Bianca Belair Drafted To WWE SmackDown
Current Raw Women's Champion set to move to blue brand; what to come of title?
Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair will return to the WWE SmackDown roster in two weeks after being drafted to the blue brand on Friday night.
Belair was not live on the show Friday, but in a pre-recorded video, she hinted at a possible future for the title. The EST talked about becoming the SmackDown Women's Champion as if it would take place automatically upon switching brands.
This called back to an infamous moment involving two champions who had been drafted to competing brands in the 2021 draft, when SmackDown champ Becky Lynch and Raw champ Charlotte Flair were drafted. This let to an in-ring title exchange where they basically swapped red and blue titles in a move that was roundly criticized. The fact there also was tension between the two women during the segment didn't help matters.
#SmackDown gets the next pick in the #WWEDraft:#WWERaw Women's Champion, The EST @BiancaBelairWWE! ?? pic.twitter.com/eUv9PC5fUD
— WWE (@WWE) April 29, 2023
Bianca also is slated to defend her Raw Women's Championship at Backlash against Iyo Sky, so it's entirely possible that she could lose the title before coming over. However, Sky and the rest of Damage CTRL also were drafted to SmackDown on Friday, so that complicates things a bit.
We might get a clearer idea of what's going to happen on Raw Monday night depending on which show SmackDown Women's Champion Rhea Ripley ends up on.
Belair has held the Raw title since winning it at WrestleMania 38 against Becky Lynch. She defended it at Mania 39 against Asuka. Bianca also has held the SmackDown Women's Championship before, winning that title from Sasha Banks at WM 37 and losing it to Lynch at that year's SummerSlam. Incidentally, that was the same title Lynch exchanged with Flair that fall and brought to Raw... which Belair won at WrestleMania 38.