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WWE Teased Two Major SummerSlam Championship Matches During SmackDown

Who will Rhea Ripley defend her WWE Women's Championship against during SummerSlam weekend?
Rick Ucchino|
Rhea Ripley
Rhea Ripley | WWE

We are just eight short weeks away from the 'Biggest Party of the Summer' and the seeds for two of the major title matches that weekend may have been planted Friday night on WWE SmackDown.

The year's SummerSlam Premium Live Event will take place at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Saturday, August 1 and Sunday, August 2, with single-day tickets set to go on sale to the general public this coming Monday, June 8.

It's already been established that the winners of both the King and Queen of the Ring Tournaments will move on to SummerSlam to challenge the world champion of their choosing, and the two front-runners for the women's crown seemingly emerged on this week's episode of the Blue Brand in Bologna, Italy.

Charlotte Flair has yet to compete in her opening round Fatal 4-Way Match, but The Queen was already a betting favorite to win the tournament prior to her face-to-face with Rhea Ripley Friday night.

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported earlier in the day that SmackDown was set to feature a segment that would tease a match between the two. While Flair admitted that she's had fun teaming with Rhea these past few weeks, she let Mami know that her sights are firmly set on challenging for her 15th Women's Championship in a couple of months.

Women's United States Champion Tiffany Stratton also announced her intentions of getting back the WWE Women's Championship, but her path toward earning a title shot is uncertain as she was not included in the field of 16 women for Queen of the Ring.

Charlotte Flair, meantime, still has issues that need to be settled with Jade Cargill. One day soon they'll have to face each other in a singles match, but they are already on a collision course for a multi-woman match next Friday in Providence, Rhode Island. They'll both be competing against Women's Intercontinental Champion Sol Ruca and Lyra Valkyria with a spot in the Queen of the Ring semifinals on the line.

Could another Judgment Day fracture be in the works?

The Judgment Day
The Judgment Day | Netflix

The other opening round match-up will take place this coming Monday afternoon on WWE Raw. Women's World Champion Liv Morgan will begin her march toward becoming a double champion when she faces old rival Becky Lynch, Alexa Bliss and Chelsea Green.

Morgan's involvement in this tournament has been heavily scrutinized, but as it's gotten underway, there've been some very interesting developments within the Judgment Day.

Raquel Rodriguez scored her biggest singles win in quite some time when she knocked off Bayley, Jacy Jayne and Kiana James in her opening round Fatal 4-Way Match on Friday night. She'll now face multi-time WWE Women's Champion IYO SKY in the Queen of the Ring semifinals, but her celebration was cut short after the prospects of her becoming the new No. 1 contender were dismissed by Liv Morgan.

Big Sexy was visibly upset after Morgan prematurely declared Dominik Mysterio and herself the future King and Queen, and had to quickly don her sunglasses to hide her emotions.

Don't be surprised if these new cracks in the Judgment Day start to widen as the Queen of the Ring tournament progresses, especially if Liv Morgan fails to win the crown.

Raquel Rodriguez is one of the most underrated performers in all of WWE. She's transformed herself into a rock solid in-ring competitor and she should absolutely be considered a threat to win this tournament. If she does, WWE could ultimately have her turn on Liv and challenge her at SummerSlam.

It's important to note that Stephanie Vaquer could throw a wrench into everything. There's still no firm timeline on her return to action after she suffered a shoulder injury last month, but she's expected back sometime this summer to continue her rivalry with Liv Morgan.

An IYO SKY Queen of the Ring victory cannot be ruled out either, but coming out of SmackDown, Charlotte Flair and Raquel Rodriguez feel like the favorites to win the crown at Night of Champions later this month.

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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