10 Ways WWE Completely Buries Babyfaces In 2017
3. They Don't Fight Back
The storyline in which Bayley was unable to thwack Alexa Bliss with a kendo stick in order to regain her Women's Title was probably the worst of the year.
On paper, it wasn't that bad. 'The Hugger' is categorically the nicest person on the roster, and that in principle is a workable babyface facade. In NXT, she served almost as a throwback. Uncompromisingly lovely, she never once sacrificed her values, but showed grit and steel in times of strife to work her way up the ladder.
In execution, it was horribly botched. As a terrific antagonist, Bliss had shown no such hesitation with the weapon leading up to the scrap, but was scripted to be a wicked bully in an effort to presumably bring the fire out of Bayley when their big match came.
Only, the outcome was the same. Frozen with stick in hand, Bayley was yet another hero completely ineffective at taking rightful revenge, and was defeated in a scuffle that ended their rivalry. She had lost her title, her dream, her feud, her bottle, and a large portion of her fanbase following a stream of bad decisions and an inability as a character to fight for what she believed in.
Even as over as Bayley is (was?), it's a long road back.