Reviewing Sasha Banks' Return to SmackDown

On April 9, 2021, the first night of WrestleMania 37 took place, and that night's main event was historic, as Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair ended that evening competing for the SmackDown Women's Championship. It marked the first time that a one-on-one match involving Black women main evented a night of WrestleMania, and the title bout saw Bianca (who won this year's Women's Royal Rumble) capture the title from Sasha; capping off a huge elevation for Bianca. Sasha had only been seen on WWE TV once since losing the title, while Bianca had successful defenses against former champions Bayley and Carmella during her 100+ day reign. Their historic main event won an ESPY at this year's event, under the category of "Best WWE Moment."

With SummerSlam just weeks away, many fans expected Sasha to return in time for the big event and get her rematch for the title. Sure enough, that return took place on the latest edition of SmackDown. As Bianca was being interviewed by Kayla Braxton, she was interrupted by Carmella, who demanded yet another shot at the title. It was two weeks prior that Bianca defeated Carmella to retain the title, but Carmella received another shot due to "not being fully prepared" as well as her accusations that Bianca cheated by using her hair as a weapon. So the rematch took place at the Rolling Loud concert, with Bianca winning again. However, Carmella would claim that the concert's noise and atmosphere distracted her. It's at this point where I start to wonder if Mella's a New Orleans Saints fan, because she's certainly making excuses like one.

Carmella is later interrupted by Zelina Vega, who decided to place herself in title contention and challenge Bianca. As Bianca accepts, she is attacked by both Carmella and Zelina, and it at that moment that the familiar music hits, and Sasha Banks comes out and fights off the heels before hugging Bianca. So Sasha's back, and the two cohorts in WrestleMania history are back together.

Without surprise, the announced main event was Sasha and Bianca against Carmella and Zelina. Without surprise, Bianca and Sasha won their match, and with even less than no surprise, Sasha turned on Bianca and attacked her. Though the swerve was immensely predictable, it did tell a fantastic story in the case of Sasha Banks. It portrayed Sasha as a woman who was knocked off her perch by someone she called a "rookie" entering their WrestleMania contest, and she would spend the entire three-month sabbatical biding her time and plotting her ultimate revenge. The attack was good, but what I really loved was Sasha's mannerisms and dialogue, which included the following exclamations:

"I got you an ESPY! I got you the main event! I got you everything!"

So with this, WWE officially made their SummerSlam match for the SmackDown Women's Championship, doing so in an unofficial manner. The rematch is on. Though Sasha had the arrogant attitude entering WrestleMania, their bout wasn't a "good vs evil" battle. This time, it is just that, as Sasha is now fully on a villainous path to regaining the very championship she lost at WrestleMania. Methinks Sasha will regain the title on August 21 in Las Vegas, which would mark title #7 for Sasha (the same magic number as WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus), though if you count NXT and her two runs as Women's Tag Team Champion with Bayley, a win at SummerSlam would make a perfect 10 for The Boss.

Sasha winning, especially as a heel, is the logical route. With Bayley out and Toni Storm (who didn't appear this week after her debut) being face again, there are really no other credible heels to go up against Bianca. Even if they have Naomi join The Bloodline, it's still a shallow pool of SmackDown villainesses. Sasha winning opens up possibilities. I would think that Bianca and Sasha's feud would continue a bit after SummerSlam, but afterwards, Sasha could potentially feud with Liv Morgan, a face post-retribution Mia Yim, or maybe a still babyface Naomi, or even Shotzi or Nox. We could see Sasha go through a number of the babyfaces until possibly being knocked off by Toni Storm, which would be an epic match and moment. But that's months from now. What matters is SummerSlam, and Bianca/Sasha II should definitely be a crowd pleaser!

If you like this story, feel free to click the heart below, and if you really love this story, feel free to leave a tip (if you want)!