In this half of the latest edition of Glitter and Slam we'll look at the four-way elimination match for the Raw Women's Title, as well as analyze the booking options now and going into WWE's new year.
The champion Bayley, Sasha Banks and Charlotte bring the most star power out of all of WWE's main roster women and Nia Jax has her first opportunity to take her presence to a new level. Showcasing them all in one match makes some pragmatic sense. WrestleMania is not only there to enthrall current fans, but to expand WWE's audience. It does not take long, however, to see that beyond this quintessential quartet, Raw still does not have much beyond the champ and three contenders going into the future. This has to be considered when exploring the booking possibilities and potential of each woman in 2017 and beyond.
BAYLEY
(Source: WWE.com)
The writing was on the wall even in NXT that Bayley would be a huge star, and she is. Her connection with kids is rivaled only by John Cena's. She is not the only woman striking a chord with young people, though, nor has she been able to become the absolute top face among Team Red's women. WrestleMania should have been where she finally broke Charlotte Flair's PPV streak and completed her rite of passage to a whole new level. WWE decided to pull the trigger on her early as part of a multi-star storyline that seems more about Sasha Banks trying to screw over Charlotte at times than Bayley maintaining integrity and a will to win in the face of adversity.
Given the thin roster beyond the major players, it is understandable that Banks, Charlotte and more recently Jax need to be put to maximum use to enhance what the division does have going for it. The problem is that Bayley has yet to show she has become head and shoulders above others in the fray.
(Hugger #1 is the quintessential never-say-die baby face, but she will need a new relentless enemy coming out WrestleMania. Source: WWE.com)
Booking her into victory at WrestleMania could solidify her, but only if the stage is set for a fresh rivalry. That initial rivalry, given how often all four women in this bout have wrestled each other over the last year, should be with a freshly heeled Sasha Banks – in a vicious turn just as Bayley's hand is raised in victory.
Whether Bayley wins or not, big changes in story and motivation are needed going forward.
SASHA BANKS
(Source: WWE.com)
The slow burn, as documented in Glitter and Slam as well as across the net, that is the Sasha Banks heel turn has been satisfying to watch, as underhanded motives became apparent to Charlotte, Stephanie McMahon and everyone else except Bayley. WWE is almost at the point of no return and the latest the Boss should turn is the Raw following WrestleMania – but doing so at the big show is the best option.
(Tantalizing glimpses into the future permeate social media, including from Banks herself. Source: sashabankswwe instagram)
Banks has regained her swagger on the mic, which was most evident during her times as a heel. She is still the top female baby face in WWE and even after losing the title at Roadblock, she is still considered an essential part of nearly every women's match or segment on Raw.
Now that she does not have to be bodacious yet humble (with "Boss" in big, sparkly letters on her ass, no less) it would injure her character to stay a face whether she wins the gold again at Mania or not. This is not because she is not over, but any potential for fresh matchups going forward would be squashed if the character maintained her integrity beyond Mania.
Reigniting the feud that rocked women's wrestling in NXT is definitely best for business. There are strong indications, with pinfall victories over Charlotte, Bayley, and her Fastlane opponent Nia Jax, that a new champ will come out WrestleMania, while Bayley will pulling Sasha's knife out of her back in pursuit of a second title reign. This all looks like a plausible course, but in light of it, booking for The Queen and Jax is a little murkier to chart.
CHARLOTTE FLAIR
(Source: WWE.com)
She is the new Dirtiest Player in the Game. She is a heel who can earn your hate on any number of levels. If she can't attain victory with her lawyer, she'll cheat. If cheating isn't a viable option, she will simply cripple a bitch. Charlotte's also set a standard in which fans can expect a great match regardless of who she faces. In 2016, we cannot discuss the rise of Bayley, Sasha Banks, and to a degree Nia Jax without mentioning the Queen. She will face her greatest challenge beyond storylines coming out of WrestleMania. She could feud with Jax, but with two heels, that kind of feud would not last beyond one PPV. Turning her face in a short time to extend the life of such a feud would be a tough sell to the masses as well as negate her best
entertainment asset – pissing everyone off. Charlotte Flair draws for herself as well as her opposition as the egomaniac and crippler everyone loves to hate. In spite of this quandary moving out of the Show of Shows, putting the title back on her makes it tough creatively to get fresh rivalries out of rest of Team Red's women's division. The most compelling story possibilities for now are outside of her realm.
NIA JAX
(Source: WWE.com)
WrestleMania 33 marks Jax's first opportunity to move to the next level before the largest audience she has ever worked in front of. WWE rushed her to the main roster while she was still green, as they have done with male superheavyweights from Nathan Jones to Ryback to Big Cass over the decades. Thanks to the unselfish professionalism of Sasha Banks in their recent feud, as well as in recent matches with Bayley and encounters with Charlotte, fans are beginning to see there is genuine potential in her beyond being the Rock's cousin.
(Nia Jax is gradually evolving into the force of nature WWE hoped she would be, thanks in part to working with her outstanding peers. Source: WWE.com)
Jax's character is angry at seeing smaller conventional women get opportunities while she stomped mud holes in jobbers wrestling in a vacuum. This is interesting ground, as WWE for the first time injects a subtle take on body image and preconceived notions of what women should look like in the media. This fuels for her rage against "little girls" like Sasha Banks, whom she tried to cripple following the latter's storyline knee injury, and Bayley, who is nothing more to her than a smiling face to sell tee shirts who deserves only decimation at her hands. We can even see hostility against Charlotte, who is the embodiment of aristocratic entitlement.
In the ring we're getting to see that anger in her matches as her move set has expanded and, especially in her feud with Banks, she was able to safely pull off shows of brute force and sadism against her opponent. Also, she can do this going at a medium tempo, demonstrating good endurance for a bigger power wrestler.
In time, she should be able to showcase these vulgar displays of power with newer talent coming in from NXT, just as her WWE teammates have done for her so far. That said, putting the title on her would derail the best booking possibilities for the division at this time.
(Banks is a solid bet to win, but it won't be her BFF raising her hand in victory. Source: WWE.com)
My official prediction for the Raw Women's Championship match is: Sasha Banks victorious in a nefarious, malicious and exceedingly bitter win down to the wire pinning Bayley or making her tap, then leaving her in a brutalized heap. If I'm wrong, Bayley retaining in light of burned bridges is the next best choice.
This is the first of two parts. In the next that will follow, I'll analyze the Blue Brand's championship free-for-all and Nikki's intergender tag match with Cena against Miz and Maryse.
Finally, news has broken that The Smackdown Women's Title match has been kicked down to the preshow. No World Title should be set aside for a kickoff program. Use this hashtag across social media to convey to WWE how wrong this is -- #givesmackdownwomenachance
Also, join me, @weskozalla, Ace Masters manning @wrestlementarythetwitter and Dave Parrish from @oste8minutes as we join all of you across twitter for WrestleMania 33 markin' and smarkin' out for the Showcase of the Immortals.
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