Like RAW, SmackDown is in London tonight and the show is well underway. That said some of the results have already begun to leak out an one of the is a freshly booked championship match for Money in the Bank.
Per decree from Paige, Carmella will defend her SmackDown Women’s Championship against Asuka at the June 17 pay-per-view.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Paige announces that Carmella is gonna face Asuka at Money In The Bank. #SDLive pic.twitter.com/8kNRh80vvF
— Italo Santana (@BulletClubItal) May 15, 2018
This announcement came after “The Royal Mellabration” where both Paige and Asuka interrupted the champ’s narcissistic ceremony.
This will be Carmella’s second title defense after she shocked the wrestling world by fending off Charlotte Flair earlier this month at Backlash.
Since being reassigned to SmackDown in the Superstar Shake-Up, Asuka had yet to be inserted into anything on consequence. However, this championship opportunity marks the end of that trend.
Asuka’s last Championship crack came at WrestleMania 34 against Flair. Asuka entered the match as one of WWE‘s hottest Superstars as she flaunted a near biblical undefeated streak. The wrestling world all seemed to agree that her ‘Maina victory was nothing more than a formality, so when Charlotte pinned her, it produced quite the awkward silence on social media.
However with Charlotte’s surprising win still reverberating, Carmella cashed in on Flair a few nights later on SmackDown Live earning her first ever WWE Championship.
But now that Asuka is officially next, Carmella’s reigns as champ could be finished. It’s clear that WWE is high on ‘Mella, but they may be eager to see if Asuka is indeed championship material.
Asuka debuted in NXT in October of 2015. Her reign as NXT champion is a historical one at it lasted over 500 days, smashing CM Punk’s record previous record. In an interview with the USA Today’s For The Win, Triple H spoke on the importance of Asuka in WWE.
“It’s the faith to say that you’re that person and to say that if you hold that championship that the belief is there in you to lead a division or a company or a group and to be in that position. For somebody like her, here’s that faith for that long of a period of time and we’re not beating you, we’re keeping a championship on you and keeping it fresh. That’s a pretty bold statement of how good you are.”
In fact, Asuka has been in high demand by Vince McMahon and Co. for some time now, but Triple H pleaded to let her continue to anchor his NXT.
“I would never want to limit someone’s growth or their opportunities, but when Vince brought it up to me, I said the one person we can’t afford to lose is Asuka. You could take everybody else you want to take – and trust me, he did – but I needed her as an anchor. If I lose her and everybody else, I’m doomed,” Triple H admitted.
