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Earlier this year, Bayley cashed in her MITB briefcase to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship from Charlotte Flair at Money in the Bank pay-per-view. Almost five months later, The Queen took back her title tonight, at Hell in a Cell.
Bayley turned heel to support her best friend Sasha Banks who returned to WWE after a four-month-long hiatus from the company. In the process, 'The Hugger' crossed paths with Charlotte Flair and the four horsewomen engaged in a prolonged feud.
Bayley defended her title against Charlotte last month at Clash of Champions when she depended on one of the oldest tricks in the handbook for the heels. She used an exposed turnbuckle to injure her opponent and turn the match in her favor. At this point, he looked like her much-awaited heel turn was finally moving in the right direction.
Funnily enough, none of those tactics could come to the aid of the former Champion when she lost her title to The Queen today, at Hell in a Cell. She is yet again left without gold around her waist and here are a few reasons why it happened.
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#5 Lacklustre title reign
As much as I hate to say it, Bayley’s title reign as the SmackDown Women’s Champion was not as good as the other horsewomen – Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. She has a huge fan base but a lack of dedicated storyline often pushes her to the side-lines.
As the SmackDown Women’s Champion, she only feuded with the likes of Alexa Bliss, Nikki Cross, and Ember Moon. Unfortunately, none of those rivalries had an impact that would force WWE to keep the title on 'The Hugger'.
Moreover, Sasha Banks’ arrival in WWE after The Boss’ hiatus deviated most of the attention to Bayley’s friendship with her real-life BFF.
Frankly, it’s unfair to blame Bayley for an uneventful title run because she is constantly booked as the weakest horsewoman of the promotion. Her potential is often left unexplored via constant bookings that shades her merits as a performer.
It is high time for WWE creatives to realize that creating a ‘Championship material’ cannot be accomplished overnight. Bayley needed stronger bookings to prove that she deserves to have the title around her waist.
Who knows when she will get her hands on the title again? But maybe this moment will aid in moving her heel turn in the right direction.
#4 Charlotte Flair is a bigger Superstar
It is fair to claim that Charlotte Flair is one of the biggest female Superstars to have ever graced the squared circle. She has achieved a lot during her term with WWE and today, she became a 10-time WWE Women’s Champion with her sixth title reign on the blue brand.
With WWE SmackDown moving to FOX, both the companies would want a bigger star to represent Friday Night SmackDown.
And the Women’s Championship isn’t the only title that was affected. Brock Lesnar’s win over Kofi Kingston in under ten seconds for the WWE Championship can be cited as yet another example.
Charlotte Flair is charismatic, incredibly talented and enjoys a huge fan base. She is probably the only woman in the SmackDown locker room who can elevate the women’s championship on the Blue brand up to the same level as RAW Women’s Championship, held by ‘The Man’ Becky Lynch.
Hence, it can be speculated that WWE believe The Queen is the best person to carry the brand forward in the new era.
#3 Set up Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair at Survivor Series
Last year, it was the build-up to the Survivor Series that saw Becky Lynch’s popularity blow through the roof. ‘The Man’ had her face accidentally broken by Nia Jax but she continued to lay down the rampage on the RAW locker room.
It will be poetic if she represents RAW heading into Survivor Series where she will have to face SmackDown Women's Champion, Charlotte Flair.
It is safe to assume that The Queen will not drop her title anytime soon. On the other hand, Becky Lynch beat Sasha Banks at Hell in a Cell and will look to put that feud to rest.
Hence, it seems wise to bring two of the fiercest women on today’s roster against each other at the much-awaited pay-per-view.
In 2018, their match at Evolution was recognized as the ‘best WWE match of the year’. Lynch’s HIAC match with the Legit Boss might also end up winning the same category this year and coincidentally, she has won both those matches.
It's evident that ‘The Man’ needs equal competition in all aspects which automatically makes Charlotte Flair a better choice as compared to Bayley.
#2 WWE Draft and Sasha Banks
In the upcoming episode of Friday Night SmackDown, WWE will conduct its fourteenth draft during which Superstars would be shuffled between the two brands. The draft-pick will continue on RAW in the following week as the event has been scheduled to unfold on 11th and 14th October 2019.
With Bayley losing her title and Sasha Banks losing her title challenge against Becky Lynch, it can be expected that WWE will draft both these ‘best-friends’ to the same brand.
Time and again, Bayley has mentioned that she values her loyalty to her friend more than anything. But we also know that Sasha Banks is an opportunist who might stab Bayley in the back within the blink of an eye.
Maybe WWE are planning to bring them together and start again as a Tag Team. Now, remember, the ‘Boss n Hug connection’ were the first to become Women’s Tag Team Champions before dropping the titles at WrestleMania.
Even during that title-run, Bayley did most of the work. WWE will look to capitalize on the history that they share and take their time to book an inevitable feud between these two best friends.
But for that, they need them to share the ring every week.
Now that the wild card rule will be negated, picking them for the same brand at the upcoming WWE draft makes more sense. Additionally, they both lost crucial matches tonight which will play a major factor in narrating their story going forward.
Talk about perfect timing...
#1 Move to NXT
Many believe that WWE creatives did not do justice to Bayley’s character ever since her move to the main roster.
She was immensely popular during her NXT days and was quite charismatic. Fans still sing “Hey Bayley” at live events to cheer for their favorite Superstar and the never-ending chants echo across the arena.
But how much of that do we really see on the main roster? The same Bayley that was so over with the NXT fanbase, struggles to fetch the attention of the WWE Universe every once in a while.
This has happened to a lot of Superstars but last week’s surprising incident has now opened new doors of opportunity. In the previous episode of NXT, WWE Superstar Finn Balor made his return to the Black and Yellow brand and declared that he was there to stay.
Balor was subjected to pointless bookings on the main roster. But now that he is back at home, his character will get the push that it deserves.
Maybe WWE has something similar in mind for Bayley. The Hugger was a part of the WWE 'Match of the Year' when she fought against Sasha Banks at NXT Takeover: Respect (2015).. Given the right storyline, she can recreate similar magic in exciting new feuds.
But the question remains, can the main roster really afford to lose her from the main roster?
