WWE doesn’t need to rely on Bayley and Sasha Banks’ friendship

The current SmackDown Women’s Champion, Bayley, has been on an impressive run since she cashed in at Money in the Bank. Giving her some time to shine on her own again could be the best thing WWE has done with her since she came to the main roster.

During her time on NXT, it seemed like Bayley would have instant success as a top babyface on the main roster. She was relatable, unique, and she could put on a great match with most of her contemporaries.

Unfortunately, her initial push just didn’t click, and it’s hard to deny WWE’s overreliance on her relationship with Sasha Banks was part of the problem.

Banks and Bayley’s real-life friendship has been highly publicized for some time. Admittedly, it is entertaining and as a result, their on-screen characters have great chemistry. Regardless if they’re going head to head as bitter rivals or paired up as tag team partners, they’ve worked well together.

Speaking of, Bayley made her WWE debut in July of 2016 as Banks’ mystery tag team partner. She became an official addition to the Raw roster in August, and entered a feud with the reigning champion, Charlotte Flair.

The San Deigo native unsuccessfully challenged for the title in a triple threat match alongside Sasha, and again at Royal Rumble. She finally defeated Flair to become The Raw Women’s Champion on the February 13 episode of Raw, with an assist from “The Boss.”

This started a pattern that made it seem like Bayley couldn’t win without Banks’ help. In a controversial finish, “The Hugger” handed Charlotte her first pay-per-view lost, and retained the title at Fastlane with interference from Sasha.

The bizarre segments, where Stephanie McMahon and Flair suggested the champion wasn’t a role model because she and Banks cheated, on the following episodes of Raw didn’t help. Even more, the fans never really got to see a proper rubber match.

Yes, Bayley retained at WrestleMania in a fatal four-way elimination match. She even pinned Charlotte to win the match, but the program leading up to it created doubt in her.

If Bayley beat Charlotte on her own at Fastlane, it would’ve been a huge deal. It could be argued that injecting Sasha into the feud robbed her of that moment.

After a disappointing 76-day-reign as Raw Women’s Champion, WWE spent most of 2018 teasing a feud between Banks and Bayley that never materialized. Instead, the two ended up in dopey counseling session segments and by the end of the year, they were officially a tag team.

Again, they are great as a tag team. However, the company kept both characters out of title contention for months with hopes they could finally attempt to recreate the magic of their matches on NXT.

Then, they had the duo unceremoniously drop the newly minted tag titles at WrestleMania, after a pedestrian 49-day reign. It all felt pointless.

When Bayley made the jump to SmackDown as a singles competitor, there was hope she would get a much-needed reset. Thankfully, it worked out well for her. In May, she became the third Money in the Bank contract winner, the new SmackDown Women’s Champion, and the first Women’s Grand Slam Champion.

Last weekend, WWE entered familiar territory as the flagbearer for the blue brand’s women’s division headed to Extreme Rules to face Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross in a handicap match. The company started hinting that Sasha, who has been on a hiatus since April, would return to help her friend at the event.

It would’ve been great to see Banks on WWE programming again, but it’s probably good that she didn’t show up.

Bayley deserved the moment as a competent champion, and if Sasha intervened it would’ve felt like a repeat of past mistakes. The win over Bliss and Cross means so much more because she did it on her own.

Recently, Bayley was a guest on Lillian Gacia’s podcast, where she discussed several topics. At one point, she talked about how disappointing it was to be last of the Four Horsewomen to come to the main roster. In the end, she discovered that was a blessing in disguise.

"“Looking back, I think that year in NXT by myself without them, I had nobody to run to, I had nobody to rely on, I had a brand new roster and I became the NXT Women’s Champion so that was the biggest year of my career,” she said. “I learned so much about myself. I learned so much more in the ring.”"

It feels like Bayley is finally getting that same opportunity on SmackDown, and it couldn’t come at a better time. The division needs a new face now that Becky Lynch is on Raw.

In addition, she could help reestablish it as a home for great women’s wrestling starting with her match against Ember Moon at SummerSlam.

If Sasha Banks does return, there is always time to revisit their friendship or reignite their rivalry later. It feels more important to build Bayley as a strong competitor now and let her stand on her own. Their potential reunion will feel more impactful with more time apart.