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Rising: Tamina

Tamina’s time in her latest stint on the main roster has been uneventful, and it started off with her being used as a cheap swerve for Charlotte Flair. Until these past couple of weeks, Tamina wasn’t given a real chance to speak on either Talking Smack or SmackDown Live, but we’re finally starting to get a chance to hear from her. No, her mic skills aren’t great, but listening to her as a no-nonsense, tough competitor with her eyes on the prize is far more helpful than having no idea what she’s about. Not everyone is familiar with Tamina’s work either, so it’s nice to see that she’s finally getting a chance to say a few words.

Additionally, Tamina pinned Naomi in the tag team match, following Lana’s distraction. It’s been unfortunate to see how many times Naomi has been pinned as a champion, because it’s similar to the failings on Raw. Before Alexa Bliss, the women’s champion would be pinned in these types of matches, and Naomi has been placed in the same situation.

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Regardless, we did get to see Tamina pick up a victory, and that gives her at least a little bit of momentum heading into the Money in the Bank ladder match. Out of all the competitors, Tamina seems to be the least popular pick to win the briefcase, and that isn’t a surprise. But SmackDown Live is the land of swerves (“opportunity”, after all, is a mere kayfabe euphemism), so don’t be overly shocked if Tamina wins on June 18.