What Is The Women's Intercontinental Title Match At SNME XLIV?

Becky Lynch defending the Women’s Intercontinental Championship against Sol Ruca has become a sneaky must-watch match on the show. Lynch reclaimed the title from AJ Lee at WrestleMania 42, and Ruca has been on a star-making collision course with her since the NXT call-up arrived on the main roster.

Monday's Raw segment turned the verbal jabs into an officially sanctioned title match, which is the kind of escalation WWE creative has been pacing toward for weeks.

The setup is exactly the booking arc WWE has used for the IC title in recent years — established champion vs. surging newcomer, with the belt as the prize.

Lynch has positioned herself as the gatekeeper for the division on Raw, and Ruca is the first real test of how that gatekeeping holds up against the next wave of talent.

I’d be surprised if Sol wins the belt on Saturday, but I can see her ultimately getting it at SummerSlam.

What Other Title Matches Are On SNME XLIV?

Three other championship bouts are booked and all of them have potential to be exciting matchups.

Penta defends the Intercontinental Championship against Ethan Page after Page worked his way into the title shot following a tag-team pin two weeks ago on Raw. The Vision (Logan Paul and Austin Theory) defend the World Tag Team Championships against the Street Profits, with WWE leaning into the heel-champion vs. fan-favorite-challengers dynamic that's defined the tag division all spring.

Something could be brewing with the Profits. Ford and Dawkins are seemingly at odds. It might be time to finally break them up to launch Ford’s solo run.

The WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship rematch sees champions Paige and Brie Bella defending against The Irresistible Forces who earned the rematch after running into the champions on Raw.

The storyline is a bit of a mess with too many teams involved and a lack of overall direction. Even still, with three title defenses on one card is a heavy load for a TV special, and it's exactly the reason this SNME doesn't feel like a placeholder anymore.

What Is The Six-Woman Tag Setting Up?

Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss vs. Jade Cargill, Michin and B-Fab is the most narratively important non-title match on the card. As I covered in the Clash in Italy card update earlier tonight, Ripley and Cargill are on a collision course for Turin, and this six-woman tag is the storyline mechanism WWE creative is using to extend the build one more week before locking in the singles match.

WWE has used this exact pattern before. They are putting two featured stars on opposite sides of a tag match the broadcast directly before a major PLE singles match.

It builds heat, gives both performers physical interaction without spoiling the bigger bout, and gives the announce team a full broadcast to push the rivalry. The Ripley-Cargill payoff is coming, and the May 23 tag is the runway. Ripley-Cargill is about as big of a lock as possible without it being official.

What Does SNME XLIV Mean For Clash In Italy?

The SNME XLIV card is the last major WWE broadcast before Clash in Italy on May 31, which means every storyline that lands on May 23 has direct implications for the Turin card.

The Ripley-Cargill six-woman tag is the most direct of those, but the Lynch-Ruca outcome also matters — whoever holds the Women’s IC title heading into Clash in Italy carries the storyline momentum into the next PLE cycle. However, it’s unlikely we see another IC title match at Clash in Italy.

WWE creative has used the past three editions of Raw and SmackDown to build the Italy card around three locked main events. SNME XLIV is the bridge broadcast that puts the final women’s-division piece in place before the Clash in Italy lineup goes live. After Monday's Raw, that bridge is fully constructed.