6 months ago
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Friday night saw the rapid escalation of the Queen of the Ring tournament, with three first-round matches gracing the blue brand. By the time "WWE SmackDown" ended, Nia Jax, Jade Cargill, and Bianca Belair came out victorious in their first-round matches and took one step closer to booking their tickets to Saudi Arabia for the rapidly approaching King and Queen of the Ring pay-per-view.
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Nia Jax took on Naomi in Friday's opening contest. Naomi's high-octane offense served her well in the second half of the match, and Pennsylvania roared with life as Naomi lifted Jax to the top turnbuckle for a Hurricanrana. All of Naomi's efforts, however, were dashed with a solid An-Nia-lator to the chest, and Jax proceeded to the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Fresh off of her WWE Women's Tag Team Championship victory, Cargill sought to overcome Piper Niven, who was accompanied by Chelsea Greene. Cargill and Niven went blow-for-blow, and Niven had Cargill's number several times during the match. Niven reversed Cargill's finisher attempt with a headbutt. Cargill eventually landed her signature move, however, and left Niven Jaded as she won one of the most difficult matches in her current WWE run.
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Immediately following Cargill's victory, Belair came out to confront "SmackDown"-newcomer Candice LeRae. After interference from a ringside Indi Hartwell in the early goings of the match, Belair found herself battling "The Poison Pixie" on one front, and a tweaked knee on the other. Despite showing signs of a bad knee, Belair delivered a KOD to advance to the quarterfinals in the tournament.
Another first-round tournament featuring Michin taking on Tiffany Stratton was pushed to this weekend's house shows. Next week's "Smackdown" will see Jax and Cargill fighting in the quarterfinals, and Belair is expected to take on the victor of the Michin-Stratton match-up.
