Why Sasha Banks vs Bayley should headline Wrestlemania 37. The Golden Role Models have been one of the most entertaining acts this year.
There’s a certain section of fans who are not impressed with the WWE handing out opportunities to female wrestlers in the name of progress. Just like their male counterpart, they want the women need to be handed opportunities based on merit instead of just doing so in order to pander to the crowd.
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The standard of women’s wrestling has definitely improved. However, it still remains a largely ignored division with the occasional handouts to make the WWE seem progressive and groundbreaking.
An argument can be made that regardless of Becky Lynch’s rise to fame back in mid-2018, Wrestlemania 35 would have been headlined by women anyway due to the WWE wanting to cash in on Ronda Rousey’s popularity.
While the management originally planned for Charlotte Flair to face Rousey at the Grandest stage of them all, Becky quickly rose through the ranks to become the fan favourite to face Rousey instead. However, management’s desire to see Charlotte in the main event saw an overbooked storyline that ran out of steam before Wrestlemania even arrived.
While the memory of Lynch lifting both the RAW and SmackDown’s women title will forever be historic, to some it will always be a case of finally. Not yes, we finally got what we wanted but we’re finally done with this storyline.
Why Sasha Banks vs Bayley should headline Wrestlemania 37
Sasha Banks and Bayley, the other two horsewomen have been afterthoughts in the shadows of Charlotte and Becky for some time. However, since Banks returned and reunited with Bayley, the two have very literally carried the women’s division on their back.
With Becky leaving with pregnancy and Charlotte injured, Sasha and Bayley were given even more responsibility and the two performed without missing a beat. The duo had a very simple story to tell and they have done so perfectly while adding a few layers here and there.
Best friends turn foes
Both Bayley and Sasha desired success and personal glory. While they referred to each other as best friends, their partnership was merely one of convenience. Both looked for relevance in each other’s company and soon found it with the Women’s tag titles, a title they famously referred to as their symbol of friendship.
Spurred on by Bayley holding two titles, Sasha beat Asuka to become a double champion herself.
Asuka who was looking for vengeance on both Sasha and Bayley, earned championship opportunities against them at SummerSlam. She failed to overcome Bayley due to Sasha interfering. However, Sasha once again lost her title on her first defence due to Bayley unwilling to go to the same lengths as her partner.
Sasha, whose entire character is about believing she’s better than anyone else suddenly underwent a loss of confidence and when the two lost their tag titles, she almost seemed unrecognizable.
The pair tried once again to reclaim the so called symbol of their friendship but failed with Sasha injuring herself. At this point, Bayley did not see any more reason to keep her around. She viciously brutalized her while explaining later that she knew Sasha tried to use her but, in the end, it was her that ended up using Sasha.
Why is Sasha Banks the babyface here?
At first glance, it is easy to see why some would wonder how this makes Sasha the good guy when she presumably aimed to do the same. To be fair, it did seem at first that the Boss would turn on her best friend. But the story they’ve been telling here has seen Sasha go from the manipulator to the manipulated.
She may not have believed it at first but over time, it appeared that she actually began considering Bayley her friend and went to lengths for her. Bayley on the other hand, only went as far as she needed to. Sasha was still a prick to everyone but restrained herself around Bayley.
While she hinted at attacking Bayley several times, the fact that she didn’t despite being presented with several opportunities speaks of her doubts over the consequences of her actions. Bayley on the other hand had no such qualms and attacked Sasha when she was practically helpless.
Sasha may not be a good guy in general. However, in the story they’re telling, it’s abundantly clear that she is indeed the person we need to root for.
These little details in long term story telling has been absent from the WWE for quite some time. However, with the Golden Role Models, the WWE have finally found a story that the audience is very interested in and cannot wait to see what happens next.
What’s next for Sasha Banks and Bayley?
Sasha’s kayfabe injury means that the story has been put in hold for a while now; which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Clash of Champions doesn’t sound like the ideal PPV for a fight of this magnitude to take place.
Excluding Survivor Series, where the Champion is likely to participate in a match against the champions of the other brands, the WWE have two more PPV’s in Hell in a Cell and TLC this year.
Both these PPV’s allow for stipulations that would be fitting for their match. However, the wrestling romantics will notice that the Royal Rumble is the next PPV, a place where major returns are traditional. Sasha winning the Rumble and challenging Bayley for the SmackDown’s women Championship is a story that tells itself.
In Sasha’s case however, perhaps a different direction may be the need of the hour. The former 5-time RAW Women’s Champion is yet to successfully defend her title on the main roster. Surprisingly, she has also never won a match at Wrestlemania!
Sasha Banks’ Mania moment!
Instead of returning at the Rumble match, perhaps Sasha could return at the event and attack her former friend, signalling her intention to prise the title she has held so dear for so long now. This sets up her entry in the multi women match at Elimination Chamber where she finally wins the title.
The two will then be scheduled to face each other at Mania with Sasha not only going against Bayley but against history as well. Her win, will not only be her first successful title defence but also her first win at the Grandest stage in all of sports entertainment.
Yes, Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt may be bigger names than the two girls at the moment. However, the eyes Sasha and Bayley have on themselves right now is a reward for the brilliant work they’ve put in over several months.
This is a story we’ve all seen a million times before and almost know how it will end. However, both Sasha and Bayley have truly told this in a manner that has fans sitting in front of their TV like little children desperately waiting for next week’s episode. This is exactly why Sasha Banks vs Bayley should headline Wrestlemania 37.
Women’s wrestling has definitely come a long way in the last decade or so. However, it still has a long way to go. One day hopefully, the division will be seen on par with the men’s division and when that does happen, a lot of credit will go to Sasha Banks and Bayley. The two have truly become Golden Role Models and earned their spots on merit rather than a pittance based on a crowd pandering women’s revolution.
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