Backstage Report Indicates A Title Tournament Set For WWE SmackDown Tonight

Last week, Nick Aldis officially revealed the existence of a WWE United States Women's Championship on "WWE SmackDown," and we may now know more about how the first champion will be decided. According to X account WrestleVotes, a tournament is set to begin tonight, with Bayley, Candice LeRae, and B-Fab competing in a Triple Threat to kick off "SmackDown."

Looking at the match's participants, Bayley would be the clear front-runner to win; she just picked up a singles victory against LeRae on last week's "SmackDown," while this will be B-Fab's first televised match since February. There's also no question that Bayley could help establish the new championship, as one of the most accomplished performers on the roster. That also means it would, in a sense, be a downgrade for the former world champion.

LeRae currently holds the WWE Women's Speed Championship after defeating Piper Niven, Kairi Sane, and IYO SKY in a tournament last month. The title is defended exclusively on WWE Speed, a show that airs on social media and features matches with time limits of either three or five minutes. It is the first singles championship LeRae has held in WWE since signing with the promotion in 2018.

B-Fab is a former member of Hit Row, the short-lived faction that also included former WWE stars Top Dolla (AKA A.J. Francis) and Isaiah "Swerve" Scott (AKA Swerve Strickland). Following that group's dissolution, B-Fab was released by WWE before later being brought back in 2022. She's only wrestled several matches since then, becoming part of The Pride alongside Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits before that group disbanded. Since then, B-Fab has continued making appearances alongside the Street Profits.