WWE: Will ‘Counseling’ give Sasha Banks vs. Bayley The Reset It Needs?

Through a combination of bad booking and uneven character development, WWE has botched what should be one of the best storylines on the show. Can they fix this?

This storyline should have been so easy to write. Booking a Bayley/Sasha Banks feud should have been so, so easy. The two women–when they’re aligned properly on the face/heel spectrum–are perfect foils for one another. Seriously, how hard is it to book an altruistic, white meat babyface against a brash, flashy, arrogant heel. The two have a history that WWE can easily draw from. There was literally no way for WWE to mess this up. Of course, Vince McMahon and company more or less said, “hold my beer”.

By any objective measure, this Bayley/Banks saga hasn’t produced anywhere close to the level of intrigue and buzz that it should have. McMahon and the creative team made several missteps to get to this point, but the inconsistent character work by both women. I often have a hard time deciphering which one is a babyface and which one is a heel.

The most recent example of this occurred on RAW last night, when Bayley attacked Banks after they and Ember Moon lost a six-woman tag match to the Riott Squad. This was clearly a heelish attack by Bayley–heel commentator Corey Graves praised her actions–but the crowd responded to the assault with cheers and “Yes!” chants, which speaks to how unlikable Banks has been throughout this storyline.

In the wake of this jumbled mess, RAW General Manager Kurt Angle–who cares way too much about this squabble–ordered Banks and Bayley to attend counseling lest they are fired. I am skeptical as to how good these segments are going to be. If the skits are good, however, they could give this feud the reset it desperately needs.

A needed change in direction

Putting aside the erratic scripting of both Banks and Bayley, neither woman has much momentum right now. If WWE went through with this feud in last year it would have felt so much more important.

Instead, WWE chose to use the equity that both women built up with the fans to get Alexa Bliss over as a heel. WWE had Bliss make fools of them–among other babyfaces–time and time again, whether she inexplicably pinned one of them clean or embarrassed one or the other in a garbage segment. It gave Bliss a bit of a boost, but it ultimately diluted Banks and Bayley’s crowd reactions. I mean, if they constantly lose, why should anyone care (basically the Dolph Ziggler effect).

Beyond the shoddy booking, WWE doesn’t seem to know which wrestler they want to portray as the babyface. These two have acted objectionably over the past few months.

I mean, babyfaces don’t attack people from behind, do they?:

Do they dop off the apron when their partner crawls over for a tag?:

I realize that Bayley had–in many fans’ minds–was justified in her actions, but WWE could have found a way for her point out the one-sided nature of their friendship without acting like a heel.

I don’t know if WWE wants the fans to choose a side or if they really want to turn Bayley heel–which seemed unfathomable two years ago. Whichever direction WWE is trying to take, they have damaged both ladies to the point that both they and this feud need a fresh start. As wacky as it sounds, these counseling segments may do the trick.

This could revive or kill this feud

Despite what I have said, I really want to like this feud. Both women are immensely talented and have great chemistry with one another. Independent from the current booking, Sasha and Bayley also have a great understanding of what makes their characters work. Hopefully, they get a chance to show this during these “counseling” sessions.

Yes, there is a very good chance that these skits will feature the usual concoction of unrealistic dialogue and cringe-worthy attempts at comedy. Both ladies could come out of this worse off than they were before. It all depends on how WWE approaches this.

Next: WWE SmackDown Grades And Analysis

If WWE takes this seriously–a big if, I know–they could get fans reinvested in a feud that many have been clamoring to see for some time. It may not be what I envisioned, but this could get them back on track, even if WWE didn’t take the easiest route to get there.