WWE TLC 2016: Predicting Women's Title Match After Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss

On the Nov. 8 edition of WWE SmackDown Live, Becky Lynch successfully defended her SmackDown Women's Championship against Alexa Bliss. Now, fans look ahead to who will be next to challenge The Irish Lasskicker for her coveted championship.

The two had been on a collision course for months and were originally scheduled to go one-on-one at October's No Mercy pay-per-view. However, due to health issues, the company pulled Lynch from the bout at the last minute, causing the contest to be delayed until further notice.

Lynch's absence forced Bliss to re-establish herself as the rightful No. 1 contender to the title by beating Naomi. She also wasted no time in humiliating Lynch upon her return to the blue brand and subsequently pinned her in tag team action.

Despite having momentum on her side heading into their matchup, Bliss was unsuccessful in capturing the SmackDown Women's Championship on Tuesday night. She tapped out to the champion's signature submission hold, though it was revealed afterward Bliss' foot had been underneath the bottom rope.

With controversy clouding the conclusion of the match, it's safe to assume the feud is far from over between Bliss and Lynch and that we could be seeing them face off again as soon as TLC in early December.

Credit: WWE.com

While Survivor Series would have been a fitting stage to host the anticipated rematch, both women will be involved in a traditional five-on-five elimination tag team match representing SmackDown against Team Raw.

Instead, TLC will be held a mere two weeks after the event, and it should be there that Bliss and Lynch meet one last time with the title on the line. Slotting any other woman in that No. 1 contender's spot for that show would feel rushed following a two week build.

Besides, Nikki Bella and Carmella should have a No Disqualification match of their own on that show. Meanwhile, Lynch has beaten Natalya before, and it appears Eva Marie isn't due back for a while (h/t Wrestling Inc) as a result of her acting career taking off.

Thus, Bliss vs. Lynch is the most logical match to do at TLC, but it would be wise for them to clash in some sort of gimmick match. A women's ladder match would surely make history, and they would undoubtedly thrive in that type of environment.

Their most recent encounter proved how great their in-ring chemistry is together, so the inevitable rematch should be equally entertaining. This would be in addition to the AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose TLC match that has already been announced by WWE for the pay-per-view.

There is little doubt that SmackDown's women's division has been better handled than Raw's since the summer with all the women having a defined character and clear motivation to excel within the division, especially Lynch and Bliss.

Lynch's injury put their feud on hold for a few weeks, but both her and Bliss were able to sustain their momentum in the meantime. Bliss scored several victories and cut a handful of excellent promos while Lynch managed to maintain a presence on the blue brand.

Their weekly run-ins on SmackDown Live have been a recurring highlight on the program for months. Should their rivalry resume beyond this week, that will continue to be the case through the end of 2016.

Through her phenomenal progress both as a competitor and a performer, Bliss has proved herself to be worthy of holding the gold at some point. She has a fighting chance of walking out of TLC with the title in tow, and even if not, Lynch has a number of fresh faces to defend against in the future.

Regardless of what the outcome is to their likely TLC match, the immediate outlook of the SmackDown's women's title picture is bright. Although Bliss and Lynch will be forced to coexist at Survivor Series, it won't be long until they are at odds again as TLC looms large.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a Digital Journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.

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