There have been many excellent feuds in the WWE that started after the brand split, and the rivalry between Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss has undoubtedly been one of the most enticing. After Lynch became the first SmackDown Women’s Champion, she and Alexa Bliss traded blows and insults.
As the rivalry grew, so did Bliss’s skills in the ring, and it became clear that she would need to hold the title herself.
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This change happened at “Tables, Ladders, and Chairs”, and Bliss has been the champion ever since. However, there’s been rampant speculation that the SmackDown Women’s title could change hands soon because a second title reign for Lynch would allow her to keep up with the likes of Sasha Banks and Charlotte on the “stat sheet”.
Steel cage matches are often the culmination of a rivalry, and while Daniel Bryan made this match stipulation out of a desire to keep “La Luchadora” away from the match, I wouldn’t be surprised if the end result of this match allows both superstars to focus their efforts elsewhere before this feud becomes too much of a good thing.
With that said, here are five possible finishes for tonight’s match on SmackDown Live.
#5 Alexa Bliss taps out to the Dis-Arm-Her
The exploder suplex is an excellent move, but Becky Lynch’s trademark in this feud has been the “Dis-Arm-Her”, which is one of the most devastating submission holds in the WWE. We’ve seen the Dis-Arm-Her used several times in this feud, and it’s become a huge talking point in matches between Lynch and Bliss following Bliss’s title win at TLC.
Bliss has tapped out to the Dis-Arm-Her a couple of times, including the time when she was dressed up as La Luchadora. She clearly has issues dealing with this hold, and there are plenty of ways to tease this move before it actually occurs.
If Lynch wins the title tonight for the second time, then this is probably the best way for her to secure the championship. The Dis-Arm-Her has been used by Lynch in promos as a bragging point, and it would be a fitting way for this match to end.
#4 Bliss wins by pinfall
I wouldn’t mind seeing Bliss retain the title, even though it would be more popular for Lynch, who is one of the most likeable superstars in the WWE, to take the title away from “Five Feet of Fury”. A win by pinfall could happen off of her DDT or even a creative move that incorporates the steel cage, but this might be the most boring way for the match to conclude.
If Bliss wins by pinfall, the assumption is that no interference occurred, and I just don’t think that’s the best way for Bliss to retain. Although a relatively clean win by pinfall would put this rivalry in the history books (if that’s the goal here), it doesn’t advance a surrounding storyline, which has always been SmackDown Live’s main target to this point.
Bryan wanted this match in a steel cage to ward off any chances of interference, which is exactly why I think the end result will be a little less cut-and-dry than a Bliss win by pinfall.
It is possible for La Luchadora to interfere on Bliss’s behalf by hiding under the ring or doing something else that would involve “Little Miss Bliss” defending her title successfully via a pinfall victory. This could be something to watch for, but the option on the next slide interests me a little more.
#3 Bliss wins by escaping the cage with help
A steel cage match can be won by either pinfall or submission, but a victory can also be achieved by escaping the cage first. I think this is the best option for tonight’s match because La Luchadora needs to be involved. It just does not make sense for La Luchadora to have a role in virtually every match between Lynch and Bliss since the “Tables” match at TLC, only to disappear at such a critical moment in the rivalry.
I would be shocked if La Luchadora does not make an appearance, and I would be mildly surprised if she doesn’t help out Bliss. Throughout her career in the WWE, Lynch has been betrayed by her friends at several points, and that theme can be advanced by having the alter ego she created, La Luchadora, costing her a title match against Bliss tonight.
Bryan wants to avoid La Luchadora having an impact on this match, and the mysterious competitor most likely won’t appear inside the steel cage. However, I could see her distracting Lynch or costing “The Irish Lass Kicker” in some other fashion, allowing Bliss to leave and successfully escape the cage first.
This type of finish would allow Lynch to naturally move on to a rivalry against La Luchadora, who could be any number of superstars (Mickie James, Eva Marie, and Deonna Purrazzo have all been speculated). As for Bliss, she could face someone like Naomi, who should return from her injury shortly, or Nikki Bella once “The Fearless One” ends her rivalry with Natalya.
#2 La Luchadora hides under the ring to help Bliss
Let’s say La Luchadora does manage to sneak into the steel cage before the match starts. This is a distinct possibility because we’ve seen something like this teased on a recent episode of SmackDown Live. Bliss defeated Lynch by using a “switcheroo” trick, forcing Lynch to essentially face two La Luchadoras.
Lynch had a match against La Luchadora, who seemingly went under the ring to hide from “Straight Fire”. However, she actually swapped places with Bliss, who blindsided Lynch but would lose the match...to the Dis-Arm-Her. Both La Luchadora and Bliss were on the same page, however, as they unloaded on Lynch before Bliss DDT’d the Lass Kicker.
We could see a reference to this match play out tonight in the steel cage match, as La Luchadora could hide under the ring and influence the match in some way. The end result would be similar to what was proposed in the previous scenario, but it is a little less interesting than seeing La Luchadora appear out of nowhere to impact the match.
There’s less of a surprise factor in this scenario, and it leaves the chance of things dragging out more than they need to.
#1 La Luchadora helps Becky Lynch win
A straightforward pinfall victory from Becky Lynch following an exploder suplex is quite possible, but I’d like to tease the idea of La Luchadora shocking everyone by helping Lynch. It seemed like La Luchadora and Bliss were on the same page in the aforementioned match in which Bliss disguised as La Luchadora after emerging from underneath the ring, only to lose by submission.
However, we’ve seen more stunning betrayals before, and there is an interesting branching point that could arise if La Luchadora helps Lynch secure the titles. It’s hard to see the rivalry ending if this is the case, because there may not be a heel for Lynch to feud with. SmackDown could decide to move Carmella to the main event picture prematurely, which would thrust James Ellsworth back into the picture as somebody impacting a championship feud.
Bliss would then be in a rivalry with La Luchadora, who is presumably Mickie James. Heck, if SmackDown really decided to be crazy (because, you know, everything about this scenario seems crazy), they could try to use La Luchadora to help Lynch and Bliss execute a double-turn tonight. I would, of course, be opposed to this. It would be hard to see Lynch as a heel and Bliss as a face.
That said, if Mickie James is La Luchadora, she make work better as a face. If she helps Bliss win, she would be returning to the WWE as a heel. If she helps Lynch win, she would be returning as a face. The face vs. heel picture in the SmackDown women’s division is skewed towards the faces already with Lynch, Nikki Bella, and Naomi at the top, as Natalya’s turn hasn’t quite balanced things fully.
This face vs. heel balance is something to consider as tonight’s steel cage match plays out because it could help explain any possible surprise decisions.
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