Previewing Sasha Banks Vs. Charlotte At Summerslam 2016

How did the WWE further the women's feud on Raw this week? They dug up Alicia Fox from wherever they buried her and had Charlotte go over her. I have been saying that the WWE has a little bit of an emergency situation with their depth in the women's division right now. Using Alicia Fox again is a step in the right direction, but not much. It's like having a bunch of poor quarterbacks behind your starter. Having all those bodies there means nothing if they aren't helping you win games when the starter goes down. The Dallas Cowboys learned that last season. Depth isn't just about quantity. It is also about quality. Alicia Fox isn't terrible, but she has no credibility, despite having held the butterfly title once, and most fans don't care too much about her. Can you imagine Sasha Banks getting injured and the WWE pushing Alicia Fox as the top face? I can't see them doing it. They would probably immediately go to Bayley or bring back someone like Melina. But just in terms of the match they booked, the WWE at least put two people together that haven't gone at it in a while.

What happened after the match is what really matters. Sasha Banks, who was on commentary during the match, made her way down to the ring to confront Charlotte. Dana Brooke went after Sasha. Charlotte got the upper hand and locked Sasha in her submission for a good while. That is a better way to build some heat in the feud prior to Summerslam beyond just having Charlotte go over a jobber.

Who wins this Sunday? Going by the momentum rule, Sasha Banks will win. The odds are against her. Or did they have Charlotte weaken her on Raw just to give Sasha a bit of an excuse for losing?

It pretty much comes down to what they have planned after Summerslam. Is Nia Jax going to be moved in as the top contender? Then it makes sense for Sasha to retain to face her. Is Bayley popping up? Then the WWE might want to give the title back to Charlotte and let the feud between Sasha and Charlotte continue a little longer to have their rematch, then move on to heel Charlotte vs. face Bayley. I will say Sasha retains and moves on to Nia Jax. Nia can't continue just beating local jobbers forever. The WWE should start going in some direction with her. Probably help sell more of those generic-looking shirts they made for her.

Even more important than who ends up with the title, who is the centerpiece? Is the WWE even going to have one true centerpiece in their women's division anymore? Last year at this time, Nikki Bella, an eye-candy diva, was Diva's Champion and looking like the centerpiece. What is the status quo of this new era in the women's era? I would say it is way too early to tell. Charlotte just lost the title a few weeks ago. Sasha Banks just won it. Which of these two women is the centerpiece, if any of the two? What happens when Nikki Bella returns? What is going on with Smackdown's women? How will the WWE react to injury issues piling up? Injury issues were a factor in the decline of the previous era in the women's division. How long of a leash does this era have? Giving these female wrestlers an opportunity does not mean you let them do whatever they want and outcomes don't matter. I know wrestling fans want to hand every respectable female wrestler to come out of NXT a gold medal, but I wouldn't be so quick to say everything is so marvelous. Some of these women need to clean up their in-ring work a little. Some of them can work on developing their characters more. There is still more work for both the WWE and these workers to do. And all it may take is a few big injuries to ruin this era.