10 Reasons To Be Cheerful About WWE In 2017
6. Sasha Banks' Slow-Burn Heel Turn
There has been much to criticise from Monday Night Raw's Women's division since the 2016 Draft, despite hugely encouraging early signs.
Televised main event title trades between Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair were mesmerising, but their game of hot potato with the supposedly prestigious Women's Championship was damaging to both the performers and the belt. Furthermore, their chemistry rarely extended to pay-per-view, where heavily-hyped matches at SummerSlam and Hell in a Cell failed to match electric Raw encounters.
Meanwhile, the white hot response to Bayley's surprise appearance as Banks' partner for her Battleground 2016 tag team match with Flair and Dana Brooke had been tempered following her clunky main roster arrival. A decision to have her win the Women's Title in a throwaway Raw match and end Charlotte's pay-per-view undefeated streak two weeks later at February's Fastlane event bulldozed the simplest of WrestleMania builds and the enduring credibility of both.
The saving grace of Bayley's rapid ascension has been the minuscule fragment of fracture between 'The Hugger' and 'The Boss'. Known for producing the greatest WWE women's match ever, Bayley and Sasha were beloved besties upon the former's arrival, but Sasha has since been cast as a condescending older sister.
A potentially perfect turn, the weeks of tiny teases have planted enough seeds for audiences to be wary of an attack, but not knowing when she'll strike has been, paradoxically, a delight to endure. The promise of their eventual encounters only further heightens the anticipation.