WWE SmackDown Smacks and Downs: Dawn of Bayley-2-Belts!

Smack: a well-told story in the match leading to Bayley-2-Belts

Smack: another kernel added to the coming implosion of Bayley and Banks

This was a good match to main event the show and the title change was something I hinted at in last week’s piece.

The story told in the match was one of two even teams trying to find some advantage to earn the victory. Both teams saw extended offense against each other, and both teams also had to work from a numbers disadvantage during the match. It was a standard tag formula, but again, standard can be great if done well.

The ending of the match is where the most intriguing angle took place, setting up what should be a fascinating next two months or so until SummerSlam in the women’s singles and tag divisions.

As Banks look to hit the Bank Statement on Cross, Bayley tagged herself in, pretty much dragged Banks off of Cross, and locked in her own version of the move (Bayment?). Cross quickly countered into a pin as Banks looked on from ringside with a look of shock and anger only to breakup the pin.

Banks pulled her partner to the corner and tagged in, applying the actual Bank Statement to Cross. Credit to Bayley as she prevented from Bliss from interfering. However, Cross reversed into a pin only for Banks to counter that into a leverage pin of her own for the victory.

Heel Bayley is just on fire. Her line to the announcers as she held both of her championships was perfect: “OH MY GOD IT’S SO HEAVY, I HAVE SO MUCH GOLD!” That is a great heel line, especially for a character whose arrogance is only matched by her inability to realistically judge herself.

Now, what does this mean for Banks? She looked downright offended, rightfully, when Bayley not only tagged in and pulled herself off of Cross, but hastily applied a bastardized version of her Bank Statement. However, the allure of victory (at least last night) overrode those sentiments as she not only saved her partner, but won the match and that all important “champion’s purse.”

That’s the other thing to take notice of: Banks beat Bliss last week in a match Bayley volunteered her for, and last night, she was the one who played the crucial roles in preventing a defeat and winning the match.

Bayley, true to character, has also been taking/sharing the credit for Banks’ victories (though she didn’t accept joint responsibility when Banks was losing to Evans and the now-forgotten Tamina).

Take a look at these two tweets from Banks after the show last night. There doesn’t seem to be any recognition of her partner in her words. She seems to be crediting herself for the victory and again, who’s going to disagree?

Last week, I wrote, “Does becoming Bayley-2-Belts further exacerbate her arrogance and cause more stress and harm to Banks? Does Banks turn on Bayley while celebrating in the ring? Does Bayley turn on Banks after winning?” Obviously, the last two questions didn’t come to fruition, but the first point is one to consider.

We already know heel Bayley is about as arrogant as any character in WWE. She now has two championships to bolster her image, but as with most great heels, she tends to overlook just how she became so accomplished. I mean, she’s so confident in her abilities she has no problem volunteering her partner and best friend for matches.

Remember last week when Banks had to change into some admittedly sweet Jordans because she wasn’t dressed to wrestle and was in boots? That didn’t stop Bayley from offering up Bayley to Bliss.

With only one more SmackDown before Backlash, it’ll be interesting to see if we have a Women’s Championship match, a Women’s Tag Team Championship match, or both on the pay-per-view. Unlike Becky Lynch, who took on any challenge as Becky-2-Belts, Bayley’s character is one that would try to defend either championship as little as possible.

If Bayley does have a Women’s Championship match, you know who is probably #1 contender? Sasha Banks. The other viable contender is Evans after her victory last night, but she seems locked in with Deville. What happens if next Friday it’s announced Bayley is defending against Banks?

If it’s not Banks and Bayley does have to defend, will Banks be there supporting her partner? Will Banks feel scorned she didn’t receive the championship match?

What happens if they’re also announced to defend the Women’s Tag Team Championship in a rematch against Bliss Cross Applesauce or even The IIconics? Match order plays a key, but let’s pontificate if they have the singles match first; would either be able to leave the results of that match behind them as they head into their tag match?

If Bayley defends against someone else and loses, what does that do to their psyches heading into the tag match? What if Banks helps Bayley retain or causes her to lose?

If they’re only slated to defend the the Tag Team Championship, will any of the simmering tension manifest and cause them to lose? What if they overcome those tensions and retain?

There are so many questions and possible angles that I was hoping for a title change last night. Now that Boss “N” Hug have regained the championship they were the inaugural holders of, and with the long-term story between the two, count me in to see how this plays out over the next few months.