WWE Raw Women's Champ Bianca Belair To Appear On Tonight's SmackDown

With the WWE Draft now having come and gone, fans and wrestlers alike are waiting until after Backlash this Saturday for the changes to take effect. In the meantime, those in Puerto Rico for tonight's "SmackDown" can expect to see one of the blue brand's newest stars a little early. WWE announced through Twitter earlier today that the "Raw" Women's Champion, Bianca Belair, is scheduled to appear this evening.

Belair, who has held the "SmackDown" Women's Championship in the past as well, has been "Raw" Women's Champion ever since she defeated Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 38 on April 2, 2022. In that time, she's surpassed MVP as the longest-reigning Black champion in WWE history. And throughout her reign, there have been a number of impressive title defenses against the likes of Lynch, Bayley, Carmella, Alexa Bliss, and most recently Asuka at WrestleMania 39. Even more impressive, "The EST of WWE" was able to knock off both Lynch and Asuka in a Triple Threat Match at the Hell In A Cell premium live event last June.

Saturday at Backlash, Belair will look to continue her historic reign when she defends her title against Damage CTRL's IYO SKY. While the two have squared off in singles action on the main roster previously, neither match was for the "Raw" Women's Championship. On the August 1 episode of "Raw," Belair and SKY wrestled to a "no contest." Nearly two months later on September 26, she defeated SKY on "Raw" in a match lasting just over 18 minutes.

Make sure to check out Wrestling Inc. on Saturday for live coverage of "WWE Backlash," as well as all the latest news leading into the event.