The following editorial was written by Jon Weigell and does not reflect the opinions of WrestleZone as a whole. We encourage you all to discuss Jon’s thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of this post and follow him on Twitter @JonTheWiggles
WWE has teased a Bayley vs. Sasha Banks feud since at least the beginning of 2018. There has been constant tension in between the two for quite a long time, and it appears as if WWE is finally cashing in on it. It seemed like WWE already pulled the trigger on this a few months back when Bayley and Banks had a backstage brawl, but they apparently pumped the brakes on it. Although that killed some momentum, this feud was quickly rejuvenated this past Monday on the June 25th edition of Raw.
Bayley snapped and tore apart Sasha Banks at ringside after Banks took the pin in a tag match against The Riott Squad. Since it involved The Riott Squad, that tag match would have been painfully irrelevant if Bayley hadn’t finally taken out her frustrations on Banks. That attack got Bayley to exhibit some heelish qualities, which got speculations to run wild about who in this feud is going to be the true heel. Let’s run through all the possible scenarios here and see what the best option is.
Face Bayley vs. Heel Sasha
Some suspect that Bayley is now on the verge of a momentous heel turn, but I personally think that her attack on Banks was just to show that Bayley can have grit. Is this a character change? Absolutely. Is it an outright heel turn? Not quite.
Either way, I think this feud would be best booked with Bayley as a face and Sasha Banks as a heel. Although she’s lost her way since joining the main roster, you will not find a more natural face character than Bayley in the Women’s Division. Before her awful booking against Alexa Bliss in 2017, the crowd was very much behind her. Fans of all ages appeared to give Bayley resounding pops at weekly shows and PPVs alike.
This could very well be Bayley’s vehicle back to that beloved face status. I think though that she can come back to being a beloved face with that hint of grit that we saw last Monday night. She can still do the hugs and be bubbly, but the key is that when someone pushes her buttons that she won’t hesitate to bite back.
Speaking of pushing buttons, I was immediately unsatisfied when Sasha Banks showed up on the main roster as a face (after that whole “Team BAD” thing or whatever). After so much promise and such great work in her NXT days, it seemed like a no brainer that Banks would be Raw’s top heel competitor upon her arrival. Obviously, WWE had other plans and shifted her into a face role, which has worked, but it’s clearly not the best she can do.
This Bayley vs. Sasha Banks feud has the potential to bring out the best in both stars; it can finally instill somewhat of an edge on Bayley and it can reignite the heel genius of Sasha Banks’ NXT career. In my opinion, this selection is a win-win.
Next Page: Sasha Banks v Bayley… Who Should Be The Heel? (cont.)
