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In the run-up to this year's installment of SummerSlam, Asuka has been undoubtedly the shining star of the women's division. However, the title picture has been dominated by Sasha Banks and Bayley, who hold the RAW and SmackDown Women's Championships, as well as the WWE Women's Team Championships.
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Asuka has been involved in a bitter and lengthy feud with The Golden Role Models. The villainous pair had targeted The Empress of Tomorrow after she won the RAW Women's Championship at Money in the Bank, and resorted to underhanded tactics — including Bayley viciously attacking Asuka's tag partner and best friend Kairi Sane — to get the belt on Sasha Banks.
At SummerSlam, Asuka is due to face both Sasha Banks and Bayley separately for the RAW and SmackDown Women's Championships. The two matches are sure to involve some form of conniving from The Golden Role Models, and here are five possible finishes for the bout between Asuka and Bayley.
#5 Bayley wins the SmackDown Women's Championship clean at SummerSlam
Bayley has shown how much of a versatile performer she is across both SmackDown and RAW over the last few months, by putting on great matches, talking the talk in backstage segments and also enjoying the occasional stint on commentary.
The Role Model has clocked in over 300 days so far in her current reign as SmackDown Women's Champion, and has resorted to any means necessary to keep the title in her grip. Bayley has often had her companion Sasha Banks helping her along the way with sly antics, including passing her a ring to punch Nikki Cross with at Extreme Rules and distracting Tamina at Money in the Bank.
Bayley retaining the title at SummerSlam wouldn't be a huge shocker to the WWE Universe, but having her win clean would be a bit of a surprise given her current persona. If Bayley did indeed beat Asuka without having to resort to any sneaky tactics, it would re-establish The Role Model as a fighting champion, and also potentially give Asuka more motivation to defeat Sasha Banks in their match later on at SummerSlam.
#4 RETRIBUTION cause chaos between Asuka and Bayley at SummerSlam
Over the past few weeks, RETRIBUTION has interfered with many moments on WWE TV. The mysterious faction has thrown cinderblocks through glass doors, played with lighting, and smashed up the ring in the WWE Performance Center. Could they up the stakes at SummerSlam?
Now that WWE programming is moving to the state-of-the-art ThunderDome, this could be an opportunity for the group to wreak havoc on an even grander scale. Fans have also noticed that RETRIBUTION features female Superstars.
Involving these stars in a high profile feud like the one between Asuka and The Golden Role Models would be a great way to build them up, and also establish them further as a group of villains. If RETRIBUTION were to rob fans of a true match between Asuka and Bayley that would cause the fanbase to truly despise the group.
Although everyone is anticipating the payoff between Asuka and Bayley, bringing RETRIBUTION into the mix at SummerSlam would give the group something to do that is of more substance, rather than playing with light settings and breaking doors.
#3 Sasha Banks helps Bayley retain the SmackDown Women's Championship at SummerSlam
Throughout Bayley's current reign, Sasha Banks has been constantly on hand to help out her best friend. Banks has often used the usual tactics of distracting the officials and even more unconventional methods such as giving Bayley a ring to hit Nikki Cross with during The Role Models' title defenses. With that in mind, the same could potentially happen during Bayley's SummerSlam match against Asuka.
The Golden Role Models are no strangers to cheating. Without engaging in underhanded tactics over the last year, Bayley could have dropped the SmackDown Women's title months ago, and Banks literally stole (and ran away with) the RAW Women's Championship from Asuka at Extreme Rules.
Fans have been anticipating a rift between Bayley and Banks for months now, and even if Sasha does help Bayley retain like she usually does, it could still spell trouble for the pair. A way this could happen is if Sasha does come to the aid of Bayley, but Bayley refuses to return the favor as usual during the SummerSlam battle for the RAW Women's Championship. This could trigger a feud between the pair, potentially over the SmackDown Women's Championship.
#2 Asuka becomes the new SmackDown Women's Champion at SummerSlam
It's been no secret going into SummerSlam that Asuka is a performer who is adored by fans, especially during WWE's pandemic-era programming. Although Asuka is a RAW Superstar, seeing her win the SmackDown Women's Championship would be a great moment for her.
Asuka is a strong in-ring competitor and didn't get the lengthy title run that she deserved with the RAW Women's Championship. A win for Asuka at SummerSlam would only make her look even stronger. Seeing The Empress of Tomorrow lift the title would be the classic case of the babyface overcoming a pair of villains. Continuing to keep the titles on a pair of heels could become tiresome, and it would be interesting to see how Asuka could shake things up if she moved over to the Blue brand.
The women's title scene has been dominated by a small, select group of performers, so it would be great to see Asuka go against the likes of Naomi and Sonya Deville in meaningful post-SummerSlam rivalries, where different talents get the chance to shine.
#1 Sasha Banks costs Bayley the SmackDown Women's Championship at SummerSlam
SummerSlam is undoubtedly set to be a huge night for Sasha Banks and Bayley. They both have their singles titles on the line, against one of the strongest in-ring talents on WWE TV. Fans have been predicting a huge fallout between The Golden Role Models for a while now, and we could potentially see the implosion of the duo at SummerSlam.
Sasha Banks and Bayley are often at ringside during one another's matches, and time after time they have ran interference to help their friend retain the title. We have seen subtle hints over time that the duo will come to blows, and it could indeed happen if Sasha Banks one of her classic distractions during Bayley's match — but this time it goes wrong.
If Bayley loses her SmackDown Women's Championship to Asuka because of Banks, it could mark the beginning of the catastrophic downfall of The Golden Role Models, with one of the pair — in this case, probably Banks — turning face while the other continues to heel it up.
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