Sasha Banks vs. Io Shirai is a can’t miss match between the world’s best

WWE NXT is resurrecting The Great American Bash this Wednesday, and Sasha Banks has challenged Io Shirai to a one-on-one match.

WWE NXT revives The Great American Bash for two weeks on USA Network starting this Wednesday, and an absolute dream match now looks like it’s on the books for that event.

After Io Shirai put a damper on the NXT return of Sasha Banks and Bayley, The Boss has taken to Twitter to challenge the reigning NXT Women’s Champion to a one-on-one match.

It’s no secret that WWE‘s resurrection of The Great American Bash is a direct response to AEW Fyter Fest, a two-week pay-per-view quality event taking place as AEW Dynamite airs on TNT on July 1 and July 8. Then again, maybe it’s a coincidence the company run by Cody Rhodes is all of a sudden going to be head to head with a similar two-week pay-per-view quality event originally created by Dusty Rhodes.

Honestly, it doesn’t really matter what everything is called, because Sasha Banks vs. Io Shirai, even in a non-title match, is a dream come true for fans of The Boss and The Genius of The Sky. There’s no denying that Banks and Shirai are easily two of the most amazing in-ring performers in WWE today, and we’ve never gotten to see them square off like this.

In fact, they’ve only ever shared the ring once prior to their brief interaction last Wednesday on WWE NXT. Back at Survivor Series 2019 just last year, Io Shirai and Sasha Banks represented Team NXT and Team SmackDown in the 15-Woman Survivor Series Elimination Triple Threat Match.

By the time the dust settled, Io Shirai had not been eliminated and it was Sasha Banks being pinned by Rhea Ripley that sealed the victory for Team NXT. It was only a glimpse of what many of those women could do given a one-on-one stage, and that stage is finally here for these two.

While it looks like this will be a non-title match, Sasha Banks would surely be in line for a championship opportunity should she defeat the reigning NXT Women’s Champion. Of course, she also won’t be alone, as fellow WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Bayley will be in the corner of Sasha Banks.

As Banks said during the challenge, “there would be no NXT without Bayley and I,” which isn’t that farfetched considering the impact that the two had at the inaugural NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn. Banks and Bayley are legends of NXT, and their match is still one of the best of the last decade.

With the implication laid that NXT is “their house,” Sasha Banks informed Io Shirai that “rent’s due,” and she’s ready to collect this Wednesday at The Great American Bash. This is one you won’t want to miss, because Banks and Shirai are primed to deliver an instant classic the second they step in the ring against one another.