Ronda Rousey returned to the WWE after a three-year hiatus in early 2022 and put the entire female locker room on notice. Starting with a Royal Rumble win, she has become a two-time Smackdown Women’s Champion. At present, she is currently engaged in a bitter feud with Shotzi Blackheart and Raquel Rodriguez and the latter will get a championship shot, next week.
During the latest edition of SmackDown, a Gauntlet Match took place to determine the new number-one contender for SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey. Xia Li and Emma kicked off the action with Li coming out on top. Li then eliminated Tegan Nox from action before Raquel Rodriguez entered the fray as the fourth participant.
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The juggernaut removed Xia Li from the match before proceeding to pin a former Smackdown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan and another bonafide heel Sonya Deville. It appeared that Raquel has won the match but Ronda Rousey interrupted her celebration and told her that she still had one more opponent to face.
Ronda Rousey trying to hurt Raquel on Smackdown
Shayna Baszler then showed up and stomped her opponent’s injured elbow. However, the torments didn’t stop the Mexican superstar from getting a win with a roll-up. Soon after the win, it was announced that Raquel Rodriguez vs. Ronda Rousey for the SmackDown Women’s Championship will take place on the December 30, 2022, edition of the blue brand.
Last week, Ronda Rousey and Baszler attacked Raquel on Smackdown this week. Then while speaking on SmackDown LowDown, Shayna Baszler made it clear they weren’t worried about the upcoming Gauntlet match. Plus, it was also noted that it was Raquel who started the beef against them,
“She started it. Like I had been nothing but respectful to her. I did nothing but give her opportunities. I’ve been great to her.”
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Apart from the upcoming title match, WWE also announced that Lacey Evans will be back on live TV, next week on Smackdown. WWE aired another vignette around her during last night’s episode to indicate that she was returning to the blue brand. It wasn’t noted whether she will also be back in action on the show.
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WWE Smackdown December 30 Match Card
At present, the match card for the December 30 edition from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida goes as follows,
– John Cena & Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns & Sami Zayn
– Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Raquel Rodriguez – SmackDown Women’s Championship
– Sheamus vs. Solo Sikoa
– Lacey Evans returns