Following Naomi‘s electrifying WWE return at the Royal Rumble and Tiffany Stratton‘s televised main roster debut, both women have signed exclusive SmackDown contracts!
Naomi exits Nick Aldis’ office with a folder in hand and tells Michin, Bianca Belair and Shotzi that she signed a contract. As they excitedly chant welcome back, NXT’s Stratton comes into frame to interrupt their festivities. “Excuse me, yeah I’m sorry. I’m the center of the universe and I’ve also signed a SmackDown contract,” Stratton states.
WWE SmackDown and WWE Raw have acquired a number of new talent to their respective rosters as of late. Randy Orton signed with the blue brand after his return at Survivor Series as well as NXT’s Tyler Bate who signed after a successful tag team match with Pete Dunne against Pretty Deadly. Meanwhile on Raw, CM Punk made his grand return to the red brand much like a returning Andrade who appeared in the men’s Royal Rumble.
Naomi, who had left WWE in 2022 with Mercedes Mon? (Sasha Banks) spent a year in IMPACT/TNA as the Knockouts Women’s Champion Trinity. Once her contract expired and she entered free agency once again, reports revealed that she was on her way back to WWE “sooner than later.” She appeared at a recent set of TNA tapings where she got emotional speaking to the fans, noting that she wants them to think of “Trini-TNA” when they think of the company.
She made her return in the Rumble at No. 2 complete with her “Feel the Glow” entrance, as the crowd cheered for her. She made it pretty far into the match but was ultimately eliminated by a debuting Jade Cargill. Stratton also debuted in her first main roster PLE at No. 28 and wildly impressed fans with her moveset. Stratton is a former NXT Women’s Champion and though she only held the title for a few months she made a lasting impact on the NXT women’s division. She was ultimately defeated by Becky Lynch for the title which led to their Extreme Rules match at NXT No Mercy in September.
What do you think of Stratton and Naomi signing with WWE SmackDown? Let us know in the comments!