1. Sasha Banks
Okay, but let’s be real though: ‘The Boss’ Sasha Banks is the best option to face Alexa Bliss. Period.
The two women faced off at Great Balls of Fire and the match had a countout finish. So, there’s still animosity and unfinished business to play off in that department. Sasha can see the opening left by Bayley’s injury and swagger through it, making it perhaps the best option from a storyline perspective. There are, of course, the avenues to take afterward with the constantly teased heel turn and Banks-Bayley feud WWE fans have been yearning for.
Secondly, star-power. Sasha Banks is a unique star in the world of wrestling right now. She received crossover opportunities solely off of what she does in the ring. Banks is up for a Teen Choice Award and also recently attended the BET Awards as well. Point blank: Sasha Banks is a superstar that I’m not sure WWE fully realizes that they have right now, and she should absolutely be in the spotlight of their second-biggest show of the year to help broaden her appeal to the masses.
That isn’t even getting into the fact that Sasha is perhaps the best in-ring talent in the women’s division. RAW and SmackDown! Live have lots of great workers. There is a huge abundance right now of talented women’s wrestlers under the WWE umbrella, NXT included. And yet, you can very easily craft the case that ‘The Boss’ is the best of the best. She had a great match with Bayley in Washington D.C. two weeks ago, and had the solid match with Bliss at GBOF in June. You know what you’re getting by now out of Banks, and WWE would likely get a great encore at SummerSlam of Bliss vs. Banks.
If Banks gets to the finals next week of this mini-tournament, it also allows WWE to, for once, pull the trigger on a hometown babyface victory. That’s right: The go-home show for SummerSlam is in Boston (read: BO$$TON). The big-time pops that she would get for her entrance and subsequent victory would far outweigh that of anyone else in the field. It would also serve as a penultimate moment to a possible title victory at SummerSlam that could serve as one of the best of 2017 if done right.
There’s nobody on the roster who benefits more from being the No. 1 contender than Sasha Banks, so nobody on the roster should be No. 1 contender other than Sasha Banks.