WWE Raw 5 Takeaways: Bayley fails to support Sasha Banks again

2. Bayley didn’t exactly help Sasha Banks out

The IIconics are always up for a good interruption, and they cut Bayley’s birthday celebration very short by coming out to demand an opportunity at the Women’s Tag Titles. Peyton Royce and Billie Kay do have a case, because the Boss’N’Hug Connection pinned Alexa Bliss and not either of the IIconics in their tag title defense at Backlash. Oh, and, as the IIconics love bringing up, Royce and Kay were the ones who first beat Sasha Banks and Bayley for the titles in 2019.

But there was a bigger moment that happened at the end of the segment. Banks got slapped in the face, and instead of Bayley seeking retribution physically, which is what you normally do when someone slaps your tag partner, Bayley tried to play peacemaker. She barely seemed to be concerned for Sasha and rewarded the IIconics by accepting their challenge for a future title match, much to Sasha’s understandable annoyance.

So once again, Bayley has failed to fully support Sasha, who has been taking a backseat in their partnership. And I love it. Bayley is on a power trip that is slowly collapsing in on itself.

3. Randy Orton is downright scary

I feel like this is an “evergreen” takeaway, so it’s more reinforcement than anything else. The Viper is obviously on another level as a heel, but it gets to the point where people start to fall for him again since his work is so good.

But something feels different about the quality of his latest heel run. He’s so evil that we can appreciate what he’s doing, but it’s not cool at all. And it’s enabled the Punt Kick to feel even more savage. After Orton destroyed Christian in his “one more match”, The Apex Predator blamed Captain Charisma for ever interrupting him in the first place.

Orton is in a bad place and in his own little world, where logic doesn’t seem to exist. Only the infliction of pain does, and there doesn’t seem to be anything behind his blank eyes.