WWE Raw: The Curious Case of Sasha Banks
WWE Raw’s Sasha Banks is one of the “Four Horsewomen” and a four-time Women’s Champion, but she’s puzzlingly never had any lengthy reigns with the title.
The revolution begins
In the summer of 2015 three-quarters of the Four Horsewomen of WWE NXT made their debut on the main roster. Right off the bat, they were made to be a huge deal. At first, it was Charlotte that had the spotlight on her. She was the crown jewel, the daughter of The Nature Boy, and the future of women’s wrestling. But waiting for her moment and putting in the work was Sasha Banks. After the initial wave of the promotion wore off, Banks would find herself embroiled in a feud with “The Queen.”
The feud with Charlotte gave fans a glimpse back in time to what we knew Banks was capable of. Prior to the move to the main roster, Banks was going to war with everyone’s favorite hugger, Bayley, on a weekly basis. The two had a match of the year candidate at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn. They followed that with the first ever Iron Woman match, which would also be the first ever women’s match to headline an NXT TakeOver special. “The Boss” was on top of her game, not only elevating herself each match, but those she was in the ring with. It was her lengthy and dominating title reign in NXT that got the fans salivating once she got in the hunt on the main roster.
Banks cashes in on title opportunity
Shortly after the 2016 WWE Draft, Banks would make her mark on the WWE RAW brand. Banks would defeat Charlotte for the Women’s Championship, her first championship win on the main roster. Unfortunately, just a month later Banks would lose the championship back to Charlotte at SummerSlam. This would begin a curious trend of Sasha and her title reigns. Sometime later Banks would get a 1 on 1 rematch with Charlotte. After a back and forth, Banks would walk away with her second Women’s Championship.
The first ever women’s Hell in a Cell match would take place on October 30, 2016. Not only the first ever women’s HIAC, but they would also be the main event of the PPV. On this evening Banks would stand across the ring from a familiar foe in Charlotte. The two put on a match deserving of its spot on the card. Once the ref finished his three count, it was Charlotte that had her hand raised. Much like her first reign, 27 days would stand between Sasha winning and losing her championship.
The rivalry between Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair had a new chapter written on the November 28, 2016, edition of Monday Night Raw. In the main event, the two grapplers would have a hellacious Falls Count Anywhere match. After beating the tar out of each other, Banks would raise the title, tying Charlotte’s record of three reigns. In what would seem like a familiar nightmare, Charlotte would defeat banks just 20 days later to win her fourth championship.
Banks would see herself inserted into storylines throughout the rest of 2016 and beginning of 2017. At the biggest party of the summer, SummerSlam, Banks would outlast her new rival, Alexa Bliss, and become a 4-time Raw Women’s Champion. Before any celebrations could even begin, in just eight days, Banks would lose the title back to Bliss. As quickly as the 1-2-3 could be counted the title reign was over.
Next: Ranking NJPW's Best Factions
Sasha Banks is without a doubt one of the best wrestlers on the roster today. She is a four-time Raw Women’s Champion. Unfortunately, her reigns don’t even total up to three months. It’s hard to tell what the creative team is doing with Banks. She rarely ever misses when it comes to the ring but they seem to have little faith in her. Spiking crowd interest with a fan favorite winning the title just to have her lose it in the blink of an eye. Hopefully, this isn’t the story that becomes her career. Her NXT work proves she can be a champion that can lead a division. The powers that be just need to give her the ball so she can run with it.