Backstage News On Expected Challengers For Rhea Ripley & IYO SKY At WWE WrestleMania

Not even 24 hours ago, veteran WWE star Bayley won her first women's Royal Rumble, and if you listen to what "The Role Model" says, you'd be forgiven for expecting her to face Rhea Ripley for the Women's World Championship at WrestleMania 40. If you've been following her storyline on "WWE SmackDown," however, you're probably expecting a different direction, and a report Monday morning from Pro Wrestling Insider would seem to confirm your hypothesis.

PWI reported in their Elite section that "the word making the rounds" backstage at the Rumble was that Bayley will, in fact, be facing her Damage CTRL stablemate, IYO SKY, for the WWE Women's Championship at "The Showcase of the Immortals." Tension between Bayley and her teammates has been building for several months at this point, and Bayley turning babyface and taking SKY's title seems like the only logical conclusion. As for Ripley, PWI's report says her challenger will be determined in an Elimination Chamber match at the PLE of the same time, emanating this year from Perth, Australia, Ripley's home country. The report names Becky Lynch and Liv Morgan as the most likely names to emerge from that match as the No. 1 contender.

Ripley has been champion since winning the "SmackDown" Women's Championship from Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 39; the belt was remade and rebranded as the Women's World title a few months later. SKY won her champonship at WWE SummerSlam, exactly a year after returning to WWE alongside Bayley and Dakota Kai as the original Damage CTRL.