First, Natalya faces Becky Lynch. It is a decent secondary feud. Could be a lot better. The WWE has tried to make it like the story here is that all of Becky's friends turn on her. Not much to buy into here. Just seems like a lame story.
To make this feud mean more, I wouldn't have minded them making this some kind of gimmick match. No DQ? Falls Count Anywhere? Natalya has been brutalizing Becky for a while now. You want to sell this as a heated feud? Add something more to the match. Right now, this just feels like a match you would get on a Raw or Smackdown. And I don't think it will continue all the way to Summerslam. If it does, it will likely be on the pre-show.
Who wins? It just seems obvious Becky Lynch should win. She is the fresher talent of the two. It is obvious by now Natalya is not going anywhere. She has dominated the feud against Becky. It just seems like Becky is winning this Sunday.
Onto the tag match. Charlotte and Dana Brooke vs. Sasha Banks and a partner of her choice. Let me start by talking about the WWE's decision not to have the title defended at Battleground. I am not a believer that a title has to be defended every PPV. I wouldn't even throw a fit if the WWE gave the Champion a rare night off to give the spotlight to two other women that have something else great going on. But this is the second PPV in a row that Charlotte is in a tag match and the title is not being defended. I am sure the WWE won't make too much of a habit out of this, but this new era for the women's division hasn't been working out as well as many fans would hope.
How about the decision to make Sasha get a partner to face Charlotte and Dana? That angle had some potential. They could have legitimately have sold it as no one wanting to team with Sasha, either because they don't want to cross Charlotte and Dana or women on the roster have not fully grown to trust Sasha after being a heel as long as she was. Problem is, the WWE had Becky Lynch team with Sasha on Raw this week to face Charlotte and Dana. Becky obviously won't be teaming with her on Sunday, but it kind of kills the potential of this angle by showing other women are willing to face Charlotte and Dana and tag with Sasha.
The only thing this angle still has going for it is the mystery element. Who will the partner be? Looking around, the top three options I see fans bringing up are Paige, Nikki Bella, and Bayley. The WWE going with Paige is not likely. There is no real impact there.
How about Nikki Bella? I have said before that she has not officially retired and could be coming back. She is not the partner Sasha Banks would pick if she had the power to pick her own partner, but the WWE might pick Nikki to get her back in the picture. And if she is back in the picture, it won't be as a jobber.
Bayley seems like the likely option. NXT will be represented in the draft on Smackdown tonight. Bayley and Sasha have a history. Wrestling fans would love to see her. But they are dreading one thing. What if Bayley debuts and gets lost in the shuffle soon after? With the brand split, it might be less likely that happens. Nevertheless, I do see some fans saying they would rather it be Paige so Bayley can debut at a better time and in a better way. If Bayley does debut and gets this match, what are the chances she gets added to the title feud between Charlotte and Sasha Banks? That would be unfair to Sasha. I thought it was unfair to insert Sasha Banks into the storyline that was there between Charlotte and Becky Lynch, and you might get the same kind of situation again where Sasha gets the short end of the stick. I would just like the WWE to see a feud for one of these new women to a proper finish before inserting another new woman.
The WWE could have avoided a lot of this dread if they just kept the feud between Sasha and Charlotte simple. Put the title on the line in a singles match at Battleground. Charlotte retains through cheating. Sasha wins the title at Summerslam. Bayley can debut a little later. Let one of the divas debut from NXT tonight, like Alexa Bliss. Some fans have brought up Nia Jax. Bayley is still the favorite to debut, but it would be nice if she wasn't inserted into the feud involving Sasha and Charlotte just yet. Sasha has enough face partners on the main roster already to tag with her against Charlotte and Dana. There was no great need to treat this like she needs to find someone special. Because you are left wondering what will happen to that person she does find. If she gets lost in the shuffle, that is something to complain about. If she ruins Sasha's push, that is something to complain about. Let's see how that plays out.
As for the winner of the match, it would be a shame to have a debut or return and have Charlotte and Dana win. The only way I can picture the heels winning is if it is someone like Paige that gets picked. I will say Bayley debuts and the face team wins.
The Draft just happeneed. Here are few thoughts:
ReplyDelete1. Exactly like you wanted, The women's division is split to two. One with the title, one without it.
2. On Raw side there will be title feud. It seems that we will get the Sasha-Charlotte angle all the way to Summerslam where Sashsa will finally get the title. Than what? I think we may get the 1st clue when we will see who the Mystery partner is. If nothing major happens I think the best bet is having Paige fued with Sasha on the title Maybe even win it for a short period before losing it again. Sasha will win the fued and retain overall.
3. Meanwhile, I would use Nia Jax in a fued against Charlotte to build her. The first just debuted the second just ended a looooong title reign. We want them both close at the title but outside the picture for a while. They could have an angle of "Who is more genetically superior" and it can work! I would even make Dana Brooke as some kind of a third option, turning on Charlotte during this fued.
4. Poor Summer Rae. Seems that she will have more of the same.
5. On Smackdown, Becky Lynch is the biggest star! I think this is the right call for her. She can be the main star and stop being overshadowed even as Sasha gets to finally shine at Raw. Who will be the 2nd girl to main the company is the biggest question. I can not see the Natalya angle (which looks like a filler angle) continue after Battleground. Their 2nd pick was Naomi but she will probably be used as a jobber still. So I think that Alexa Bliss or Carmella will feud with her. The WWE love their triple threats with women soi maybe even both and Becky?
6My best bet would be that there will be only one active feud on Smackdown. That will be 3 women's fued overall
What do you think?
I would have had Paige go to Smackdown to be in the position Becky Lynch is in. Other than that, let's just see how the WWE pushes the women. Old habits die hard for the WWE.
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