One MIND-BLOWING Secret For Every WWE SummerSlam

8. 2018 | Dream Sequel Not Possible In Nightmare World

Bayley Sasha Banks
WWE.com

NXT fans adored Bayley Vs. Sasha Banks from the inaugural TakeOver: Brooklyn precisely because it was so beyond the WWE norm. 

An ultra-rare young and cool and precocious female wrestler announced herself as a future megastar in defeat to an equally unthinkable WWE character: a pure earnest babyface. The match itself was astonishing, too; tonally violent and emotional to a staggering extent, well before the PWG influence took over, Bayley drilled Sasha with an avalanche poison ‘rana. WWE fans barely saw the traditional version in 2015. The entire presentation was jaw-dropping, and for many people, this was the definitive NXT match. Bayley Vs. Sasha embodied everything about the idealised future: timeless character dynamics and futuristic, heart-pounding action. Naturally, fans wanted to see Vince McMahon run it back on the main roster, where it really counted. Why couldn’t this take place at WrestleMania? Why couldn’t Bayley become the most universally loved wrestler in the world? 

Probably because Vince was so far gone that he could not recognise goodness without finding it weak. Bayley was typecast as a geek too timid to use weapons and so sexless that she couldn’t hold onto a boyfriend in high school. 

Fan-driven rumours pointed towards a SummerSlam 2018 match. We were back at the Barclays Center. Bayley needed the match to rescue her gimmick. Cageside Seats reckoned in July that it was on. 

The match didn’t happen. The opposite of something good happened because Bayley and Sasha underwent counselling and formed a corny tag team instead.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!