The WWE Women’s Championship will be defended on the October 23 edition of WWE SmackDown, with Chelsea Green scheduled to put the title on the line against Roxanne Perez.

SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis confirmed the championship match for Friday’s show. The bout follows an important result from the October 12 episode of WWE Raw, where Perez pinned Green in a non-title match. That victory gave the Judgment Day member immediate credibility as a challenger and has now led directly to a title opportunity.

For Green, the match represents a chance to respond under the highest possible stakes. A non-title defeat can quickly alter the direction of a championship picture, particularly when the wrestler who earned the pinfall is positioned to challenge days later. Green enters Friday as champion, but Perez has already established that she can defeat her.

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Perez, meanwhile, will head into SmackDown with momentum and a clear case for believing she can leave with the WWE Women’s Championship. Her Raw victory did not decide the title, but it changed the conversation around the upcoming defense. A challenger who has already beaten the champion has proof of concept going into a rematch; the task now is to repeat that performance when the championship is on the line.

For more background on this topic, read Aalyah Mysterio Appears in WWE NXT Backstage Segment After Performance Center Announcement.

Roxanne Perez Looks to Turn Momentum Into a Title Win

The October 12 Raw result is the central development entering Green and Perez’s title match. Perez’s pinfall victory over the champion was not a championship change, but it was still significant because it supplied the basis for her challenge. WWE frequently treats a non-title win over a champion as a meaningful statement, and Perez will have the chance to capitalize on that statement on SmackDown.

As a member of Judgment Day, Perez arrives with an established group affiliation behind her, while Green will be defending one of WWE’s most prominent women’s singles prizes. The match creates an opportunity for both competitors to define their positions moving forward. Green can reinforce her championship standing by avenging the Raw loss, while Perez can turn a successful non-title outing into the biggest result of the announced card.

The title match also brings a Raw-connected story to SmackDown. Perez’s win occurred on Monday night, but the championship defense will take place on Friday, giving the blue brand a bout driven by an event that unfolded elsewhere in WWE programming. The result will carry consequences beyond one episode, whether Green retains after overcoming Perez or Perez converts her recent pinfall into a championship victory.

There is no announced stipulation for the WWE Women’s Championship match. Green and Perez are set to meet in a standard title contest, unlike another prominently advertised match on the show that will take place under Street Fight rules.

Giulia and Blake Monroe Meet in a Street Fight

The October 23 SmackDown lineup is also headlined by a Street Fight between Giulia and Blake Monroe. With a Street Fight set for the card, their issue is expected to play out without the restrictions of a traditional singles match. The stipulation separates their contest from the championship bouts and gives the episode a major featured attraction alongside Green’s defense against Perez.

Giulia versus Monroe and Green versus Perez provide SmackDown with two distinct women’s matches at the top of the lineup: one centered on an intensified personal conflict under a special stipulation, and the other focused on a championship challenge created by a recent decisive result. Both matches will be watched closely for what they mean to the women’s division after Friday night.

The Street Fight is one of several matches already announced for the program, which includes title action, a tag team championship defense, and a tag team bout involving competitors from outside WWE’s usual pairing structure.

Women’s Tag Titles Also Scheduled for Defense

Tatum Paxley and Alexa Bliss are scheduled to defend the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship against B-Fab and Michin. Paxley and Bliss enter the match as the reigning champions, while B-Fab and Michin will be looking to take the titles from them.

The inclusion of the Women’s Tag Team Championship adds another championship layer to a show that will now feature Green’s WWE Women’s Championship defense as well. With two women’s title matches advertised, SmackDown will place a substantial focus on its women’s divisions on October 23.

Paxley and Bliss will face a different kind of pressure than Green. Their championship defense is built around a team challenge, requiring the champions to contend with the coordination of B-Fab and Michin. Green’s match with Perez, in contrast, is a singles encounter shaped by Perez’s victory over her on Raw. The matches present separate title situations, but each could have an immediate effect on the championship landscape.

Bakusai Faces The MFT in Tag Team Action

Also announced for SmackDown is Bakusai, the team of Shinsuke Nakamura and Kyoki, against The MFT, represented by Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga. The tag team match broadens the card beyond the championship bouts and Street Fight, bringing four more competitors into the evening’s scheduled action.

The October 23 card currently has a balanced structure: a Street Fight, two championship matches, and a tag team contest. The addition of Green versus Perez gives the show an extra title defense and makes the WWE Women’s Championship one of the evening’s primary focal points.

For Green, Friday is a chance to show that the October 12 defeat was a setback rather than an indication of a changing title picture. Champions are often judged by how they respond to adversity, and a successful defense against the wrestler who most recently pinned her would be a direct answer. Perez has already shown she can secure a fall over Green; Green now has the opportunity to prevent that result from becoming a larger turning point.

For Perez, the path to the match has been straightforward. She defeated the champion, and she has been granted the chance to do it again with the WWE Women’s Championship at stake. The stakes attached to a title match are considerably greater than those in the Raw non-title contest, but Perez will not have to enter the bout searching for validation. She has already earned a win over Green and can point to that result as she attempts to claim the championship.

Whether Perez’s Raw victory proves to be the beginning of a title change or simply motivates Green to retain will be determined on SmackDown. What is already clear is that the champion and challenger arrive with recent history, and that history has made this defense one of the most consequential matches announced for Friday’s program.

WWE SmackDown Lineup for October 23

  • Street Fight: Giulia vs. Blake Monroe
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: Tatum Paxley and Alexa Bliss (c) vs. B-Fab and Michin
  • Bakusai, Shinsuke Nakamura and Kyoki, vs. The MFT, Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga
  • WWE Women’s Championship: Chelsea Green (c) vs. Roxanne Perez

WWE SmackDown airs Friday, October 23, at 8 p.m. ET.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.