6. Hug It Out
Some will say that the extracurriculars after the NXT Womens Championship match was a huge break of character and protocol. If you missed it, Sasha Banks re-entered the ring moments after losing her title to Bayley. The new champ already was celebrating with Charlotte and Becky Lynch. Banks walked over and hugged her bitter rivals, the four embracing and raising each others arms. If you were watching for the first time, youd be hard-pressed to realize that they arent supposed to like each other. But to those who think this is a down, youre flat wrong. Mutual respect is something that even heels can show to their opponents. It doesnt have to be face-versus-face matches where theres a respect handshake or hug afterward. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vkn8XgWxJdA Theres no rule, written or otherwise, that says a villain cant respect their opponent. If anything, it helps a character be more complete. Banks showing respect doesnt expose the business or any foolishness like that. It shows that shes not a one-dimensional heel. Yes, there are bad guys who would never shake their opponents hand (Kevin Owens immediately comes to mind), but that doesnt mean no one can. Besides all of that, this was a pure, emotional moment, something WWE couldnt manufacture on its best day. That makes it even more special.
Scott Carlson
Contributor
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.
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