How WWE Destroyed Shayna Baszler

Indeed, as good as the Elimination Chamber hammering was, it mustn't be forgotten what WWE had already done with Baszler before that.

Having won a Survivor Series triple threat in November, Baszler had made herself known as a danger to the main roster, but taking a chunk out of Becky Lynch's neck was such an absurd visual that it had the exact opposite effect. A cartoonish scene on the February 10th 2020 Raw concluded with Jerry Lawler calling her a "vampire" and 'The Man' trying to pivot between screaming for her f*cking life and no-selling the ludicrous damage completely.

This was salvageable, of course. Shayna Baszler was such a uniquely awesome addition to NXT's women's division as much because of her TakeOver title defences as anything else. There was a palpable sense of menace every time she put the belt on the line, partly informed by a heady mix of determination from the challenger and/or hope and panic from the crowd. The contests were worked and paced differently to just about everything else on the cards, only serving to make her and her reign feel all the more special too. They almost always banged as well. Precedent for this act working very well was on her side.

When WWE booked Becky Lynch to beat Baszler in a rather pedestrian 8:30 at WrestleMania 36 - with a finish she knew better to counter, no less - the signs weren't good. And with no crowds to even attempt to dictate to the company that this was not what people wanted, they weren't about to get better.

CONT'D...