Naomi

Much like RAW this week, SmackDown progressed many storylines as WrestleMania quickly approaches. The advertised match of the night saw Naomi face off against Carmella to see who would face Bayley for the blue brand’s title at Super ShowDown.

Unfortunately, this was the only women’s match of the night and it did start off super slow. It progressed nicely towards the end but by the time it picked up it was over and Naomi was the victor.

The Bella Twins were on ‘A Moment of Bliss’ to soak up an important announcement in their hometown. Alexa Bliss made it official that Nikki & Brie will be this years female inductees to the Hall of Fame. They were greeted with an overall warm response from the crowd and Bella Army.

Other women on the show included a sit down interview with Lacey Evans. The biggest take away was when Evans stated that she understood that she is at the back of the line for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. She explained that she has to go through five women to get her shot. At this time a match has not been announced for Elimination Chamber. Could this mean we are getting two Elimination Chamber matches this year?

Fire & Desire also were present in backstage segments. As a follow up to Mandy Rose’s date with Otis last week, Tucker would approach the pair. He questioned why Rose did what she did being with Dolph Ziggler on Valentine’s Day instead of Otis. Rose stated that Otis didn’t show up. Tucker, seemingly confused, asked her why did she send a text saying that she was running late. Rose has no idea what text he is referring to. After Tucker left, Sonya Deville said to Rose that Ziggler seems to be more her type anyway.

For a full run down of the above events, you can check out the live coverage of the show by clicking here.

Let’s get to the Winners & Losers of the week.

WINNER: Naomi

Naomi got her title match. With only being back for a few weeks, Naomi has jumped full speed ahead to potentially go into WrestleMania as champion. Realistically, I personally don’t see Bayley losing the title less than two months away from the big show. With a rumor swirling around that Sasha Banks may be clear and ready, Naomi may not get to perform in Tampa, Fla. after all. Only time will tell that.

If what Lacey Evans says had any merit on the women of SmackDown possibly having an Elimination Chamber match as well, then Naomi will certainly be part of that. Regardless, Naomi vs. Bayley will be the first time that a women’s title will be defended in Saudi Arabia.

WINNER: The Bella Twins

The Bella Twins are big winners. The choice to have them inducted in this year’s Hall of Fame is certainly controversial. Regardless of how anyone feels about this, this is the ultimate end goal for many and this is just the icing on the top of all the positive things happening to them as of late.

Personally they earned this. They deserve to be in it, just look at the tweet below. Sure, the argument that many are having are saying it is “too soon.” To be honest, I feel that a lot of people are only saying that because they feel others should be put in first. I am not denying that other women such as Victoria, Melina, Molly Holly, etc. deserve their rightful spots in the Hall of Fame. They do. However, that shouldn’t negate The Bella Twins going in as well.

The way I look at it is that Edge went into the Hall of Fame the year after he had to retire. Nikki Bella is doing the same thing.

WINNER: Sonya Deville

Sonya is the silent winner of the week. Naomi and The Bella Twins were the loud and obvious ones. Sonya is clearly the one to send Otis that text and her “Ziggler is more your type” response to Mandy confirms it. Although I do want Fire & Desire to win the tag titles, seeing the storyline progress is great. Seeing Sonya becoming the true heel in all of this is even better.

LOSER: Carmella

Carmella definitely winds up on the loser list this week. Her short push seems to be over with. Hopefully, for her sake, she can still stay relevant leading up to WrestleMania. At this point, though unless she finds herself a tag team partner and WWE actually does something with the tag titles, she may be trying for a second win in the Women’s Battle Royal.

What were your thoughts on this week’s SmackDown? Who were your Winners & Losers? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.