WWE SmackDown: Bayley as Women’s Champion should do wonders for her
The May 21 edition of WWE SmackDown was the first full night on the blue brand of Bayley’s reign as SmackDown Women’s Champion after her shocking Money in the Bank contract win and cash-in this past Sunday night.
Last night’s WWE SmackDown was a solid follow-up to this past Sunday’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view, and one of the superstars that looked the best was the new SmackDown Women’s Champion, Bayley, who shocked the world at Money in the Bank.
Not many expected Bayley would win the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match, but she outlasted seven other superstars to win the briefcase for the first time in her career. It wouldn’t take The Hugger long to cash in her opportunity to get back on the singles map and after Becky Lynch lost the SmackDown Women’s Championship to Charlotte Flair, Bayley struck.
Lacey Evans, who lost her Raw Women’s Championship match to The Man earlier in the night, helped Charlotte beat Lynch and the two decided to double-team Lynch following Charlotte’s win. However, Bayley came out and helped Lynch fend off the attack, which led to her deciding to cash in her opportunity against The Queen. And after one big elbow drop from the top rope, Bayley pinned Charlotte to become the SmackDown Women’s Champion for the first time.
This was a huge moment for her career, a career that had been floundering a bit over the past few years with an abundance of creative misfortune. Last night saw the Raw Women’s Champion and SmackDown Women’s Champion team up when Lynch and Bayley took on Flair and Evans in tag team action. The pre-match interview between Lynch and Bayley saw the seed planted for a potential winner take all match in the future, but the two took care of business.
Evans and Flair put up a good fight, but Bayley scored the pinfall to win it for her team after rolling up Charlotte. This was a big win for Bayley in the midst of what appears to be that long-awaited career resurgence fans have been calling for. It’s easy to forget just how important Bayley is to the women’s evolution that has taken the WWE by storm over the past few years. She sometimes doesn’t get the credit, but she’s as important in its development as anyone.
Her main roster debut in the latter stages of 2016 was received in a huge way with fans buzzing about her coming up from NXT and after a few months on the roster, Bayley won the Raw Women’s Championship and successfully defended it at WrestleMania 33 in 2017. However, after she lost the title to Alexa Bliss and the feud went downhill, Bayley never quite recovered. She’s had good moments, of course, but creative blunders and lack of direction plagued her.
More from SmackDown
- Randy Orton signs with SmackDown to go after The Bloodline
- Potential Challengers for Roman Reigns before WrestleMania
- WWE SmackDown Predictions: AJ Styles Will Help Randy Orton
- WWE SmackDown Predictions: Street Profits Will Dethrone Judgment Day
- SmackDown reminded us of how pointless the brand split is
She never tasted singles gold again after that title loss and even with capturing the Women’s Tag Team Championship alongside Sasha Banks earlier this year, it still didn’t feel like the Bayley everyone wanted to see. That has all changed over the past few days when she finally won back a singles title for the first time in two years and her character seems to be back on track.
Bayley is far too talented to ignore, and hopefully, the WWE has realized that now. She is still the old Bayley, but with the SmackDown Women’s Championship, she has a bit of an edge now that helps put her character over the top. This title reign must be handled appropriately because it could be just what the doctor ordered for her to finally return to a permanent position on the roster.
Even if she isn’t a champion, she should be a key focal point moving forward. However, a rather lengthy title reign could be a good idea depending on how it goes in the coming weeks, especially considering she hasn’t had a singles title in two years. Her Money in the Bank performance made fans remember just why Bayley became so popular in the first place and that bodes well moving forward.
Next. Extending Lynch vs. Evans is the right call. dark
It’s taken too long, but it looks like The Hugger is on the mend and destined for a much-needed career resurgence that’s two years in the making.