Bianca Belair Defeats Bayley, Retains Raw Women's Title at WWE Extreme Rules 2022

Bianca Belair beat Bayley in a ladder match at WWE Extreme Rules on Saturday night to retain the Raw Women's Championship.

Belair appeared to have the match won earlier on when she climbed the ladder toward the belt, but the remainder of Damage CTRL ruined that effort and sent the champ flying to the mat.

Undeterred, The EST of WWE bounced back and delivered a double KOD to Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky.

Belair's strength was on full display yet again in the finish. She simultaneously carried Bayley and a ladder before slamming her foe down onto the ladder with a KOD. She then climbed up to grab her belt and retain the championship.

WWE laid the groundwork for an eventual title match between Belair and Bayley at SummerSlam when The Role Model made her return after more than a year out due to a knee injury.

Bayley interrupted a feel-good moment that saw Belair and Lynch shake hands after The EST successfully defended the Raw women's title against The Man, but she didn't arrive at The Biggest Party of the Summer alone.

The devious heel was flanked by a pair of former NXT stars in Kai and Sky, and the viewing audience would learn during the ensuing weeks that they had formed a stable known as Damage CTRL.

They injured Lynch the next night on Raw and interrupted a match between Asuka and Alexa Bliss, which resulted in The Empress and The Goddess aligning themselves with Belair to oppose the heel group.

That set the stage for a six-woman tag team match at Clash at the Castle, and it was Damage CTRL that prevailed when Bayley scored a pinfall on Belair.

Things got even better for the new faction when Kai and Sky beat Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah on Raw to become the new WWE women's tag team champions after originally losing to them in the tournament finals amid controversial circumstances.

With Damage CTRL already in possession of those titles, Bayley hastened her pursuit of the Raw women's belt and sent a clear message to Belair a couple of weeks ago.

After beating Bliss in a singles match in the main event of Raw, The Role Model orchestrated an attack on Belair and challenged her to a championship bout at Extreme Rules.

Saturday marked, arguably, the toughest challenge of Belair's title reign, as she faced an accomplished and experienced opponent in Bayley, who entered the show as a three-time women's champion, including the longest SmackDown women's title reign of all time.

Bayley had her Damage CTRL stablemates backing her, but Belair still managed to retain the title she won at WrestleMania 38 and kept her reign of nearly 200 days intact.

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