SyncVib

Just an hour after she helped Bayley retain the SmackDown Women's Championship over Nikki Cross, Sasha Banks looked to add gold of her own as she challenged Asuka in singles competition, with Bayley and Kairi Sane watching on from ringside.

Banks looked for the Bank Statement early but Asuka escaped. Later, she tried for a sunset flip bomb but the Raw women's champion stomped out of it and blasted her with a sliding knee to the face.

The Boss weathered the storm and reasserted dominance, targeting the arms of The Empress of Tomorrow. Bayley added words of encouragement from ringside as the challenger teed off on the shoulder of her opponent. Double knees to the midsection continued The Blueprint's onslaught.

Asuka rocked Banks and followed up with a codebreaker. The challenger evaded the hip attack and teased a German suplex off the apron. The champion elbowed out and then tried for one of her own. Banks escaped and powerbombed The Empress into the plexiglass at ringside.

Banks delivered the frog splash and then transitioned into the Bank Statement. Asuka grabbed the rope, forcing her opponent to break the hold. 

Building momentum for herself, the Raw titleholder delivered a release German suplex, then another as she folded Banks up. The running hip attack followed but The Boss escaped the pin at two. 

The fight headed up top, where the challenger fought out of a superplex and dropped Asuka to the mat. Banks took too much time and the champion recovered. She tried for a German suplex off the top but The Boss landed on her feet.

Banks slipped off the ropes and immediately sold her knee. "I have to be the champion," she yelled at Asuka while nursing the joint.

Asuka teed up the Asuka Lock, but Bayley provided a distraction. At ringside, The Role Model dropped Sane with a Bayley-to-Belly while a series of counters and reversals played out inside the ring. Bayley tried everything she could to interfere but ate a kick for her troubles.

Asuka then blew her green mist into the eyes of the official when Banks ducked, and Bayley blasted the champion with a title. The SmackDown champion removed the referee's shirt, counted the pin and declared Banks the new champion as confusion reigned.

Sasha won? (Insert shrugging emoji here)

A+ match, D- finish

This match, the wrestlers involved and the fans watching at home deserved better than this convoluted finish. As usual, WWE completely overthought things to the extent that the finish severely hampered the overall quality of a contest that was heading toward Match of the Year candidacy.

We get it: Bayley and Banks cheat. To overbook and muddy the waters in this manner did a great disservice to two women having a hell of a wrestling match. There was nothing on this show, or any of the post-WrestleMania 36 events, that matched what they did from a quality standpoint.

Then, the finish.

There will probably be a rematch, maybe as soon as Monday's Raw, but Banks and Asuka will have a difficult time finding the same flow they had Sunday night.

Sure, from a storyline standpoint, it fit, but there were better ways to accomplish the same thing, including, but not limited to, absolutely anything else.

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