Bianca Belair set to face 6-time WWE champion on next week's SmackDown

WWE has officially announced that Bianca Belair will face a six-time champion on the January 12 episode of Friday Night SmackDown.

The star in question is Damage CTRL member Bayley. The Role Model is a former NXT Women's Champion, she won the RAW Women's Championship in 2017 by defeating Charlotte Flair. The former hugger is also a two-time SmackDown Women's Champion and WWE Women's Tag Team Champion. She is the first women's Triple Crown Champion.

The EST has been feuding with the Damage CTRL since the 2022 SummerSlam Premium Live Event. Fans have already expressed their disappointment with the company, stating they want Belair to end their rivalry with the hell faction and move forward, probably turning her heel.

On this week's SmackDown, The EST once again confronted the Bayley-led stable, stating that she was entering this year's Royal Rumble and wouldn't let The Role Model win the 30-woman contest.

The Women's Champion IYO SKY wants Bayley to take care of Bianca Belair once and for all. Following the blue brand show, World Wrestling Entertainment officially announced that The EST will take on The Role Model next week on SmackDown.

Check out WWE's announcement below:

Former WWE manager bashed Bianca Belair's SmackDown segment

The former WWE employee Dutch Mantell recently criticized The EST's segment alongside the Damage CTRL members on this week's SmackDown.

Speaking on the latest edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk podcast, Mantell shared that the backstage segment involving Belair was bland and questioned SKY, Bayley, Asuka, and Kairi Sane for not attacking the star.

"I don't really like the interview with Bianca [Belair]. I just didn't. It didn't grab me. She walks in there with five girls. I'm thinking like h*ll, they beat the sh*t out of everybody else, why don't they just beat the sh*t out of her right now. That's what I'm thinking as a fan. All of a sudden she's standing there and she goes, 'Oh by the way.' She was too casual with it, I think. Maybe she'd have come up with a stick or something and said, 'Hey, don't even think about it because I gotta tell you something, girl.' Now she could've got the same point across in a different way, in an aggressive way," Mantell said.

Check out the full video below:

Even though fans are seemingly tired of watching Bianca Belair feud against the heel faction, they will witness how the action unfolds on next week's show.

What did you think of Bianca Belair vs. Bayley on WWE SmackDown? Sound off in the comments section below.