8 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (July 16)

5. Carmella Steps Up

Carmella Bianca Belair
WWE.com

Bayley has been benched for approx nine months by an ACL tear, and that meant WWE were forced to cancel her planned 'I Quit' match against Bianca Belair at Money In The Bank. Thinking on their feet, the promotion came up with an alternative: Carmella would be pulled from MITB and become the next challenger instead.

Both women were in a tough spot here. This easily could've been a snorefest that literally nobody cared about, but Carmella stepped up to produce a perfectly fine title bout that ended with a popular babyface win. Fans being there helped it, no doubt, but both 'Mella and Belair deserve credit for their efforts.

Who knows what's next for Bianca; WWE might need to act quickly to find her a suitable opponent for SummerSlam or risk her SmackDown Women's Title reign turning into a second-rate afterthought. She's talented enough to make it work, and it's not like there was much demand for that third Bayley match anyway.

Bring on the future.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.