Love her or hate her, Sasha Banks has been a key and important figure within the women’s evolution. From the Horsewomen to the historic first-ever iron woman match, the Bo$$ has done it all from main event pay per views to making history to becoming a multi-time champion, however, her journey up on the main roster hasn’t been an easy one and not exactly what many expected. Despite memorable and history-making moments, the once leader of the women’s division has fallen down the roster and nowhere near the calibre she once was but what exactly what caused the change in paths for the Boss? Can she reclaim the top spot? And what does the future hold for an important superstar within the current WWE Women’s Division?

Team B.A.D

When the Boss arrived on the main roster, she debuted on the exact same night in the exact same segment as fellow horsewomen Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch. With Flair and Lynch working alongside Paige to create a new team set to take on the Bella Twins and Alicia Fox, the Boss found herself aligning with family duo Naomi and Tamina. Now, the three of them did have the potential to be something strong if used and booked in the right way but from the get-go, it just didn’t feel right. The alliance didn’t make all too much sense, the three struggled to have solid chemistry as a team, and throughout were booked poorly in comparison to their rival teams. The Boss and her character got a little lost in the mix and it was evident her call-up could have been handled a lot better. The trio was kept together far longer than they should of and throughout fans were desperate to see Sasha turn on her allies and go her own way. By the time that did happen, it was done wrong and the interest was gone. This was wasted time for Banks that could have been spent seeing her do more and better.

Too Long as a Babyface

While Sasha can at times make for a decent babyface its evident she shines brightest in the role of a heel. During her time in NXT, the Boss was highlighted as one of the best and most convincing heels in the WWE at that time, literally making a little girl cry. Her mannerisms, cocky attitude, interaction with fans, and effortless character work truly made her standout and genuinely come across as a legit strong champion. For literally years the WWE universe has been sitting back waiting to witness the heel turn take place that just hasn’t happened despite perfect timing arising more than once! Whether it be her storyline with Bayley, Wrestlemania events, or special episodes of RAW and PPVs, there have been several times the WWE could have executed the perfect heel turn fans have been anticipating but instead the rather stale and almost boring babyface Boss has become forgettable with many fans having far less of an interest in the character and work.

Short Title Reigns

The rivalry between Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair is one I will discuss later but it was during this rivalry that we saw the Boss begin her track record of short title reigns. We saw the WWE play hot potato throughout this rivalry which is a problem in its self, however, Sasha failing to keep hold of gold for longer than a month has been an issue throughout her main roster run so far. Whether it be against Charlotte or Alexa Bliss, the Boss hasn’t been able to successfully defend the RAW women’s championship on PPV failing to keep the title for longer than a month. Keeping in mind the fact that she had one of the best NXT Women’s Championship reigns in history many have been expecting and waiting for Sasha to finally have that lengthy championship reign that sees her compete against some of the best names on the roster, work epic rivalries similarly to what we saw down in NXT, and her character taken to new heights but at this stage there is doubt in terms of whether this will ever, in fact, happen during her time on RAW.

Not Moving to SmackDown: LIVE

This one may be more of a personal opinion, but for quite some time, fans have touched on the impact a move from RAW to SmackDown: LIVE would have on Banks with the women herself mentioning several times upon the return of the brand split that she wanted to be apart of the blue side adding to why this was a decision that made sense. Years in and I’m massively surprised she hasn’t made the move from RAW to Tuesday nights considering it’s the perfect opportunity to start fresh. We haven’t seen her face off with some of the names currently on the roster in a long-time including Naomi while dream matches involving the likes of Asuka living on Smackdown: LIVE. Moving Sasha to the blue brand to chase after a title she hasn’t held before, work with new talent, and collide with old foes is something I know I would love to see, and the move is something the WWE should have done a long time ago.

Hot Potato with Charlotte Flair

We have already touched on the Boss’ rivalry with Charlotte and while that was hands down one of the best storyline’s and feuds arguably in the history of WWE women’s wrestling it did next to no favours for Banks. She did, of course, take part in several standout epic matches but playing hot potato with the championship did nothing for Sasha. Failing to successfully defend the title against Charlotte and failing to come up on top during the end of the rivalry only showed time and time again that Charlotte Flair is better than the boss. Her constant loses against Flair destroyed her momentum and meant it was extremely difficult for fans to get behind her and trust the WWE with her future. Again, a heel turns not long after would have made perfect sense and enabled her to turn things around but still no dice.

Her Feud with Bayley

The story between Bayley and Sasha Banks for it has been a huge part of why the past year has been so low for the Boss. With the two officially on the same roster once again many expected them to butt heads at some point now that Bayley was apart of Monday Night RAW. Since her debut, the WWE focused on the friendship and history between the two and throughout the past year and a half Bayley and Banks have worked several tag team matches and angles together forever teasing a turn from one of them but it’s never fully happened. The perfect time did appear to be SummerSlam this year but again the feud was dropped and after so many brilliant opportunities missed fans began slowly losing interest.

The WWE has teased a breakup, had the two attack each other brutally, have counselling together, worked together again, teased a lesbian angle and now no one knows what exactly is going on between the pair. From the get-go, there has been a feeling that they will work a major feud at some point and ir’s been greatly anticipated but never fully in effect and with so many terribly done moments, if the rivalry was to fully go ahead, the WWE universe wouldn’t even know who was the heel and the face out of the two.

This was a rivalry that could have saved the main roster careers of both these women yet the WWE have managed to create the complete opposite for both superstars.

While the past year hasn’t been the greatest for the Boss it takes nothing away from the simple fact that she is a leader in terms of women’s evolution. She has made history throughout her WWE career and to this day remains a favourite amongst fans. There is an endless list of dream matches with current NXT stars making for perfect future opponents and with her talent, charisma, potential, and fan base all put into perspective there is no doubt in my mind she can, in fact, climb back to the top of the ladder. We have a whole new year about to start and twenty nineteen could either be one of the best or worse years for the Boss but as a fan I’m hoping out for an epic twelve months ahead for her career is far from being unsavable.

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