7 Worst WWE Title Reigns Of 2017
2. Bayley - RAW Women’s Champion (February 13 - April 30)
Bayley’s first main roster title win was poorly executed from start to finish.
The former NXT favourite was seemingly being lined up to beat Charlotte Flair’s undefeated pay-per-view streak at WrestleMania before she dethroned ’The Queen’ in a RAW title win completely overshadowed by the famous, fabulous Festival of Friendship segment.
This victory came on the back of clean and comprehensive defeats to Flair and Nia Jax, and did not do anywhere near as much for Bayley as a WrestleMania coronation would have. The ending of Flair’s well-documented streak would also have carried far greater weight on ‘The Grandest Stage of Them All’, rather than the throwaway show that Fastlane was.
Sometimes the simplest idea is the best idea, and WWE shot itself in the foot here by needlessly overcomplicating Bayley’s rise to the top of the RAW Women’s ranks.
What's worse, once Bayley became champion, she was made to publicly question her credentials. Although she held onto the belt through WrestleMania, this made her look incredibly weak when she dropped it to RAW newcomer Alexa Bliss at Payback.