The previous interview with Sasha Banks & Bayley is pretty much what you’d expect from the couple shortly after The Boss won the Raw Women title by count to give The Golden Role Models all the top belts on the list.
There is laughter, enough tongue that makes Alyssa Edwards envious, and a sacking of Sarah Shreiber. If you enjoy the act of The Two Woman Power Trip and / or love to hate them, you will dig it. If you don’t find them entertaining or are legitimately upset by their trick … you probably won’t click play.
It also features Sasha taunting that the duo may still have one more belt to collect … the Io Shirai NXT female title. Which made me think of a couple of complaints I had seen floating between the networks about Two Beltz Banks and Bayley Two Straps, and why I didn’t buy them.
However, before I get into that, I will confess to being someone entertaining for role models. Much. Probably up to the mark point. That colors my analysis for sure, although objectively supporting the points I will make. If you don’t enjoy them, well, there’s nothing I can say to change that. So I’ll just say that I empathize with your frustration. I’ve been there with things like Triple H’s reign Raw at the aughts, or the recent Charlotte Three Shows run.
The criticism of those things that I have seen against The Two Woman Power Trip that I simply do not buy is that they are hurting or (gasping!) Burying the rest of the division.
Neither Bayley nor Sasha suffer much loss, but they lose. The former Hugster was beaten by Asuka and Kairi Sane in the service of Banks’ enmity with The Empress, and The Boss did the job for Shirai. The last one wasn’t exactly clean, but it was less dirty than many of the models’ victories to follow. Taking out all the illegal stops to beat people is not the same as putting people down, but it’s better than nothing.
Compare it to Flair, who only has a handful of televised losses this year, and just two from pinfall: one where Bayley had the ropes and a handful of socks, another where Nia Jax had hurt The Queen before facing Asuka. And the most egregious thing could be that no one at NXT covered or sent Charlotte during her reign as the brand’s women’s champion.
We also have plenty of other stories with women passing by while Banks and Bayley do their thing.
SmackDown has Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross chasing Bayley and Sasha and perhaps falling apart in the process, along with the heat between Naomi and Lacey Evans as Sonya Deville / Mandy Rose simmer. Raw has just started a Shayna Baszler / Nia Jax show, Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan or Bianca Belair are having trouble with IIconics, Lana and Natalya are in the process of teaming up, and Asuka is definitely not done with Banks or Bayley. As of now, NXT is not affected by the Power Trip.
There will always be problems. It would be great if Belair was doing more than just undergoing another show. But I don’t think I would be in a different boat if they weren’t doing The Two Woman Power Trip.
And as a huge Asuka fan, I was hoping her reign would include, you know, a real defense of the PPV title. But her story with role models is not over yet, and after living with many faces of WWE babies who stole their friend’s girl and pooped the enemies they had already defeated (okay, that was just John Cena), I am happy to be in an era where Drew McIntyre confronts all the attendees and Asuka chooses her friend for personal success.
For the people who would say Sasha and Bayley have all the gold doesn’t give the other women anything to do, I refer you to Becky Lynch’s favorite saying: WWE is in the business of conflict. If you can design a compelling story to put two characters in conflict with each other, and artists can make you care who wins and who loses that conflict, then they have something to do.
The titles are a shortcut to tell that story. They can improve a fief, of course. But they can also be a lazy way to avoid counting it. As already mentioned, there are plenty of stories happening for the top women on the roster who are nearby (and we haven’t even touched on the extraordinary circumstances that have made WWE lean on the first Charlotte, and now fka The Boss & Hug Connection) . If you don’t mind, I’m not sure how The Two Woman Power Trip is to blame.
It is also quite clear that they will not abandon the titles and will emerge victorious at sunset. Whether because they implode or because someone kicks their butts, these two are heading for revenge. Let’s hope that the trip to that destination is full of coincidences as good as those we have seen in the last month. Given that they will be executed by some of the most talented professional wrestlers in the world, I am sure we have a few shots ahead.
So again, I’m sorry if it’s not your cuppa. But I’m excited for the reign of our champion champions, and what comes with and after that. I also don’t see it as harm to the rest of the WWE women. Rather, from what I can tell, the story and performances of Sasha and Bayley are helping.
So go for the NXT Women’s title, Golden Models. And while you’re at it, try to end Kay Lee Ray’s historical career as well.
