14 WWE WrestleMania 34 Impulse Reactions

12. Losing Battle

Roman Reigns
WWE

Sasha Banks and Bayley were hopefully financially well compensated for their pre-show appearance this year. Creatively, they were again left empty at the end.

Not for the first time over the last few months, 'The Boss' and 'The Hugger' were undone by their own mistrust towards one another, battling off the best of the rest to ostensibly find themselves as the final two in the inaugural WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal. It was Bayley who took advantage of the situation this time, holding onto a handshake and propelling her longstanding frenemy to the floor.

It mattered not in the end as Naomi appeared as if from nowhere to win it anyway. She'd rolled to the floor at some point and was gifted a pyrrhic victory seemingly in the place of no other acceptable substitute in the absence of the Raw Horsewoman.

Problem was, there was.

Third Horsewoman Becky Lynch had been hauled earlier in the contest for no good reason, and would have been by far the most logical beneficiary of Bayley and Banks' latest miscommunication. That two of the three most talented and over stars in the match had to act like mugs for the finish was bad enough without the third somehow suffering an even greater indignity.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett