WWE have dropped the ball so many times with Sasha Banks and Bayley as babyfaces in 2018 that it was of little surprise that they'd both end the following year as heels.
The duo came to symbolise how little WWE actually cared about the entire women's division outside of an astonishing rooking year for Ronda Rousey and (eventually) catering to the rise of Becky Lynch. Because the NXT icons weren't in the WWE title picture, their hostilities were reduced to silliness echoing the doldrums of the divas division rather than some of the decade's best battles.
Between make-ups and break-ups, the pair were sent to soulless "counselling" sessions (as if competing against one another wasn't their actual job...) after a tacit tease of something beyond just friendship and eventual break-up was hurriedly dropped.
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
