WWE announces semi-final match to crown a new champion

WWE is set to crown a new champion in less than one month. Superstars have battled to earn the opportunity for weeks, and now officials have chosen several fan favorites for the honor. Following the success of Speed on X/Twitter, World Wrestling Entertainment announced an eight-woman tournament to crown the inaugural Speed Women's Champion.

The tournament began earlier this month with IYO SKY defeating Lyra Valkyria. The first round continued with Naomi defeating Blair Davenport, and Kairi Sane beating Elektra Lopez. SKY vs. Naomi to begin the semi-finals is now confirmed to air next Wednesday at 12 pm ET.

Candice LeRae has now earned her spot in the semi-finals. The first round wrapped on today's WWE Speed episode as The Poison Pixie conquered Piper Niven, thanks to an assist from Indi Hartwell. LeRae hit a super German suplex and a Lionsault to secure the pin on The Vixen of Violence with twenty-four seconds of the three-minute match left on the clock.

LeRae vs. Sane will take place one week after SKY vs. Naomi, on Wednesday, October 9. The championship episode, featuring a five-minute match, will air at 12pm ET on Friday, October 11, or Friday, October 18. IYO, Kairi, Naomi, or LeRae will be crowned the inaugural Speed Women's Champion.

LeRae vs. Niven was taped before last Friday's SmackDown in Sacramento and was produced by Nick Aldis. SKY vs. Naomi will likely be taped this Friday in Oklahoma City.

Candice LeRae snaps WWE losing streak

Candice LeRae advanced in World Wrestling Entertainment's first-ever Speed Women's Tournament today with a win over Piper Niven. This was LeRae's first singles match since her SmackDown loss to Bianca Belair on May 10, which was a Queen of the Ring qualifier.

The Poison Pixie's last win before today came on April 29 during the Draft edition of WWE RAW, where she defeated Maxxine Dupri. She had ten straight losses following that match, and the streak carried over 150 days. LeRae's only singles loss since April 29 was the aforementioned match with Belair.

Candice's other nine losses were multi-person matches: she and Jade Cargill lost a SmackDown Triple Threat to Tiffany Stratton, while she and Indi Hartwell teamed up to lose to Belair and Cargill.

One of these matches was for the Women's Tag Team Championship at King & Queen of the Ring, two were non-title bouts on SmackDown, and the rest were at non-televised live events.