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Sasha Banks and Bayley lost the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships to Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler at WWE Payback 2020 last weekend, and yes, they had a chance to regain their titles on this week's episode of WWE SmackDown. A very competitive match ensued where Sasha Banks and Bayley worked as a cohesive unit on WWE SmackDown to take down their much larger opponents but they would come up short during this contest.
It was during the course of the match where Sasha Banks (kayfabe) hurt her knees, and this was a major reason for why she and Bayley lost their match on WWE SmackDown. But what was the reason why Bayley decided to attack Sasha Banks in one of the more brutal beat-downs we've seen thus far on WWE SmackDown since the brand moved to Friday nights?
Be sure to leave a comment and voice your thoughts in the comments section below.
#5 WWE SmackDown has been building to a rift between Sasha Banks and Bayley over many weeks now
Take a good look at the very last time that Bayley and Sasha Banks will enter the ThunderDome together on WWE SmackDown, because it is truly a glorious sight to see. But is anyone really surprised that Sasha Banks and Bayley are no longer unified as a tag team? We've been seeing the cracks between the WWE SmackDown Women's Champion and Sasha Banks grow bigger every week both on television (with snide comments directed at 'tag team champions') and social media interactions such as the one below:
Sasha Banks and Bayley have been teasing a rift for weeks on end because even they know that the real magic will happen when they are working against one another. Which brings us to our next point.
#4 The immense babyface potential of Sasha Banks on WWE SmackDown
Yes, Sasha Banks was also a heel and it was all too possible that she could have turned on Bayley following their heated tag team title match on WWE SmackDown this week, but at the same time WWE did a fantastic job in portraying Bayley as an even more vicious heel than Sasha Banks is. Bayley saw that her supposed 'best friend' was injured and was being tended to by medical staff, when she decided to launch a savage attack.
And this brings us to the key issue at hand here, which is that between Sasha Banks and Bayley, the former has much more babyface potential. And who would have imagined this, right, considering that Bayley was supposed to be the second coming of John Cena!?!
Sasha Banks has been the most underutilized talent among the Four Horsewomen, and her reigns as Champion have only lasted a fleeting minute, in the past.
And now, fans will root for her as Sasha Banks chases the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship once she returns from injury.
#3 A chance for Sasha Banks and Bayley to recreate their amazing NXT magic on WWE SmackDown
Even though Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch may be the two most prominent women in the WWE Women's Evolution, one has to remember that it kicked into full gear with the amazing matches that Sasha Banks and Bayley had in NXT. In fact, the reason why the NXT brand gained so much momentum and almost became a movement of sorts, an oasis of good wrestling under the WWE umbrella, can be attributed to WWE SmackDown Superstars, Sasha Banks and Bayley.
Sure, it's taken a really long time to finally come to a point where we could see Sasha Banks and Bayley slug it out in the middle of the ring, because all their previous feuds had silly segments such as anger management and counseling sessions, but this one has the recipe of something that could definitely allow them to showcase just how good they are, a class apart in the women's division. Whether or not they can recreate their NXT magic on WWE SmackDown remains to be seen.
#2 Giving Sasha Banks some much needed time off as Bayley rules the roost
While it has not been confirmed that Sasha Banks will take time off following this attack, it makes all the sense in the world to give her some time to the bench, because it makes a lot of sense from a storyline perspective. Sasha Banks was injured even before the attack from Bayley happened, in storyline, and for her to come back next week on WWE SmackDown would just ruin the impact of Bayley's betrayal on her friend.
Sasha Banks and Bayley have carried both the RAW and WWE SmackDown brands on their back ever since the pandemic happened, and they stepped up to ensure that WWE did not suffer in the absence of Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Ronda Rousey.
So, writing her off television for a while is not just a chance to let Sasha Banks recharge her batteries (much like Drew McIntyre, another loyal soldier for the company) has been doing on RAW but it is also a great way to make the heart grow fonder with a period of absence.
#1 The sheer lack of realistic opponents for Bayley in the WWE SmackDown brand
As loaded as the WWE SmackDown brand is, the whole ascent of Bayley to the top has involved her running through the entire WWE SmackDown women's roster. So, while Nikki Cross, or Tamina, or even Lacey Evans could show up to take Bayley down next, the fact of the matter is that it will just feel like we've already seen the WWE SmackDown feud.
Yes, Bayley vs. Mandy Rose for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship is a very realistic possibility of course but does anyone really think that anyone but Sasha Banks can wrest the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship from out of Bayley's grasp?
Whom would you have Bayley face provided Sasha Banks takes some time off to 'recover'? Be sure to chime in with your thoughts in the comments below and name who you think should step up to challenge for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship.
Do catch Tom Colohue and Rick U. from Sportskeeda review WWE SmackDown in the video linked above.
