Let's talk about Bayley. She debuted at a time Sasha Banks was taking some time off. Her push got screwed up when Sasha Banks came back. They looked like they were going to push her again, but then they once again went back to Sasha Banks. But here it is, Bayley getting a title feud on the main roster.
I see a lot of criticism for Bayley. For one thing, a lot of fans don't like some of her promos. Well, a lot of these women, including the highly-praised top women's wrestling talent coming out of NXT, are not that great on the mic. Charlotte often seems robotic with some of her promos. Fans, and the WWE, just have to realize that not everyone is the same. That may sound obvious, but you have to put that idea into practice. Bayley may not be the type of performer that can cut certain promos or handle certain storylines. It just doesn't fit her character. But her character does have potential. She's someone little kids can like. She has a friendly personality. Whether she ever develops greater depth or not, you just have to find storylines and angles that work for her. It is the old idea of trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. It can really ruin Bayley if they just take her and just try to make her into something she is not.
Another criticism I have seen brought up is that Bayley doesn't have that same magic she had down in NXT. People say she was so over in NXT. They say she had the greatest underdog story in women's wrestling. The WWE may think that the could just redo the same kind of things they did down there for her. But it isn't working. I am not surprised. I have seen it before that something that looks so amazing down in NXT comes to the main roster and loses that luster, even if the WWE does try to feature it prominently. But this criticism is more on the WWE than Bayley. They cannot take it for granted that something successful in NXT will carry over on the main roster. And they should be terrified if that ever becomes the norm. NXT only gets a fraction of the audience the main roster gets. Do they want Raw only getting a million viewers or less? Do they want live events featuring main roster talent to get a crowd of 300? Do they want to only appeal to smarks? Put the proper work in on the main roster.
Who wins this match? Charlotte. Not only does Bayley not look like she's ready, but I doubt the WWE ruins Charlotte's undefeated PPV streak here. It's not a draw. I doubt the person that gets the "rub" by ending the streak will really benefit. It is just a means of hyping up Charlotte. End it at Wrestlemania. End it against an opponent that has been developed better. Whatever the case, it is not likely to end here.
Further down the card, Sasha Banks takes on Nia Jax. As I have said before, in the previous era, it would be rare to see someone that was just used to put over the centerpiece in the women's division still get a proper feud after she has been rotated out. I am not talking about a periphery angle. I mean a female wrestler feuding with another female wrestler in a legitimate feud that will go to a PPV. I cannot think of one example of a credible jobber getting a proper feud like this once during the diva era off the top of my head. Sasha Banks fans should not be complaining about Sasha Banks getting something to do.
One of the problems with this feud is that Bayley already beat Nia Jax a few weeks ago in a singles match. Nia Jax isn't undefeated on the main roster anymore. If she still was, that would make this feud seem even more important. Can Sasha Banks hand Nia Jax her first official loss on the main roster? Of course, they couldn't really help it. The roster lacks depth. If they wanted to have a #1 contender's match, there aren't a lot of credible options for Bayley to go over available. You have to take into account injuries and other angles the WWE has going on. In the old days, the WWE might just do a battle royal to decide the #1 contender. Bayley eliminating Nia Jax to win that would not be the same as beating her in a singles match. Nia Jax would still be undefeated in singles matches. But it is hard to book properly when you don't have a lot to work with. Because of that, this feud loses some of its luster. Sasha Banks still has to beat a destructive monster, but people have already seen that the monster is beatable.
Who wins? It comes down to how long the WWE wants to prolong this. And the WWE has shown that they do love prolonging things these days. This is a feud for Sasha Banks to win, but the WWE might extend this feud beyond the Royal Rumble. If they do, Nia Jax would win at the Royal Rumble and Sasha would win the feud later on. That is what I will go with.
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