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RAW seemed like a very standard show until the third hour when Natalya came out to address the WWE Universe. She would cut a very emotional promo telling the audience that it was the one-year anniversary of her father's unfortunate passing.
And then, suddenly a familiar tune would be heard, and Sasha Banks would return from her hiatus and attack Natalya. The world watched in shock as she unveiled a new look and took down Natalya before the WWE Universe.
She would also destroy Becky Lynch soon after, who came out to offer her support to her SummerSlam 2019 adversary. The world wonders why everyone's lovable babyface has now turned heel again.
I shall try to answer this question across 5 points, in the following slides.
#5 Beating up the hometown hero in an emotional moment
There is nothing bigger than a Hart in Canada. Especially if Natalya is in the middle of the ring, crying her heart out, remembering the career of her legendary father who is no longer with us. For Sasha Banks to return as she did, when she did, is a surefire way to make the audience turn on her.
I pretty much knew that Sasha Banks would go heel when she interrupted this promo midway through the segment. Even though the promo was scripted like everything else in WWE, the sentiments and the tears were certainly real from Natalya as she remembered The Anvil's legacy. Because her father wouldn't mind his name being used in a storyline to advance her daughter's career, I daresay that this was perhaps the right move.
Sasha Banks would end up garnering a lot of heel heat by laying Natalya out in the middle of the ring during the segment. It was perfectly booked!
See WWE RAW Results, Highlights of event, & more on WWE RAW Results page
#4 To set up a feud with Becky Lynch
Before WrestleMania, Becky Lynch was the hottest thing in WWE. I mean not only did she create history by winning the main event of the night, but the crowd was firmly on her side cheering her on as she made history. And then somehow, everything fell apart since then.
Unfortunately, she faced off against Lacey Evans who's a very talented performer but has a long way to go before she's in the same ballpark as Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair. She faced off against Natalya next and put on a great match, but the build was lackluster and underwhelming, as both women were babyfaces that the crowd had no issue with.
This is the biggest feud that Becky Lynch has really been in, since winning the title at WrestleMania. The RAW Women's Championship will finally feel like a big deal again, if these two women square off.
#3 She was always better as a heel in NXT
Sasha vs. Bayley was the hottest thing going in NXT. Many feel that it was the feud that put women's wrestling on the map and made it relevant again to the world.
Ever since she's come to the main roster, Sasha Banks has not got a chance to showcase the mean and nasty side of her character, except for a brief stint in Team Bad right at the very start. She never had the chance to go fully heel like she did on this particular occasion.
Sasha Banks has needed a change in character for some time now, and I would say that the change in look is a welcome one too. It's a lot like Kiera Hogan's look from TNA, who also shed the red for long blue locks recently.
This could be the beginning of the biggest push that she ever gets.
#2 No chance of returning to the Women's Tag Team division with Bayley
Ultimately, there was no way that Sasha Banks was going to return to the same position that she was in when she quit. There were rumors galore that she may go to Japan and AEW, but Tom Colohue of Sportskeeda explained the reason for her absence in an exclusive piece for the site. She was just banged up and hence, took a leave of absence to return to 100%.
Since then, Bayley has moved on and one may even say that she's in a much better spot now than when she was a Tag Team Champion. This is why there was no way that WWE would have paired Banks with Bayley upon her return to feud with Alexa and Nikki.
The women's division only has so many stars. They need to be distributed evenly for compelling matches to happen.
#1 Lack of established heels in the RAW Women's Division right now
Charlotte Flair is the biggest heel in the WWE Women's Division at the moment, and if you discount Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, there's literally nobody else that can potentially challenge the top babyfaces. Sasha Banks is someone who desperately needed to enter the division as a heel to be a credible antagonist for the protagonists in the WWE roster.
Bayley and Becky Lynch can only do so much without compelling heels to feud against, I fear. It had reached a point where Natalya and Ember Moon, two babyfaces had to face the Champions at SummerSlam.
Like I said, Becky Lynch needed a feud with Sasha Banks to make herself relevant again. I loved the match between Lynch and Natalya, but there's only so much you can do in a program with no real heat.
Superman is nothing without Lex Luthor.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
