Csonka: 4 Possibilities to Replace Charlotte on Team Smackdown

– Welcome back to column time with Larry! Today I am here to talk about Sunday’s Survivor Series PPV, and more specifically, who will replace Charlotte on Team Smackdown. WWE has made many changes to the PPV card, putting the WWE Title on AJ Styles, and adding John Cena Triple H to the men’s Survivor Series match. Things once again changed on Tuesday’s Smackdown as Charlotte won the Smackdown women’s title, which changed two matches on Sunday’s Survivor Series card. Charlotte will now face Alexa Bliss, leaving a spot open on Team Smackdown. So who will take her place on Sunday? There’s at least four viable choices. I hope that you enjoy today’s column, and feel free to share your thoughts. It’s wrestling, we love it and will disagree. The only rules are “have a take, be respectful, and don’t be a dick.”

4. Natalya: The easy, and honestly lazy way to go would just move Natalya into the match, but I really am not a fan of that. She just lost the title on Smackdown, and to me, it feels like she’d be rewarded for losing. But often times, WWE does this thing where they feel that they need to reward some talents, due to longevity with the company and dedication to the WWE brand. Natalya is the kind of talent that falls into description perfectly. She’s been around forever, she’s loyal, she’s on Total Divas, she’s a Hart and I think that there is a fear from WWE that they need to keep her happy, due to Tyson Kidd’s situation. I won’t say that there’s a conspiracy theory here, but Nattie winning the title and Tyson magically returning to work as an agent seems awful convenient to avoid any possible lawsuits…

3. Someone From NXT: While it may seem unlikely, calling someone up from NXT has to be considered. If WWE wants to make an impact with a call up, due to the late booking changes, Survivor Series feels like it has way more buzz than the typical WWE PPV. If WWE wanted to shake things up and change up the rosters a bit, this is a prime spot to do it and try to make a new star. It could easily be someone who loses at Takeover, or someone unexpected like a Liv Morgan or Mandy Rose if they wish. While you can certainly make the argument to introduce a new star here, I think that WWE will bank on reintroducing stars we already know instead, and there are two prime candidates…

2. Paige: I am sure that when you clicked on this, and likely even before you clicked, that Paige was one of if not the top choice for the spot. Paige has been training for her comeback, was at WWE TV this week, and has been rumored to return at any time. Like I mentioned above, Survivor Series feels like it has way more buzz than the typical WWE PPV, and introducing a new star or reintroducing an old star you hope to bring back into the fold makes complete sense. I’d wager that if Paige is the replacement for Charlotte that she’ll get a huge pop and a lot of run in the match. WWE obviously still has high hopes for her, they had plenty of chances to release her and cut all ties after all of the drama with her and Alberto. But with WWE partnering with rock to make a movie based on Paige’s family, she got a stay of execution. She’s reportedly not with Alberto anymore, has been training hard at the performance center and is spending time with her friends again. Hopefully being away from Alberto, and getting to grow up a bit is what she needed. She certainly had potential, and now that she’s back from her injury, she’ll get a second chance to show that she was worth keeping. She makes the most sense and is my official pick. But nothing is for sure in WWE, and they could throw us a curveball, so there is one more possibility…

1. Nikki Bella: While I really do feel that it will be Paige here, I cannot completely rule out Nikki Bella. First of all John Cena is coming back at the PPV, and the couple may have made a deal to come back together for the show. Secondly, the latest season of Total Divas has started to air and what better way to get some more attention on the show than an appearance by Total Divas star and producer, Nikki Bella. Finally, Nikki and Brie have talked about coming back and working together in 2018. A Nikki Bella return at Survivor Series could be used to start the angle that would lead to the Bellas reuniting on WWE TV. I know that Nikki would be an unpopular decision, but considering her position in the company and the fact that management obviously loves her, I could very well see it happening. I also think she’s a strong possibility because WWE likes to mess with fans when they think they know what’s coming. Fans expected a possible Paige comeback in the UK, and then on Raw, and neither happened. They know everyone is expecting her at Survivor Series, and may change things up just to mess with the fans.

– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.