WWE SmackDown Predictions: Becky Lynch Challenges Ronda Rousey

Credit: WWE.com

1. Becky Lynch Challenges Ronda Rousey Instead of Asuka for WrestleMania

‘The Man’ had a unique Royal Rumble experience. First, she tapped out to Asuka. A crushing loss that shocked many fans in its execution. Then, she turned around and won the Women’s Royal Rumble match by defeating her nemesis, Charlotte Flair.

Now, SmackDown Live needs to find a way to address both of those events while still making everyone involved appear strong.

WWE has a tendency to flounder a bit when given such a precarious tightrope to walk in a storyline. This time, however, I expect WWE to execute this angle with the deft hand it needs.

Becky Lynch will likely have one of the night’s most important promo spots. She will almost immediately need to begin the process of deciding who she wants to main event WrestleMania against.

I expect that process to go a little something like this.

Lynch will admit Asuka got the better of her at Royal Rumble, a babyface move that someone as talented as Lynch will be able to pull off while still maintaining an air of confidence. Lynch then will declare that, while she wants another match against Asuka in the future, she still has too much unsettled business with her favorite Twitter punching bag, Ronda Rousey.

Lynch will declare she wants to face Rousey at WrestleMania, officially setting up our first cross-brand super match for the show.

I really believe this is the only logical direction to take this angle.

If WWE goes down any other avenue for Lynch’s promo, they risk damaging Lynch’s momentum or devaluing Asuka’s title reign. Both of those would be horrible outcomes considering how limitless the possibilities are for those two at the moment.

Lynch challenging Rousey, while still admitting Asuka had her number at Royal Rumble, allows WWE to make the match that should main event WrestleMania while simultaneously allowing a superstar like Charlotte Flair her own one-on-one match against ‘The Empress of Tomorrow’ at the event.

When it’s all said and done, I believe this episode of SmackDown has all the makings of a show that will go a long way to ensuring WWE’s blue brand is off to the right start heading towards WrestleMania.