WWE Money in the Bank 2018 Profile: Sasha Banks

Sasha Banks was the last woman to qualify for the WWE Money in the Bank 2018 ladder match, but she certainly isn’t the least likely wrestler to come away from the Pay Per View with a contract.

Bayley started the Gauntlet Match on the last episode of Raw, but after picking apart Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan, the leader of the Riott Squad, Ruby Riott, finally sent The Huggable One packing. It was Bayley’s frenemy, Sasha Banks, who capitalized, as she was the last woman in the Gauntlet Match and submitted Ruby with a “Bank Statement” to punch her ticket to WWE Money in the Bank 2018.

Banks’s passionate fanbase has been begging for a signature victory for “The Legit Boss”, who last won the Raw Women’s Championship at SummerSlam last year but had another comically short reign. There’s no doubt that Banks has the ability to carry herself as a top-notch champion, as evidenced by her excellent work in NXT (and even some of her accomplishments on the Independent scene, though those aren’t widely recognized or even known).

At this year’s Money in the Bank PPV, Banks has taken a backseat in conversations about likely women’s ladder match winners. As one of the only two heels in the match, Alexa Bliss seems to be one of the favorites, and Natalya also has a great case as a potential summer rival for Ronda Rousey.

This year, Bliss picked up a massive win at the first Women’s Elimination Chamber match, Naomi won the first Women’s WrestleMania Battle Royal, and Charlotte Flair broke Asuka’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania. That leaves Becky, Sasha, and Natalya as the respected veterans who have yet to earn an important win this year. On top of that, none of those three women have been champions this year, with Becky having never held a title since late 2016.

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So the fans who argue that Banks is due for a big win aren’t necessarily wrong. And while Banks consistently wins television matches and recently picked up a crucial victory in the main event of Raw in the Gauntlet Match, most people wouldn’t remember any of those bouts at this time next year. How important are those wins, really?

What intrigues me the most regarding Banks’s chances of winning the Money in the Bank briefcase this year is the Bayley storyline. This is as much of a “slow burn” story as we’ve seen in WWE, and it’s being built even more slowly than the Bray Wyatt/Randy Orton feud that culminated in a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 33.

Sasha and Bayley have a history that dates back to NXT, when Bayley proved on two occasions that she is unequivocally as good as Banks, if not better. The two have argued this year about that, with Banks taking great offense to any notion that Bayley is superior to her in the ring. Although she is still a babyface, that “Legit Boss” still lives inside of Banks, so any time she feels threatened by another wrestler, those instincts kick in. That is especially true when Bayley is involved, because it often seems as if Banks feels like she can manipulate the more timid Bayley.

Only one of these two frenemies qualified for this year’s Money in the Bank match, and I wonder if this was done on purpose. Because WWE could just as easily have picked Ruby Riott to qualify to add another heel, or they could have inserted Mickie James into the match. But why Sasha? Why not Bayley? Although Banks is a huge star and should be on the Money in the Bank card, WWE’s hand wasn’t necessarily forced. They’ve left Banks off of main cards of big shows before, and they don’t need to rely on one individual to sell a ladder match.

There’s a potential story here. Bayley hasn’t touched a Raw Women’s Championship opportunity since being absolutely embarrassed by Bliss at Extreme Rules last year…and then she was turned on by Banks at the Elimination Chamber this year. And remember, it was Banks who helped Bayley retain the title at Fastlane 2017 against Charlotte.

Bayley is primed for a long-term story where she regains the Raw Women’s Championship, because it would honestly be a travesty for WWE not to go that route with how long it’s been since Bayley, one of their best wrestlers, has been involved in a high-profile title story. Could you imagine what would happen if Bayley won the title, only to have Sasha cash in on her? Could you imagine Bayley’s face as Sasha triumphantly snatches the title from her “best friend”?

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Yeah…it probably isn’t happening. But it’s totally worth dreaming about, because it’d be one of WWE’s best stories in a long-ass time. Banks isn’t a favorite to win the Money in the Bank ladder match, but she has the character, the star power, and the potential future storyline to make sense as this year’s winner.