Bayley Invades Last Night's NXT
Hugger mugs off the NXT Women's Champion.
After the punishing, dangerous, but undeniably dramatic ladder match between Io Shirai and Mia Yim, the heel team stood tall having been handed the WarGames advantage via the shock interference of NXT UK's Kay Lee Ray.
This wasn't the last shock Full Sail registered on the night.
As Shayna Baszler stood by the entrance ramp, the invading Bayley cracked her from behind with a steel chair. An effective visual, and moment, Bayey's shot nonetheless was straight from the Hulk Hogan/Gedo school of swinging.
This marked the only main roster invasion angle on a show that otherwise built mostly towards NXT's own WarGames event. Presumably, WWE is saving the bulk of the invasion storyline for go-home week.
It was a strange visual, seeing Bayley return to her proving ground in the heel role, in that it was sad - if anybody in this generation was going to take on the Ricky Steamboat lifer babyface role, it was her - but also inspired. This definitively put over Bayley's transformation as a heel, and her rich, sentimental history with the building was all that was required to create an atmosphere of shock and transgression. This was a rare, logical Survivor Series angle, in that Baszler literally took her eyes off Bayley to invite the attack.
Leave it to NXT.