Sasha Banks Loves Bayley Like A Younger Sibling, Not A Lover

I know, this storyline has been as confusing as some really old hieroglyphics, but finally, I believe we received the biggest slice of clarity when it comes to Bayley and Sasha Banks on last night's WWE Raw.

To set the table for you, Bayley took up residence in Kurt Angle's office after counseling and all that nonsense, but instead of handing The Hugger a match with The Boss so the pair could settle their differences once and for all, the Raw GM booked them in a tag team match against Alicia FOOOOOOOOOOOOX and Dana Brooke. Out they came, Bayley got her arse handed to her, and seemingly sick of what she was seeing, along came a barnstorming Banks to clear house before walking off with the match thrown out.

To the locker room we went, with Bayley asking what we all were thinking at the time: "What was all that about?!" Sasha replied by letting it all out. She told of how hates talking about her feelings but how she loves a lot about Bayley's character - the fact she's always there for her and always knows when something's wrong. Banks rounded off the rather unexpected outburst by saying "I love you," before storming off once more.

For me, it was a fantastic piece of character development - proving the lofty nickname, the elaborate ring attires, the fancy entrances at big events and the rest her ensemble is all there to compensate for a very fragile ego. Sasha needs Bayley and is somewhat lost without her.

I could be absolutely wrong with that deduction, but I guess the way in which this segment was presented deliberately left everything open to your own interpretation. 



As I'm sure you'll understand, that line from Banks to Bayley sent a certain section of my demographic off the hook on Twitter. I received countless tweets saying something along the lines of "OMG Ross! They're doing a romantic storyline between Sasha and Bayley!"

Nonsense.

I can only imagine the people who tweeted me what sounded like one of their recent dreams do not have brothers or sisters at home. They won't understand the type of affection Sasha was showing towards Bayley here. Anyone who has a sibling - and I guess the person who wrote this scene must have a shedload of younger siblings - will completely understand where Bossy McBossington was coming from.

Yes, I concede, Sasha said: "I love you, I always have, and I always will." However, the latter part of that sentence proves it isn't love in a romantic sense. For a long old while now, the commentary team on Monday Night Raw have made a big deal about the two going to literal war with one another despite the fact they were pals while doing so - Sasha's loving sentiments certainly fits into that narrative. WWE? Subtle but crucial consistency? GET OUT OF TOWN MRS BROWN!

And heck, two more massive clues give the game away from me. Being an Attitude Era/Ruthless Aggression Era child, I saw many love angles spawned with a lip lock that would take the gloss off a chest of wooden drawers. Granted, we're in a very different era now with the content WWE put out a lot more family friendly but surely, if they were going for a love angle in true WWE SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT fashion, some form of physical contact would have been initiated by Sasha? Is that just me? Am I so jaded by everything to do with their programming I'm expecting certain tropes when I perhaps shouldn't be?

And I know this might be slightly misplaced under the circumstances, but I couldn't help but think of Rusev when I received those tweets. Because of my bae and spirit animal, I don't think WWE will revisit Kayfabe romantic relationships involving those with partners in the public eye after they were burnt on the bottom by Messrs Rusev, Lana, Ziggler and Rae a few summers ago. Somehow, someway, TMZ got their hands on a snap of a newly engaged RuRu and Lana right in the middle of a storyline where the pair were dating other people, and the Bulgarian Brute was throwing dead fish the Ravishing Russian's Way.

A lot of time and money was invested in that angle, all for it to come to an end in an instant without a payoff on television - my unashamed hack wrestling writer mind is tingling and telling me they won't want to fall into that trap with high profile Superstars once again. (Bayley, of course, is with indy performer Aaron Solow, while Banks is married to WWE costume designer Sarath Ton. Since both of these relationships are pretty well-known to those with any form of social media, that puts an end to any Kayfabe romance here, for my money)



Right, to the kind of love Sasha showed Bayley last night. Bayley is Sasha's younger sibling in The Boss' eyes (even though Bayley is her senior) - there's nothing more to it than that.

Now I have a younger brother, and I hate him. If I was to see him getting beat up, I would take out my mobile phone and send the footage I captured into You've Been Framed or any other applicable clip show that pays money for my labour.

However, the handbook of good brothering - NOT written by Messrs Gallows nor Anderson - probably states that despite the fact you hate your brother, and wish them nothing but pain; deep, deep down in your core you care about them just enough so that if they were to find themselves in danger, and you could do something about it - YOU WOULD! That's exactly what Sasha did last night on Raw. Because she's the alpha-female of the pair, she's kept her soppy side suppressed because she probably sees it as a sign of weakness - I got a B grade in A-Level Psychology, so I'm probably very WRONG about this, but here we are... And because of this perceived weakness that may or may not be there, she's tried to assume dominance over a lady many people classed as a joke for a long old time following her arrival on the main roster.

Finally, we got to the point where Bayley realised she is still a bloody good professional wrestler so she started kicking some arse - it was at this point, just like in NXT when Baylz was a serious threat too, that Sasha put her foot down and started to act like an arse towards a pal she loved deep down all along. It's like like any sibling relationship - Sasha, simply, just always has to be the best because that's how every sibling partnership works.

However, when the chips were down and a whiff of Popeye could be smelled in the air, Sasha said "I can't stands no more" and came to Bayley's aid at her most dire hour simply because her conscience, deep down, wouldn't allow her NOT to come to the rescue.

This is anything but romantic - I hope, or bloody hell am I going to look like a fool or what?! Bayley and Sasha Banks are your typical pair of siblings - let's move on.