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The Next Challenger for the SmackDown Women’s Championship

As seen at Sunday’s WWE Backlash event, Natayla ended up getting the victory for her team in the six-women tag match that featured herself teaming with Carmella and Tamina to take on the team of Naomi, Charlotte and Becky Lynch.

Dave Meltzer indicated on Wrestling Observer Radio that the plan is for Natalya to be the next challenger for Naomi’s SmackDown Women’s Championship at a future date and that’s the reason she got the win for her team.

There was speculation a while back that Charlotte would possibly do a turn at Backlash to set up a match between Naomi and Charlotte at a later date. That obviously wasn’t done here and the company is now going with Natalya vs. Naomi moving forward.

Johnny Gargano’s Wife Issues Statement on The Attack at NXT Takeover

Johnny Gargano’s wife, Candice LeRae, issued the flowing statement regarding Tommaso Ciampa’s attack on her husband at Saturday’s NXT Takeover event:

“Johnny is hurting physically, mentally, and we’re drained emotionally. It was a long night and we appreciate everyone’s support and kind words. It’s going to be a process, but my husband is resilient and will back stronger than ever ASAP.

We will try to keep you updated on his progress. For now, this is all I can say on the matter. I have no words for the absolutely selfish acts of this person we believed was apart of our family.

Thank you all for your love and support.”

Two Shifts In The Betting Odds for Tonight’s WWE Backlash Event

Heading into tonight’s WWE Backlash event, Randy Orton is now once again the favorite to win his match against Jinder Mahal, according to the betting odds being placed. Also, AJ Styles is the favorite to win his match as well. Back on Friday, it was the other way around for both matches.

Here is the updated odds for tonight’ show:

WWE Title Match
Randy Orton (-400) vs. Jinder Mahal (+280)

WWE United States Title Match
AJ Styles (-210) vs. Kevin Owens (+160)

SmackDown Tag Team Title Match
The Usos (-460) vs. Tyler Breeze & Fandango (+320)

Tamina Snuka, Carmella & Natalya (-900) vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Naomi, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch (+500)

Shinsuke Nakamura (-2600) vs. Dolph Ziggler (+1200)

Baron Corbin (-1200) vs. Sami Zayn (+600)

Luke Harper (-380) vs. Erick Rowan (+260)

Kickoff Show
Tye Dillinger (-825) vs. Aiden English (+475)

Reason Why WWE Split Up DIY at NXT Takeover

As seen at Saturday’s WWE NXT Takeover: Chicago event, WWE did an angle that saw ‎Tommaso Ciampa attack his partner Johnny Gargano after their loss to Authors of Pain for the NXT Championship.

Dave Meltzer discussed the incident on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Radio and indicated that the two are headed to the main roster soon. This is the reason they decided to split them as the company didn’t want to bring them to the main roster as a tag team.

Spoiler on Two Feuds for NXT Championships

Coming out of Saturday’s NXT Takeover: Chicago event, Bobby Roode is expected to move into a program with Drew McIntyre and the two will feud over the NXT Championship Title.

Another feud moving forward will see Heavy Machinery feuding with The Authors of Pain for the NXT Tag Team Championship Titles.

Reason Why Sasha Banks Loss to Alicia Fox on Monday’s RAW

As seen on the May 8th episode of RAW, Sash Banks pinned Alicia Fox, but the the former Divas Champion had a shoulder up outside the ref’s field of vision, which led to Fox getting another shot at The Boss this past Monday night. This time around, Fox won the match.

With Noam Dar at ringside, Fox managed to muscle out of a Bank Statement attempt and nailed Banks in the small of her back with a ruthless Scissor Kick to claim the victory.

For those wondering about Banks losing to Fox, the word going around is that Vince McMahon isn’t high on her like other people are. Therefore, he won’t protect her from losing matches.

While McMahon recognizes the reaction that Banks gets from the crowd and her overall appeal, he believes that she is injury prone because of how she operates in the ring.

