Bianca Belair Vs. Bayley Added To WWE WrestleMania Backlash
Bayley will be Belair's first challenger
Ahead of Friday night's episode of WWE SmackDown, it was announced that Bayley would be the first challenger to Bianca Belair's SmackDown Women's championship, with the match taking place next month at WrestleMania Backlash.
Belair won the championship from Sasha Banks on the first night of WrestleMania on April 10. Barring any such matches taking place on SmackDown in the weeks ahead, the title bout with Bayley would mark Belair's first defense of the gold.
Bayley stated on last week's episode of SmackDown that she wants to challenge Belair for the title, saying she wants to restore dignity to the belt. She also claimed that the reason why Belair was crying prior to the match with Banks was because she didn't think she could actually win.
Bayley has reigned twice before as SmackDown Women's champion, and holds the record for longest reign with that belt, at 380 days.
The current card for WWE WrestleMania Backlash, taking place Sunday, May 16, at the Yuengling Center in Tampa, is as follows:
* WWE World: Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
* SmackDown Women's: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Bayley
Written by Justin Henry
In addition to writing lists and commentaries for Cultaholic, Justin is also a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine, and is co-author of the WWE-related book Titan Screwed: Lost Smiles, Stunners, and Screwjobs.