What Does the Road to WWE WrestleMania 37 Look Like for Sasha Banks and Bayley?

The ongoing friendship/rivalry between Bayley and Sasha Banks has been the most compelling and intricate long-term storyline that WWE has delivered in some time.

It harkens back to some of the storytelling from the original NXT, when the show was just an hour long and angles were given time to develop before coming to thrilling conclusions. On the most recent episode of SmackDown, the Golden Role Models finally imploded in dramatic fashion. But where does that leave them for the rest of 2020?

WWE has been dragging out this story for months. Bayley turned heel a year ago and sided with Banks against Becky Lynch. The cracks in their foundations didn't start to appear until The Legit Boss challenged for the SmackDown Women's Championship in the Fatal Five-Way Elimination match at WrestleMania 36. 

It became clear that Banks coveted Bayley's title heading into The Show of Shows, but Lacey Evans eliminated her at the event. Later, Banks reentered the match to help her friend retain, but the tension between them remained an undercurrent in the months that followed. Many fans assumed that The Blueprint would inevitably turn on Bayley. Surprisingly, that wasn't the case.

The Role Model viciously attacked her longtime friend after she injured her knee in their women's tag team title match on SmackDown. With Sasha Banks seemingly off television for the time being, what's next for this storyline? Could WWE stretch it out until WrestleMania 37?

Taking Sasha Banks off WWE programming is a stroke of genius. It may not seem that way because The Legit Boss has been having a phenomenal year, but it serves two purposes. First, it creates more anticipation for her eventual one-on-one match with Bayley. Second, and more importantly, this puts the focus back on SmackDown's women's division.

The rest of the blue brand's women's roster has become a bit of an afterthought. It's been one of the unfortunate drawbacks to Banks' and Bayley's feud, especially over the past two months. Bayley defended her title against Asuka, who's exclusive to Raw, at SummerSlam, and she didn't put her belt on the line at Payback.

So it's time for the next woman from SmackDown to step up to challenge her. Logically, it should be Naomi. She has the most fan support, and she's the best babyface in the division. Furthermore, she picked up a clean win over Bayley in the Beat The Clock Challenge two days before SummerSlam.  

Naomi should face The Role Model at Clash of Champions, and it makes sense for her to end her record-setting reign. This would allow Bayley to chase the title while Banks is away.

We don't know how long Sasha Banks will be away because WWE hasn't revealed the severity of the injuries she suffered on the previous episode of SmackDown. She could appear before Clash of Champions on Sept. 27, but that doesn't seem likely.

However, it is possible that The Boss could return in time to square off against Bayley at Hell in a Cell. After all, Banks has become somewhat synonymous with the titular match stipulation, as she is the only woman who has competed in two Hell in a Cell contests.

The Blueprint lost both bouts to Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch. Still, the pay-per-view is coming up on Nov. 1, and it would be the perfect place for Sasha Banks vs. Bayley.

Assuming The SmackDown women's champion retains her title at Clash of Champions, it would be fitting for Banks to win the title at Hell in a Cell. It's the only title she has yet to attain, and she hasn't won a match inside the structure yet. It's a great possibility, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to keep the storyline going, either.

The only reason it makes more sense for Bayley to drop the title to Naomi and feud with her for the next two months is that the WWE Universe could use some new matchups. 

Survivor Series is quickly approaching. If Asuka is still Raw women's champion in November, it's too soon for a rematch with Sasha Banks or Bayley in the traditional champion vs. champion contest.

For that reason, it would be a better idea for Sasha Banks to return after Survivor Series. It would be much more entertaining to watch The Role Model attempt to lead a team from SmackDown at the event in this year's five-on-five women's Survivor Series Triple Threat elimination match. 

The story kind of writes itself, as Bayley has alienated the entire division, and the reluctant alliance for "brand supremacy" is exactly what the event is built on. Speaking of which, let's all hope WWE doesn't reintroduce Banks in time to force her to get along with Bayley as a part of the team. The promotion should keep them apart until the one-on-one match is on the table.

It's hard to imagine that WWE will keep Sasha Banks off of television for five months but the best scenario would be for her to return at Royal Rumble. This would give Bayley time to work with more opponents and reestablish the SmackDown women's division.

Moreover, Banks' return as a surprise entrant in the 2021 Women's Royal Rumble match would generate a massive reaction. If the goal is to make The Blueprint a face in this feud, she needs a big win, and a first Royal Rumble victory fits the bill.

It also seems like the logical capstone to her current run. The Boss struggled for a while after she lost Becky Lynch at Hell in a Cell 2019, and she didn't compete in this year's Royal Rumble bout or Money in the Bank ladder match. 

Instead, she finally hit her stride when she and Bayley regained the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships in June and scored the winning pinfall in all of their title defenses. In the months that followed, Banks also delivered some great matches with Io Shirai and Asuka.

If The Boss doesn't enter the Royal Rumble, she should challenge her former friend for the title at the event.

This feud already has the makings of the best female rivalry of all time in WWE. Their historic matches in NXT helped to start the Women's Evolution, so their blow-off match on the main roster belongs on a WrestleMania card.

If any women's match has enough history and hype behind it to headline the event, it's Sasha Banks vs. Bayley. They're both doing the best work of their careers, and they probably won't get a better chance than this to compete in the main event.

However, WrestleMania is still seven months away, which is a long time to avoid this confrontation. As stated earlier, Banks could win the Royal Rumble and challenge The Role Model on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

On the other hand, this is a great opportunity to use this storyline to put Banks in a position to secure the biggest win of her career. If she walks into WrestleMania 37 as the SmackDown women's champion, the pressure would be on to defend her title at the biggest event of the year. Incidentally, The Legit Boss has never won a match at The Show of Shows.

Her bitter rivalry with Bayley and her quest to silence the detractors who say she folds under pressure would make a victory at the event a WrestleMania moment.