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With Clash of Champions closing in, the latest episode of RAW was meant to add more to the storylines that converge towards the PPV. The show kicked off with a segment of Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins signing a contract to make their Universal Title match official.
However, the OC interrupted and AJ Styles tore the contract and then a brawl ensued. A match took place between the Good Brothers and the RAW Tag Team Champions and the latter won it, only to be laid out by the OC and the team of Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler.
The other thing of note that happened was the Firefly Fun House as Bray Wyatt explained why he challenged the winner between Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman to a match at Hell in a Cell.
The biggest highlight of the night, however, was Bayley attacking Becky Lynch with a chair and turning heel in the process. While the WWE Universe seemed to have loved it, here are 3 reasons why it was a great move and 2 reasons why it wasn’t…
#3 Why it is good: A new spice to her character
During her time in NXT, Bayley was the most lovable character. She was so over with the fans that it was easy to think that she would be the biggest babyface once she went to the main roster.
However, things didn’t turn out as expected for the Hugger as her character ultimately went stale with the fans. When the crowd doesn’t loudly react to your presence – be it via boos or cheers – you know that something needs to change.
Now that she has turned heel, there is a new spice to her character and she can once again get over with the fans if she plays it right.
#2 Why it is not good: She had to wait until Banks came back
Bayley’s Hugger gimmick had become stale a long time ago. In fact, if anything, she should have turned heel a long time ago. Nevertheless, it is better late than never but even then she might have been better off making the heel turn before Sasha Banks made her return to WWE.
Bayley and Sasha have a great camaraderie and are always dubbed as the best of friends. As a result, Bayley turning heel now could be interpreted as her waiting for her friend’s ‘approval’ of sorts before making the heel turn.
In fact, Bayley has been showing signs of making this turn ever since Banks returned – something for which Charlotte called her out on Twitter.
And now that she has finally pulled the trigger in Banks’ presence, it makes her look like Sasha Banks’ wingwoman rather than someone who does things on her own accord.
Maybe if she also attacked Banks with a chair, it would have made her look even stronger and independent.
#2 Why it is good: Opens up many future possibilities
Despite the fact that she had to wait until her friend came as a villain to turn heel herself, Bayley turning into a villain right before the Clash of Champions PPV opens up an endless list of possibilities.
As a heel, she can do things that she couldn’t have even thought of when she was a babyface. She is going to face Charlotte at Clash of Champions where she defends her WWE SmackDown Women’s Title against the Queen.
Now that she is also a heel and will go against one of the best heels in the business in the form of Charlotte, the match could be intriguing, to say the least. It also opens the possibility of Charlotte turning face and joining hands with her former best friend Becky Lynch as the pair take on the duo of Sasha Banks and Bayley.
That, however, is for a long-term booking. For now, with Clash of Champions up ahead, the next episode of SmackDown is going to be really interesting as that will give us an indication of what turn the feud between Bayley and Charlotte Flair takes.
#1 Why it is not good: No big babyfaces left on the SmackDown women’s division
The women’s division of WWE has taken a nosedive ever since the conclusion of WrestleMania. Putting both the Championships on Becky Lynch at the Show of Shows might have made her moment huge but the adverse impact it had on the women’s division is something from which they are yet to recover.
For starters, the company ran out of ideas about what to do next. For a time, Lynch had to feud with both Charlotte Flair and Lacey Evans. And while the experiment to make Evans a huge heel failed, the lack of proper babyfaces in the division is apparent.
The four biggest Superstars in the women’s division are Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Bayley and while Becky Lynch might be cheered, she is from RAW, meaning that the SmackDown roster doesn’t really have top babyfaces left anymore with Bayley’s heel turn.
There are some ways to rectify this. They could turn Charlotte face again or they could just catapult an up and coming Superstar into a babyface role but the latter would require proper planning and time.
#1 Why it is good: Could be her Becky moment
The SummerSlam of 2018 was a crucial moment for the women’s division. The seeds of a revolution were sown at that very PPV when Becky Lynch turned on Charlotte Flair after the latter won the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
Even though Lynch attacking Flair was supposed to be a heel turn, the fans absolutely loved it and cheered for the Irishwoman when she did that. The rest, as they say, is history.
Lynch went on to headline WrestleMania alongside Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey and end the night with two belts to her name.
Fast forward to the latest episode of WWE RAW and she might have just done for Bayley what Charlotte Flair did for her last year. Bayley attacking Lynch was supposed to turn her heel and, in pure wrestling terms, she is now one but the fact that the crowd went absolutely berserk and chanted ‘yes’ in approval of Bayley turning on Lynch showed that they loved it.
This moment could catapult Bayley to the heights which Becky Lynch has enjoyed this year. This could be Bayley’s Becky Lynch moment.
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