SummerSlam was a wild ride for WWE fans from start to finish, and the new faction of Bayley, Dakota Kai, and Iyo Sky makes Monday Night Raw can't-miss television for the time being. The red brand's women's division was already stacked, and adding these three superstars only deepens a ridiculously talented and diverse roster. Audiences have seen what these women can do alone; putting them together as a heel faction while turning Becky Lynch face was a stroke of genius from Triple H and his writing team.
This was the first big event where fans of WWE could see Triple H's fingerprints on the product. He took over creative following Vince McMahon's retirement last week, and it didn't take long for his love of women's wrestling to shine through. Bayley's return was perfectly executed while bringing back Kai and finding something for Sky to do on the main roster were two of his most significant moves yet. It'll take a while before any of these shows are out from underneath the shadow of Vince's long-term booking, but SummerSlam offered audiences a glimpse of what the future holds for Raw.
The brand split has quietly been dying out, but wrestlers still tend to call either Raw or SmackDown home. As it stands, Monday nights will be home to Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley, Carmella, and Lynch among others. Adding Bayley, Kai, and Sky to the mix boosts an already loaded division, and that bodes well for a three-hour long program that sometimes runs out of entertaining things to do. There's so much talent in that group, and Charlotte Flair hasn't even returned yet. Triple H spearheaded the women's revolution in NXT, and that eventually gave fans the four horsewomen of WWE. Sasha Banks, Flair, Bayley, and Lynch shifted the way women's wrestling was perceived by average fans. SummerSlam almost felt like a soft reboot of the whole division, and for the better. If WWE can manage to bring Banks back too, things could get silly (in a good way) pretty fast.
Raw May Have Strongest Women's Division In Wrestling
Good heels always require motivations that make sense, and WWE has already planted the seed for Bayley's new faction. During a backstage segment that was posted to YouTube, the trio was asked why they picked SummerSlam to return. Bayley snidely remarked, "you're just going to have to wait... just like we did." Motivations don't always have to be complicated and matches don't always have to be three years in the making to be good.
This works on a lot of levels. Bayley's return has been rumored since WrestleMania 38 back in April, but she's been left on the back burner. Kai chose not to re-sign with the company at that juncture too, while Sky received a big push in NXT, only to have the NXT 2.0 rebrand leave her high and dry. WWE and Triple H can take this in any number of ways, and the women's division makes Monday Night Raw can't-miss television for the time being.