Reviewing an Unexpected Change to the SmackDown's Women's Survivor Series Team

So on November 6, the men's and women's teams were set for Survivor Series, and regarding the latter, it went as follows. The Women's Traditional Elimination Match was set to feature Rhea Ripley, Carmella, Queen Zelina, Liv Morgan, and Bianca Belair representing Raw, while SmackDown was represented by Sasha Banks, Aliyah, Natalya, Shotzi Blackheart, and Shayna Baszler. The latest edition of SmackDown saw Sonya Deville introduce the team to the SmackDown crowd, which saw Shotzi get her first bit of heel heat two weeks following her swerve. We would also see Naomi enter the scene and attempt to confront Shayna and Sonya, leading to a brawl amongst the team.

The brawl resulted in a six-woman match being made, which saw Sasha, Aliyah, and Naomi against Shotzi, Shayna, and Natalya. For Shotzi, this was her first bout on the villainous side, while Aliyah was competing on SmackDown TV for the first time ever. It went as expected; chaos from both sides, but it ended with Aliyah and Natalya in the ring, and with Naomi's help, Aliyah picked up the winning pin for her side. The celebration was better than the victory, as you can see the emotion from all three members of the babyface team, especially Aliyah, as it as the ultimate shining moment for her.

Aliyah continued to beam backstage, as she was approached by Megan Morant and asked about her big win. At that moment, Sonya appeared and asked Aliyah how long she had known Naomi, and before Aliyah could answer, Sonya later informed Aliyah that she would no longer be on Team SmackDown. This video below represents everyone's reaction:

So true to form, evil Sonya strikes yet again, this time, she's plaguing Aliyah. Seriously, what is this? Why would you randomly remove an up and coming star from Survivor Series? Why not remove Natalya? There have been many fans wondering why she's in this match when she really doesn't need to be, and those same people are saying that Nattie having a spot takes one away from someone who's hasn't had such a spotlight yet, like, oh I don't know...Toni Storm! Speaking of Toni, we would see her later on the program, as she got in the face of SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair and dared her to accept her challenge for the title--of course Charlotte turned her down.

Of course, the women's Champion vs Champion match, at the moment, is Charlotte Flair vs Becky Lynch. Because we haven't seen that enough times. I still say the champions entering Survivor Series should have been Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair, but let's go with a match we've seen time and time and time and time again. Oh boy. But back to Aliyah. Her upcoming big moment is gone. I gushed over Aliyah being part of Survivor Series, because it's a huge moment for an up and comer who has earned it. Now that's gone. Even so, one has to wonder, who will replace Aliyah?

The first name that entered my mind was Xia Li, who is also up and coming. There's one problem, though: Xia Li is a heel. Adding her would mean that Sasha would be the only babyface leading a team of heels, and a Survivor Series team cannot be too heel heavy. A name that popped up in my head was Lacey Evans, who recently gave birth and could return for the event, but again, she's also a heel. That means the only two viable possibilities are Naomi and Toni Storm, and I cannot see Naomi being in due to her ongoing angle with Sonya, which only leaves Toni. However, Toni appears to be in this thing with Charlotte at the moment. And there is only one SmackDown left before Survivor Series. They actually had two good babyfaces option on SmackDown, but they were released last week. Way to go, Vince.