Number one contender’s match set for WWE SmackDown

Asuka’s challenger for the Royal Rumble will be determined on Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown.

WWE has announced Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Carmella in a number one contender’s match for Tuesday’s SmackDown. The winner will challenge for Asuka’s SmackDown Women’s Championship at the Royal Rumble, which is taking place at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona on January 27.

A backstage segment aired on this week’s SmackDown where Triple H asked Asuka who she thought deserved a title shot. Asuka said she’d face anyone, and Charlotte, Carmella, and Lynch all stated their cases for a title shot.

Asuka won the SmackDown Women’s Championship by defeating Lynch and Charlotte at last month’s TLC pay-per-view. The finish continued Ronda Rousey’s storylines with Lynch and Charlotte, with Rousey pushing them off a ladder and Asuka then climbing another ladder to win the title.

Carmella has already been confirmed as an entrant in this year’s women’s Royal Rumble match and will enter at number 30 as a stipulation of her and R-Truth winning Mixed Match Challenge.

On an episode of Main Event last month, a miscommunication led to WWE accidentally announcing a SmackDown Women’s Championship match between Asuka and Lynch for the Royal Rumble. WWE’s storyline explanation for the match not being official was that Paige tried to make Asuka vs. Lynch before her time as SmackDown general manager came to an end.

Tuesday’s SmackDown is taking place at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.