Pros and Cons: Clash in Paris' Women's Intercontinental Championship Contest

Expect the unexpected. Those are words to live by.

At Evolution, Stephanie Vaquer won a #1 Contender's Battle Royal to earn an opportunity at the Women's World Championship at Clash in Paris, which will take place on August 31. We figured that we'd get a big clash between Rhea Ripley and Vaquer, but a Money in the Bank cash-in changed that. Things appeared to be set in stone after the title didn't change hands at SummerSlam.

And then, the news broke that the champion is expecting.

So that led to a vacated Women's World Championship, and no plans to crown a new champion before the Paris event. So Vaquer will have to wait to get her shot. This left Clash in Paris with a huge void where it counted the most: no women's matches. Well, until now.

At Clash in Paris, we will see the Women's Intercontinental Championship on the grand stage, as champion Becky Lynch will defend against Hall of Fame challenger Nikki Bella. It was reported right after Summerslam that plans were in play to have Becky and Nikki (who both appeared in the anticipated Happy Gilmore 2) feud with each other, and it's been playing out for several weeks leading to this bout. This will be very interesting and awesome, but there are definitely some pros and cons to this whole thing. So let's hash them out.

Pros

The pros are many. For one, both women carry a lot of prestige. Becky Lynch is a Grand Slam titleholder and one of the top women in WWE, while Nikki Bella is a Hall of Famer. The names will definitely put the Women's Intercontinental Championship, which is closing in on a year of existing, over and on the map. Plus the promos between the two have been straight fire. Becky continues to evolve as a character; her current heel gimmick isn't the same "Big Time Bex" persona we received a few years back. As for Nikki, she still the same passionate bad-ass we've seen for years in and out of WWE.

Cons

As much as I do love both of these women, the fact is this: neither of them should be involved in this match. When the midcard titles were announced, many were elated because it was a chance for women who would have little to no chance of being elevated to a top title. That, to me, was the true concept of both the Women's Intercontinental and United States Championships. This match, while epic on paper, defeats that purpose. Will it get the title over? Yes. But it shouldn't need already established stars to do that. Lyra Valkyria should have regained that title at SummerSlam, because we'd probably see her in feuds with women who haven't received too much in WWE. But since Lyra lost at SummerSlam, we've seen her relegated to random backstage segments while a pair of women who don't need that title, are battling for it.

In Closing

Regardless of the cons, I will definitely enjoy this bout when Clash in Paris hits Peacock (in what will be Peacock's final main roster WWE PLE) on August 31. The feud has been amazing, as we've seen a war of words for weeks between these two legendary combatants, and I have no doubt that the bout will see Becky and Nikki show out as only they can. It's a shame that this is going to be the only women's match at the event. WWE isn't even bothering booking the WWE Women's Championship for this event, and Giulia's been relegated to backstage segments ever since she won the Women's United States Championship. But even so, we have this contest between Becky Lynch and Nikki Bella, and this will be an epic match for sure!