10 New Directions For WWE After Royal Rumble 2017

10. A New Challenger Approaches

The Royal Rumble’s Kickoff Show didn’t quite deliver on high quality in-ring action, but its three matches were far from inconsequential. The first pitted three of SmackDown’s most popular women (Nikki Bella, Naomi, and Becky Lynch) against the brand’s biggest villainesses (Natalya, Mickie James, and Alexa Bliss), and established clear future directions for everyone involved.

Natalya and Nikki will continue their feud, and Becky will splinter away from the title scene to settle her issues with Mickie. The real talking point comes from the decisive pinfall, however: Naomi pinned Bliss, the SmackDown Women’s Champion, to secure the win for her team, and presumably a title shot in the near future.

This isn’t the first time Naomi has pinned Alexa, and she defeated the current champion in a short match back at No Mercy in October. Alexa overturned the loss just over a week later, but she won’t take kindly to taking the fall last night, and they’ll likely fight for the belt at Elimination Chamber on February 12th.

Two weeks isn’t an ideal timescale to build a title program, but every major player in SD’s women’s division left the Rumble with a clear direction to follow. Naomi vs. Alexa will take centre stage, and it’ll be refreshing to see Bliss face a new challenger after spending months feuding with Becky.