It’s also believed that a long title reign is very unlikely for her anytime soon.

Banks became a three-time champion last year, but she didn’t have a successful title defense against Charlotte Flair. A lot of the reasoning behind that is McMahon doesn’t trust her to hold a title for long periods of time.

Banks has a history of back problems and that is a huge huge red flag for McMahon because he sees putting the RAW Women’s Championship on her as a big risk. She’s been hurt or injured quite often and will need to have back surgery eventually.

WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago Live Results – May 20 2017

Welcome to NXT TakeOver: Chicago!

For the past several months, the general feeling has been that NXT had lost a little something with so many talents leaving and few stars being made in their wake. Last months NXT TakeOver: Orlando was a very good show but definitely a transitional one. Tonight in Chicago however, all the places have fallen in place and NXT is set to have its best show of the year.

NXT Champion, Bobby Roode, has reigned supreme since defeating Shinsuke Nakamura. There were a number of viable contender’s to Roode’s title, from Kassius Ohno and Roderick Strong, to Drew McIntyre and Eric Young. However it was the returning Hideo Itami who staked his claim as next-in-line. Itami has had a rough tenure in NXT thus far, having been injured for the majority of that time, but tonight looks set to be his crowning. Roode has been a great Champion so far but the time feels right for Hideo to finally assert himself as the man in NXT.

Asuka is still undefeated! The Empress has been undefeated since her debut in NXT, and this is an amazing fact that WWE doesn’t play-up enough. Asuka has had a personality change as of late and she’s so much fun to watch. Tonight’s match was originally a Fatal 4-Way with Ember Moon, Nikki Cross, and Ruby Riot, however Moon injured her arm and was forced out of the match. So we’re set for a Triple Threat match for the NXT Women’s Championship and Asuka’s streak is once again on the line. This should be a great match but I would like to see Asuka retain again. Nikki Cross and Ruby Riot are more focused on killing each other, than they are the title, so I think it would make sense for Asuka to retain and look towards a new challenge. Maybe Asuka will face Ember Moon again, or maybe, and more exciting if you ask me, she will be challenged by NXT’s newest signee: Io Shirai. This Japanese phenomenon has wrestled for Lucha Underground and she would make for an amazing opponent for Asuka; imagine Asuka’s face when a rising talent from Japan comes to challenge her as she did several years ago, the story writes itself.

Next up we have the NXT Tag Team Championship match between D.I.Y and The Author’s of Pain. These two teams have been doing battles for months and tonight is set to be an end-cap on their rivalry, as they square-off in the first-ever NXT tag team ladder match! As is customary for D.I.Y, this match is expected to be an off-the-charts affair that blows the roof off of the All-State Arena in Chicago. We had a scare over the past 24 hours as Tommaso Ciampa was injured at a live event, however he has been cleared to compete and will look to win back the NXT Tag Team Championships with his partner, Johnny Gargano!

Another match on tonight’s card see’s the United Kingdom Championship be defended, as Pete Dunne challenges Tyler Bate. This match comes hot-off the heels of the first episode of the WWE UK show, in which Dunne defeated Trent Seven to become number one contender, and Bate overcame Mark Andrews in an insane match. Dunne and Bate were the two finalists of the United Kingdom Tournament, which saw Bate crowned as the first-ever UK Champion, and tonight we get the rematch. This match has all the makings of an instant-classic.

Elsewhere on the card tonight, Roderick Strong takes-on Eric Young in a bid to destroy Sanity once and for all. Strong has had a renaissance since WWE aired the 2-part series looking at his difficult life. Can he do what Tye Dillinger never could, and finally take-out the head of the beast? I expect at least one more match to take place on tonight’s show, possible a women’s match, or Aleister Black.

NXT TakeOver: Chicago begins at 8 PM ET, with the half-hour pre-show beginning at 7:30 PM. Which match are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments, be sure to check out the awesome Ringside News app, and enjoy the show!