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WWE SummerSlam 2020: Bayley vs. Asuka for the SmackDown Women's Championship
The proper WWE SummerSlam 2020 card kicked off with the SmackDown Women's Championship Match as Bayley defended against Asuka. This was the first of two matches on the night for the Empress of Tomorrow with her opponent for the RAW Women's Championship, Sasha Banks, in Bayley's corner. The story between these three ladies has been a consistent highlight on WWE television over the past few months. This WWE SummerSlam opener was no different.
Both Bayley and Asuka worked very hard to have an entertaining match, which at the same time left enough on the table for Asuka's second contest at WWE SummerSlam later in the night. These two ladies have quite the history with one another as established by the commentary team. They made mention of the fact that it was Asuka who defeated Bayley to end her legendary NXT Women's Championship reign to go along with the ongoing story on the main roster.
The story of Asuka trying to overcome the Golden Role Models was very prevalent here. Sasha would stick her nose in this contest repeatedly to the detriment of the challenger. In her attempt to keep all the gold, Bayley used these distractions from Banks to allow her openings over Asuka. In the conclusion of the contest, we saw this interference finally cost the Empress.
The climax of the WWE SummerSlam opener saw Asuka with the advantage after two particular attempts to distract her from Sasha on the outside. Finally, Asuka set up Bayley against the ropes for her signature running hip attack. However, Sasha moved Bayley out of harm's way and took the blow for her best friend. Using this to her advantage, the SmackDown Women's Champion cradled Asuka in a small package for the victory at WWE SummerSlam.
This match was a very well-wrestled opener to WWE SummerSlam, which highlighted the story heading into the match well and also set up things for later in the night. All three ladies, including Sasha Banks, got their characters over and delivered an entertaining contest to kick off the proper WWE SummerSlam card on the right foot.
Bayley showed off her smart heel character while Asuka worked with her signature relentless aggression. This was one of the better matches on the night and a worthy opening contest. We would also see later in the night that this set things up perfectly for the outcome of the RAW Women's Title match as well.
Star Rating: ***1/2
