Ronda Rousey's Next Challenger Revealed On WWE SmackDown

WWE lined up Ronda Rousey's next SmackDown Women's Title challenger on Friday.

by Jamie Kennedy
Ronda Rousey Natalya
WWE.com

Natalya has been confirmed as Ronda Rousey's next SmackDown Women's Title challenger.

The Canadian veteran won a 'Six-Pack Challenge' match on Friday's episode; Nattie beat Raquel Rodriguez, Aliyah, Shayna Baszler, Shotzi and the borderline-forgotten Xia Li before working a staredown spot with Ronda in-ring.

Rousey vs. Natalya has yet to be made official on WWE's HIAC mini-site, but it looks like that's incoming soon. If added, the SmackDown Women's Title bout would made Sunday's show an eight match-strong pay-per-view, and it'll likely be the final piece of the puzzle.

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A few fans may be disappointed that WWE went with Natalya instead of someone newer like Rodriguez, Shotzi or Li. Further, it would've been interesting to see Shayna Baszler (who has been overlooked for far too long) vs. Ronda in some sort of MMA situation.

It's become rather apparent that the company didn't have much in mind for Rousey once she beat Charlotte Flair to become the new champ at WrestleMania Backlash. There's an alarming lack of ready-made challengers for her on the SmackDown scene.

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That, presumably, is why Nattie has been whipped out of the tag division and re-established as a singles force again.

Contributor

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.