Bayley

[LifeLostInRewind]

Bayley vs Charlotte for the smackdown women's title is confirmed for tonight. Hoping that IF Bayley loses, she goes into full on heel mode after the match and we see her debut on the brand she's drafted to with new music, new attire, and a new attitude.

[Powder]

Bayley

Not shocking, but there wasn't a Bayley thread.

After reading Bayley's reasons for why she turned heel. I understand them ,but she still is boring. Even in her interview answers, she puts me to sleep. Yes she finally has some character growth after 7 years, but she still is nothing exciting.


But the question remains...are we getting a Sasha face turn to face her at Mania, or is the WWE extending the Lacey Evans feud until then?

[PEN15v2]

I'm betting neither. Sasha shouldn't turn face so soon, and I don't think they can extend Lacey vs Bayley until Mania. I'm seeing Alexa or Nikki Cross getting that nod.

[Powder]

Alexa vs Bayley with the roles reversed. Interesting.

If the WWE goes in this route, Bayley should call for a kendo stick match to go full circle, where Bayley wouldn't use the kendo stick a few years ago.

[LifeLostInRewind]

I would have suggested Ronda vs Bayley (gets Ronda on Smackdown like FOX wants), but I know more people would prefer Becky vs Ronda at Mania.

They don't have to turn Sasha face right now. They can wait it out until March.

[PEN15v2]

She just turned heel for the first time in 5 years. She's not turning face again just for a Mania match with Bayley. That angle of tension between them is over.

[Oliver]

Nobody is taking that title from the WWE's best role model. She should hold it forever. She's the best of the four horsewomen in a walk and the only performer in the whole company that can touch her is Roman.

[PEN15v2]

...Really?

[Oliver]

I'm...OK, so I'm certainly overegging it in terms of just being a really big fan of hers, but most of that is coming from a real place.

I'd probably say best of the four horsewomen is more a case of the most rounded. Others have better individual talents in their game - Sasha's character work, Becky in ring - but I think Bayley then beats them at the opposite (i.e. better in ring than Sasha, better character work than Becky). Charlotte is less consistent than Bayley - like, I would trust Bayley to get something decent out of Lacey rather than Charlotte (and I think she did last night, in difficult circumstance) so, yeah, best of the four horsewomen is a bit of an overstatement but I think she's the most solid on a regular basis at all aspects of her work.

I do want to see her get to Mania as champion, at least.

There's a side of me that thinks WWE could really make something out of Bayley always being overlooked/overshadowed. She's got the most combined days as Smackdown women's champion, the second longest reign as champion, and by Mania will (if my maths is right) have the longest reign. And yet that'll be overshadowed by Becky holding the title for a year at Mania, I'm sure, and even then she often feels a bit second fiddle to others - this storyline, for example, was really started by Sasha confronting Lacey's kid, and somehow Bayley ended up fighting Lacey despite only being involved by association. I don't think WWE has really leaned into that yet, but it would be an interesting wrinkle to add to her heel turn.

Speaking of which, I love how they handled the turn initially, whereby Bayley's gimmick didn't really change but her reasoning did. Like, she's still a role model, but she's a role model because she stuck up for her friend in Sasha and as a result is a heel. And that's still running now, I think.

I really like her, and think she's got everything to keep being at the top for a while. She might not always be the champion, but she should have a decent future.

[Prime Time]

I see her next opponent is Tamina - honestly, not a name I've heard for quite a while.

[Powder]

The only new matchup. Tamina is being billed like the Big Show. A big, formidable opponent to keep Bayley looking strong, but just a placeholder feud before the Sasha/Bayley feud leading into SummerSlam.

[King Kong Sundae]

Been catching up on a few Smackdowns and been enjoying Bayley in this role, starting to think she can do anything they need her to do

[LifeLostInRewind]

Thoughts on Bayley being the one that stayed heel between her and Sasha?

[Prime Time]

Just from a distance, I'd have thought that was the sensible way to go. If you've turned Sasha a half dozen times already, then it kinda doesn't matter what you do with her. If you've only changed Bayley once - and she's getting good reports as a heel - then why get in the way of that, when in her case it might kinda, sorta, still mean something?

[PEN15v2]

Sasha has been a babyface her entire main roster career, until turning heel last year. Sasha had turned in NXT though, so I guess I could see how that could effect her here. But I think in terms of actual performance, Sasha would be the much better heel to go with.

But, I genuinely don't enjoy Sasha, so my bias might be forcing myself to prefer her to be in a position to boo her.