Sasha Banks vs. Bayley May Actually Be Going Nowhere

Just a few weeks ago, Bayley's explosive beatdown of Sasha Banks injected an undeniable excitement [...]

Just a few weeks ago, Bayley's explosive beatdown of Sasha Banks injected an undeniable excitement about the old friends turning enemies. But WWE has done little with that momentum, and apparently there no immediate plans to expand their feud.

CageSideSeats reports that Banks vs. Bayley will not be on the Extreme Rules card and the pair of female Superstars may not even appear on the show. This may have been foreshadowed by Banks' absence from Raw this week—an episode hosted in her hometown of Boston.

While their story has certainly gone backward since Bayley's violent outbreak, WWE did carve out multiple counseling segments with Dr. Shelby. Neither of these was deemed watchable, and because things have regressed the once-hot rivalry is suddenly unworthy of pay-per-view time.

As accomplished professionals, Banks and Bayley deserve a match on Extreme Rules. However, their story has been so bad for so long, that it negates whatever claims they may have.

Not long ago, Banks and Bayley were recognized by WWE for having the greatest women's match of all time. That contest at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn more or less made both women into imminent WWE Superstars but that innate chemistry has been ignored by WWE since their promotion to the main roster.

Counter to the winning notion of just letting them fight, WWE assigned a heavy amount of gimmickry to their rivalry. Instead, Banks being the Boss and Bayley being the evergreen good girl, WWE has allowed them both to become ambiguous characters. For most of 2018, both women have been nefarious and justified in their actions to one another. While the complexity may be what WWE is going for, they've teased this blowoff far too many times — to the point where it's hard for us to care.

As easy as it would be to innate WWE for "ruining" this pair of stars, I don't think things are that simple. My guess is that Vince McMahon and Co. are genuinely trying to supply Banks and Bayley with a good opportunity. But because quality TV time is at such a premium, there's not enough room for this story to be told well.

If WWE was still doing brand specific pay-per-views, there is no doubt Banks and Bayley would make the cut for Extreme Rules. However, that's not to say their match would be compelling.

But because Extreme Rules is co-branded, there are simply better matches to be had.

It may seem like Banks and Bayley are heading in the wrong direction, and they actually may be. but their growing irrelevance is more about 2018's circumstance that their own shortcomings. Right now WWE is rightfully infatuated with optimizing Ronda Rousey's booking. So any star that isn't Rousey, or her opponent, is secondary.

Better days for both Banks and Bayley are ahead. We'll hope they can figure out a way to spark their field and land a spot on SummerSlam's card.

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