5 Great Uses Of Strategy In Modern WWE Matches
3. Sasha Banks' Ultra-Heel Masterclass - NXT TakeOver: Respect
The match between Sasha Banks and Bayley at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn was so good that, combined with the emotional curtain call which followed, it practically turned Banks face.
Sasha had multiple objectives heading into the rematch, the first contested between two women under Iron Man rules in WWE. Bayley was already the top babyface of the NXT brand - but nagging doubts remained over her ability to believably oppose the Strong-Styled Asuka and the towering Nia Jax. Sasha had to put Bayley over as a legitimate bad-a** without sharing any of the respect of the Full Sail crowd that she'd earned by stealing the Brooklyn show away from headliners Finn Bálor and Kevin Owens.
She achieved all of them by entering a heel performance so vile that it made one mourn the lost, dark art. In feigning a hug before throwing Bayley unceremoniously to the mat, she set the tone from the opening minutes. Her deviousness was ceaseless. Beyond the momentous moment which saw her steal and throw away young superfan Izzy's headband, infamously rendering her inconsolable in the process, her venom infused every pocket of the seminal thirty minute duration.
She threw Bayley viciously into the ring steps - and the LED boards by the stage - en route to antagonising Bayley into demonstrating the fire she'd need to develop her cloying character into a genuine champion.
Sasha paid Bayley the ultimate respect by employing this strategy. In resorting to such violent and vulgar tactics throughout the match, she revealed through her underhandedness to be the inferior kayfabe wrestler. She handed Bayley the keys to the kingdom in impeccably selfless style.
It was, for your writer, the best in-ring performance of the year - and even that lofty statement might be damning it with faint praise.