What we’re getting because they couldn’t build a decent Sasha vs. Bayley feud

Six woman tag match

The Riott Squad vs. Bayley, Natalya & Sasha Banks

Really, would it be a celebration of women’s wrestling in WWE without a stakes-free multi-person match?

The Road to Evolution

It’s great that all of these women are getting a match on the company’s first-ever all-women’s pay-per-view (PPV) event.

Natalya is a bridge to the past in many ways, both via her family legacy as a Hart and a Neidhart, and as someone who was trained to be a wrestler first but started in an era where that wasn’t true for many of the women she worked with. Ruby Riott was an indie standout many said would never get a chance in WWE because she didn’t look like the women the company usually promotes. Her faction mates, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan are examples of the different kinds of female wrestlers who now make up WWE’s developmental system - young women who were inspired to become sports entertainers by Natty and the Divas she first competed against.

And then there’s Sasha Banks and Bayley, who’s feud in NXT and especially their Women’s title match at the first TakeOver: Brooklyn has been pointed to by WWE and fans as a key moment in the so-called Women’s Evolution.

There’s some kayfabe history to this match. The team of Sasha & Bayley have been beefing with Riott Squad on and off for months...

The most recent break in their rivalry came because of Banks’ injury and the Squad feuding with Natalya, Ronda Rousey & the Bellas to set-up a match in Australia (and eventually Evolution’s main event)...

So it’s hard to be too angry or surprised this is the match we’re getting on Long Island on Oct. 28. But for fans of Bayley & The Boss - or people who’ve bought into WWE’s version of history, which says they were responsible for a seminal moment in the change we’re celebrating this weekend - it’s also hard to not be a little disappointed.

It was just a few months ago there was a legitimate debate to be had about whether or not Sasha & The Hugster could get a meaningful singles match at SummerSlam. But a hot feud was cooled off by a couple weeks of therapy sessions. That led to hopes that the Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection could be front-runners for a new Women’s Tag championship. But we still haven’t seen those belts.

What’s at stake?

Maybe we’ll get them at Evolution, and they’ll help lead to better things for not just Sasha & Bayley, but also Natalya, Ruby, Sarah & Liv.

In the meantime, we’ll have to take this match as consolation.