Another Memorable Night In Brooklyn For Sasha Banks?

It wasn't that long ago that Sasha Banks was part of a great match with Bayley in NXT in Brooklyn. That great match made her more of a hero to wrestling fans. I saw some fans ready to crown her wrestler of the year, even ahead of some men. Fans would even chant for her during other diva segments.

The final Raw of 2015 was in Brooklyn, my hometown. The WWE booked Sasha Banks in a match. It was against Becky Lynch, who also happens to be talented in the ring. This match, however, was not received as well as that NXT match against Bayley. It got "boring" chants at one point. Same city. Talented opponent. Different results.

I would say the main problem here is it was given too much time. The match wasn't too awful, but it just dragged on for a while. Too many rest holds. I remember watching a match between Gail Kim and Lita. These are two women that know how to wrestle. This match was okay, but it also felt like it could have been better. It wasn't as exciting as it could have been. This match between Sasha and Becky was given even more time than that match. Aside from the finishing sequence and a few other spots here and there, a lot of this match just wasn't necessary.

I know a lot of fans care way too much about match time. That was one of the big issues with #GiveDivasAChance. People were actually timing matches on Twitter. Ten seconds is definitely too little time to give two women a chance to put on a good performance, but there is such a thing as having too much time to work with. The WWE does not manage diva matches well on the main roster. The average Raw diva match should last about 5 minutes. Save 10-minute matches for PPVs or special situations on Raw or Smackdown where the divas need and deserve the time. That diva match on Raw this week was not a special situation that called for a long match. If there was some special angle going on, maybe fans would have been more invested and the two women would have been able to feed off that to put on an even better performance.

I said a while ago that I did not think Sasha Banks would be able to live up to the high expectations placed on her by wrestling fans. That is not a comment on her talent. That is a comment on fans expecting too much and not taking into account the WWE not booking matches better. Ever since fans protested on Twitter and the WWE started giving divas longer matches, I have seen a few dull matches here and there. Not horrible, but just matches that dragged on. It seems like some fans just get more excited for how long a match lasts than the actual quality of the match. In this environment, it would not be likely Sasha Banks would succeed. Her only hope is for the WWE starting to put individual focus on her better. Once her character starts getting connected with the audience better, she will become more legitimately over. She is already over with wrestling fans as an in-ring performer, but there is more to it than that.