Report: Why Naomi Was Moved To WWE SmackDown Revealed

Why Naomi was moved to Friday Night SmackDown has been revealed.

The 33-year-old had wrestled on Monday Night Raw since last year's WWE draft, but she was quietly moved to the blue brand last week. Her last appearance as a Raw Superstar came at the Money In The Bank pay-per-view when she was one of four women from the red brand in the namesake Ladder Match that was won by Nikki A.S.H.

Roster depth was one of the reasons behind Naomi's move, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, and WWE transferred the two-time SmackDown Women's Champion to the blue brand because they were "weak on the women's side." WWE resuming touring was also a factor as Naomi's husband Jimmy Uso is currently one half of the SmackDown Tag Team Champions with brother Jey.

With Naomi's move to SmackDown, she becomes the ninth active female Superstar on the roster. The likes of Bianca Belair, Carmella, Liv Morgan, Shotzi, Tegan Nox and Zelina Vega all currently compete on the blue brand, but SmackDown is missing two of its biggest stars in Bayley and Sasha Banks at the moment. Bayley recently suffered a torn ACL which will keep her out of action for nine months, while Sasha Banks has been off TV since losing the SmackDown Women's Championship at WrestleMania 37.