SmackDown, though there's also the potential involvement of Stratton, as the feud between Stratton and Bayley seems like it is only getting started.

Stratton vs Bayley was always going to be a potential standout feud, and it seems WWE is already planting the seeds of a rivalry. It wouldn't be surprising to see Stratton get involved in the match between Naomi and Bayley, and perhaps that leads to a Triple Threat between all three down the line.

Are you excited for Bayley vs Naomi? Let us know in the comments and you can talk wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!

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