WWE: Sasha Banks challenging Asuka is a bad sign

-
Photo by Martin Kníže on Unsplash

Although Asuka versus Sasha Banks at Extreme Rules seems like a dream match, the reasons it is happening are concerning.

Recently on WWE’s Monday Night Raw (June 22nd edition), Sasha Banks challenged Asuka for the Raw Women’s Championship. The match will take place at the company’s next pay-per-view attempt called Extreme Rules taking place in July. Although on paper this looks like it will be a great match, there are many bad signs to take from this pairing. 


First and foremost, Banks is technically on the Smackdown roster and thus should not be contending for the Raw championship. However, the WWE is using a loophole since Banks is one-half of the women’s tag team champions which allows this team to appear on any of the three WWE branded shows (Smackdown Live, Raw, and NXT). With Becky Lynch and Charlotte currently off of TV, Banks is clearly one of WWE’s most recognizable female stars. It is not surprising they would call on her to help boost the Extreme Rules PPV. 


The major issue for WWE is the notion to once again just work their established stars rather than put faith into another wrestler who might step up in the brightest moments. They could have continued the Asuka feud with Nia Jax or they could have turned to Shayna Baszler who is also on the Raw Brand. Another option would have been Natalya who appears to be making a heel turn anyway and is always trustworthy for a good match. Ruby Riott or Liv Morgan also would have been a good choice as would have been Bianca Belair. All of these women are talented and if you are to assume Asuka is going to retain the title at Extreme Rules, all of them would have been fine to take a loss while putting on a reputable match. 


The underlying issue is also a lack of faith in someone as talented and formally hyped as Baszler. She had a tremendous run in NXT and was once pushed as an unstoppable force when she made the Raw main roster. She singlehandedly eliminated all of the other competitors in the Elimination Chamber match. They built her up completely before her Wrestlemania match with Becky Lynch only to have her lose on a fluke roll-up. It is possible the original intention was to carry the feud forward before Lynch left due to pregnancy. At this point, she is an afterthought who hasn’t wrestled on TV for weeks. She has to be discouraged and you can’t blame her. 


If Vince McMahon and the WWE refuses to trust their home-grown talent, they will allow AEW to catch and pass them much faster than anyone would anticipate. You cannot continue to just overwork and overhype the same stars over and over. This is how the product gets stale and the audience becomes bored. I know McMahon is nervous about the rating tailspin his company has been experiencing for months, but he needs to have an organized plan rather than throwing names out there every time things start going bad. I am happy Sasha Banks is getting her due, but unless she wins some of these marquee matches, you are only devaluing her much the way they used to do with Dolph Ziggler on the men’s side. We will have to see how things work out. What do you think about Sasha Banks challenging Asuka at Extreme Rules on July 19?


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Should the Tennessee Titans Sign Tom Brady?

-
Image
Tom Brady is perhaps the most intriguing free agent quarterback situation since Peyton Manning left the Indianapolis Colts. Although he has spent his entire 20 year career with the Patriots, it has been considered a realistic possibility that Brady is taking his first true free agent experience seriously. The thought of Brady finishing his career playing for someone other than New England once seemed preposterous, but now it feels like this potential reality may only be a matter of waiting for the opening of the new NFL league year. While making an appearance on Adam Schefter’s podcast, fellow ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington named the Titans as the leader to sign Brady for next season. The potential of Brady signing with the Titans does make some sense. Mike Vrabel is a former teammate and is a known Brady friend. This would give a level of comfort for Tom that he might not even have with the Patriots. Tennessee also provides a potentially strong market for Brady’s ever expanding
Read more

The Brandon Davies Controversy

-
It was announced on earlier this week that Brigham Young University was suspending starting forward Brandon Davies for what they called a violation of the school's honor code. Most people have sided against the school and have argued to defend Davies even though he is not complaining or seeking help himself. I believe that BYU did the right thing here. Apparently Davies' indiscretion is no different than what many young American males do while in college, which is having pre-marital sex with his girlfriend. Unfortunately, for a BYU student, this is something that is not taken lightly at all. BYU is a private school that upholds the Mormon religious practices of the Church of the Latter-day Saints. The honor code is something that they have always taken seriously and it is only now getting in the news because of this highly publicized situation. Students are aware of this code when they attend the school, and the actually have to sign a contract to uphold the code before attendi
Read more

Is Lebron Worth It?

-
Lebron James is a man and phenomenon all wrapped into one. He is the most buzz worthy and marketable basketball player since Michael Jordan. Lebron was on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a senior in high school way back in 2002, and the hype machine has only been spun into greater motion since then. His impending free agency has been a topic of conversation since 2007, and now that it is finally almost here, it seems to have grown into THE sports story of the year. Most people wonder where he will and who will win the Lebron sweepstakes, but I feel like the big question is this: is he really worth it? No matter where he goes, he will have more money than most of us can ever dream of and that is just in his first season. “King James” can either stay with his current team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, for a maximum contract of six years and $125.5 million or sign with another team for a maximum contract of five years and $96.1 million which is a salary drop that I would love to be ab
Read more