WWE: It's Time for the Company to Better Invest in Sasha Banks

Sasha Banks consistently proves that she’s a talent to be trusted inside and outside the ring. Now, the WWE needs to capitalize on it.

2018 has been a year of firsts for the women on the WWE roster. From the Royal Rumble, to the Elimination Chamber, these special moments culminated the work of previous generations. While the entire women’s roster was involved with many of these special moments, one stands out as a leader amongst the rest. That person is Sasha Banks. Yet, with 3 years on the main roster and 4 title reigns under her belt, some may wonder if the WWE is missing the boat on “The Boss.”

It’s hard to ignore what Banks brings to the ring. In the Royal Rumble she was given the position of lasting nearly an hour before being eliminated by the Bella Twins. She was the last to be eliminated from the Elimination Chamber match, after putting together multiple special moments with the other women in the structure. She shared the ring with Charlotte Flair when they became the first two women to headline a PPV back in 2016 at Hell in a Cell.

At 26-years old, it is clear that she’s young in her career and the list of accolades will only continue to grow. In Banks, the WWE has a utility player that they can trust with big moments in big matches. But something is still amiss with her placement within the division. Charlotte and Alexa Bliss are booked as dominant champions; Asuka, Absolution and Nia Jax also take center stage in other ways, pushing Banks further into the background along with the likes of Bayley and Mickie James.

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Experts will have you think that a simple heel turn is enough, but that’s not the full solution. Instead, Banks has to be given a place of prominence and longevity at the top that’s escaped her since leaving NXT. Moving her to the SmackDown brand isn’t the answer, because the women’s division on that show has its own issues with a lack of time and uniqueness in the group. Banks deserves better than that.

It’s not often when the WWE finds a star that has crossover appeal. But Banks has that. She has a larger social media following than any other woman on the roster. She’s appeared on shows such as TRL and the BET Awards, while being front and center for a variety of promotional efforts as needed. Banks reaches demographics that have long been outside of the WWE’s reach and she puts on matches in the ring to keep hardcore fans interested in her work. That’s an amalgamation of skills that the company doesn’t frequently find, but she’s not getting the same type of career-defining moment as some of her peers. Instead, she’s playing second fiddle to those in the spotlight.

Maybe a real feud with Bayley like their time in NXT can help Banks get back to the position where she once was. She’s even shown frustration with her current booking predicament. Banks said while talking to Sam Roberts on his podcast:

"“I just want to show to myself that I can do it and I can show to the company that I can be a champion for more than two weeks. And I want to be going down in history as the greatest women’s champion of all time because I’m already going down as the greatest women’s wrestler of all time.”"

Next: Kofi Kingston: Making the case for a title run

Banks has had a hell of a run since joining the WWE back in 2012. She has the ability to go down as the best female wrestler the promotion has seen, but the organization needs to capitalize on her popularity before putting her in a place of professional wrestling purgatory.

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Sasha Banks: The WWE needs to better invest in ‘The Boss’

By Raphael Garcia | Feb 26, 2018

Sasha Banks consistently proves that she’s a talent to be trusted inside and outside the ring. Now, the WWE needs to capitalize on it.