WWE SummerSlam 2017: 5 Reasons Sasha Banks Winning Was Correct

1. Banks Needed the Win for Her Character

At the heart of “The Legit Boss” character, whether she is a heel or face, is an undying desire to be the best. Sasha Banks is a wrestler who will do whatever it takes to win a championship, even if it means putting on a villainous face and using underhanded tactics to win (see her career in NXT). So it’s of the utmost importance for Banks to remain near the top of the card and to periodically win big matches, such as title matches at important pay per views, in order to constantly assert herself as one of the best in the business. Banks hadn’t won a championship on a pay per view, since she was frequently forced to lose to Charlotte Flair in order to keep the latter’s undefeated streak alive.

Now that Charlotte is on SmackDown Live and her PPV streak has been destroyed anyway, Banks had an opening to win a match like that. Though there was little build beforehand, this victory is a signature win for Banks, and it will be interesting to see how long her current reign lasts. None of her previous reigns were of notable length, as the story being told in her rivalry of Charlotte was one befitting of a “hot potato” game between two evenly-matched wrestlers. Ultimately, Banks fell short by tapping out at Roadblock, and that loss still leaves a sour taste to those upset that she was forced to tap with one second remaining.

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Ever since that loss at Roadblock, Banks wasn’t really in the main title picture until her match with Bliss at Great Balls of Fire, which seemed like a one-off encounter until she was chosen to replace Bayley at SummerSlam. The luster around Banks’s character had worn off a tad, and it seemed like most of her matches were throwaways against Nia. She even had a feud with Alicia Fox and lost to Fox, who wasn’t even a regular part of the women’s division at that point. Banks’ championship victory at SummerSlam is certainly a welcome turnaround.