During the September 11th episode of SmackDown, Nikki Cross defeated Alexa Bliss, Tamina, and Lacey Evans in a four-way match to become the #1 contender for the SmackDown’s Women’s Championship. She was due to challenge Bayley at the Clash Of Champions pay-per-view tonight, but that match is now off.
Rumors began to circulate when Cross missed SmackDown on Friday, and it’s now understood she is not backstage. With the event being based on the concept that every championship is defended, it’s believed Bayley will now face an alternative opponent. Why Cross is unable to wrestle has not been confirmed, but the fact her husband, Killian Dain, was not at NXT, has lead to speculation they could both be isolating. Curiously though, despite knowing that Cross would not be available days ago, WWE has continued to promote the match, even posting a tweet earlier today hyping the match.
Also, there have been rumors that the WWE Women’s tag match between defending champions Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler and the Riott Squad is also off. No reason why has been reported, and Shayna Baszler posted on Instagram an hour ago her ring gear for tonight, so seemingly the change isn’t related to her, and she is still competing.
