5 Ways WWE Payback 2017 Can Exceed Expectations
By Bryan Heaton
4. Keep Bayley and Sasha as Allies
The Women’s Title match between champion Bayley and challenger Alexa Bliss has the potential to be a great match. Bliss has already been a real shot in the arm for the women’s division on Team Red, and a (sorta) high-profile match early on is another great opportunity.
The potential cloud hanging over the match, though, is Sasha Banks. For weeks – even months – WWE has been telegraphing a turn to the dark side from the Legit Boss. Every time she’s come out recently to stand up for her “sister” Bayley, the WWE Universe has been waiting for the other shoe to drop.
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After taking the pinfall to Bliss in the number one contender’s match, it seems incredibly likely that Banks will complete the turn at Payback. Since she’s not in the match, it’s a little easier to have her be the one that costs Bayley the match and the championship, setting up a feud to take us into SummerSlam.
But again – that’s what everyone is expecting, and no one really wants to see it. At least, not like that, I would think. To keep everyone guessing, what really should happen is Sasha should help Bayley to seemingly solidify their friendship. That opens up a whole other world of stories – Bayley questions whether or not she really can do it on her own, Sasha claims that Bayley owes her something now, and so on.
Having Sasha turn on Bayley in so obvious a way is the lazy way out. A more nuanced story and subtler kind of turn would be much better.