Stephanie McMahon Announces WWE's Triple Brand Battle Royal

When will this battle between Raw, SmackDown and NXT take place?

Bayley Sasha Banks
WWE.com

Stephanie McMahon appeared via video link on Friday's episode of SmackDown to announce that WWE will hold a tri-branded Battle Royal to establish Bayley's next challenger for SummerSlam.

Wrestlers from Raw, SmackDown and NXT will be included in the line up.

No names have been announced yet, but it's clear that Asuka and Sasha Banks won't be amongst them - if the former beats the latter on Monday's Raw, then she'll earn a Raw Women's Title shot against Banks on 23 August. Bank on that happening, pun intended.

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As for Bayley's opponent, that's anyone's guess. McMahon did say that some of the SmackDown Women's Champ's old enemies would be involved, so it's likely there will be a mix of names such as Naomi, Lacey Evans, Tamina, The IIconics, Alexa Bliss, Nikki Cross, Tegan Nox and the like.

Naturally, 'The Golden Role Models' feigned shock after hearing Stephanie's announcement. The slight downside to all of this is that Bayley's next rival will be another placeholder. That's been a recurring problem throughout her reign as champion.

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WWE are blatantly spinning their wheels until they feel the time is right to book that Bayley vs. Sasha feud.

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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.