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Shotzi officially babyfaced on “SmackDown” last Friday when she saved Raquel Rodriguez from a three-on-one attack by Damage CTRL’s Bayley, IYO SKY and Dakota Kai. However, prior to the show, WWE reportedly had a different creative direction for the segment.
According to Fightful Select, Liv Morgan was “originally listed internally” to save Rodriguez from Bayley’s heel stall until Triple H & Co. chose Shotzi instead.
Morgan appeared on Friday’s show, interrupting Ronda Rousey’s backstage interview ahead of her fight for the women’s “SmackDown” title at the upcoming Extreme Rules Premium Live event. The heated exchange between the two ladies ended with Morgan challenging Rousey to an Extreme Rules Match, which Rousey accepted before declaring the event on October 8th as a “funeral” to Morgan and her reign as champion.
Meanwhile, ahead of Friday’s show, there was speculation that Shotzi was undergoing a character change after reports suggested WWE had plans to bring her tank entry back. As such, Shotzi’s babyface twist wasn’t much of a surprise, considering she portrayed a babyface character in “NXT” while getting out with a tank. According to Fightful, Shotzi’s tank was delivered but not used at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, the venue of Friday’s show. It seems that Shotzi will be bringing back her old “NXT” appearance in the future.