10 Rare Awesome WWE Surprises

7. Bayley

Daniel Bryan SummerSlam 2010
WWE

A surprise is distinct to a swerve.

The nature of a surprise invites rampant speculation in an industry that is more than most obsessed with discourse and engagement. It never ends, and thus the audience mustn't be allowed to stop talking about it.

Everybody knew Bayley was Sasha Banks' mystery partner at Battleground 2016. It was the only viable choice; the theme of their last classic encounter had brought them together, and anybody else would have drawn a toxic response from those tethered so tightly to NXT's once-wonderful mythology.

Crucially, everybody wanted Bayley to support the friendship she had forged with Sasha through respect.

This was the essence of fan service distilled to service a narrative development - just a lovely moment of two babyfaces coming together in a package of earnest, earned, forward-thinking nostalgia.

If not a rare surprise, per se, it was certainly a rare, winning use of the otherwise beyond-f*cked machinations that separated and clumsily undermined the proximity between NXT and the main roster.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!