On Friday’s edition of the blue brand, WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks retained her championship for the first time ever in a Hell in a Cell rematch against Bayley.
Following the challenge laid down by the former champion seven days ago, after ‘The Role Model’ accused Banks of not actually defeating her because she signed the Hell in a Cell contract under duress, both women went to war in a pay-per-view quality outing to kick-off the weekend in style.
After some nifty back and forth, Bayley elevated ‘The Boss’ into the air with her legs and brought her crashing down face first in a moment of pure innovation, taking aim at the gold that was hers for over a year with vicious offence which included backstabbers, a flying elbow drop and a Bayley-To-Belly Suplex which almost snagged her the prize.
It wasn’t to be and after her rival missed a charge into the corner, Sasha struck with her Bank Statement for the submission victory.
As the champion celebrated on the blue brand stage, Carmella staked her claim to the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship with a strong superkick to the jaw of the champion, putting her on notice that she’s coming for her title.
The attack comes after Carmella promised last week that she would make her in-ring return following her unveiling several weeks ago as the person behind the beauty vignettes. She has certainly kicked off this phase of her career with intent.
With the Sasha Banks/Bayley feud still raging on, the addition of a reinvigorated Carmella could breathe new life into a storyline that has taken years to get where it currently stands. It’s certainly going to be intriguing to see how all three women play into this tale in the weeks to come.
You can read full results from WWE Friday Night SmackDown here.