Bayley's Championship Win vs. Charlotte Latest Case of WWE Hurrying Big Moments

Bayley seizing the WWE Raw Women's Championship from Charlotte Flair on Monday night was the finale of a truncated symphony that skipped a number of movements.

The gutsy babyface overcame the cocky heel. Good triumphed over evil. The underdog's day came, complete with gold and glory.

As thrilling as that title win was for the hug-happy warrior, it wasn't nearly as powerful as it could have been.

WWE sped past the middle of that tale to skip to the climax. That's been a regular occurrence, especially with the women's division. Bayley is the latest in a line of central figures in rushed in-ring narratives.

On Monday in Las Vegas, Bayley survived Flair's best shots—from a moonsault off the security barricade to a torturous neckbreaker. A frenetic ending saw Flair's protege, Dana Brooke, emerge to offer the heel a helping hand and Bayley's best friend, Sasha Banks, wield her crutch as a weapon.

Bayley emerged from that chaos as Raw women's champion for the first time.

The announcers talked of Bayley's journey, painting this victory as the culmination of a dream. The part of that journey that unfolded on the main roster, though, was only six months long. Bayley moved up from NXT to Raw in August last year. She's only been feuding with Flair since November.

Monday night saw her achieve the biggest moment of her career.

Fightful columnist Brandon Howard noted that it didn't resonate as well as her climb to the NXT mountaintop did:

Bayley's NXT rise featured more obstacles, more anticipation and more pure emotion. It was a longer, more developed story. The Raw version jumped to the part where she raises her hand in victory too soon.

Daily DDT was among those left wondering why WWE didn't save that image for WrestleMania:

WWE has often used that marquee event to house star-making moments. We saw that at WrestleMania 30 when Daniel Bryan finally overcame the tyrannical Authority to claim the world title amid a shower of confetti. At WrestleMania XIV, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin had his own moment of memorable ascendancy when he conquered Shawn Michaels to claim the WWE crown. 

It's hard to forget Austin celebrating alongside Mike Tyson or Jim Ross' famous call of "Austin is the champion. Stone Cold! Stone Cold!" 

Two years before that, Michaels toppled Bret Hart in WrestleMania XII's classic main event. The Heartbreak Kid clutching the championship on his knees in disbelief was a moving image like few others. 

Bayley realized her dream just as Michaels, Austin and Bryan did, but her crowning moment was not nearly as stirring.

That's become the norm of late. Sasha Banks' story shared a similar lack of oomph at times. When The Boss and Flair traded the women's title back and forth last year, Banks' wins were more shocking than satisfying.

As seen on WWE.com, the title changes came one right after another.

Banks first won the title in July. She reclaimed it two months later in October. Then again in November.

There was no room to breathe in between those big moments. Banks' treks back to the top involved only a few steps.

WWE had the same approach to American Alpha's journey to championship gold.

The duo battled its way to the NXT tag titles, finally overcoming The Revival at NXT TakeOver: Dallas in April 2016. That was the end of a story of Jason Jordan slowly trusting Chad Gable, the two men proving themselves worthy of the top tier after fighting through a series of blockades.

The same pace didn't accompany their rise on the main roster.

American Alpha won the SmackDown Tag Team Championships from The Wyatt Family last December, not even a year after its NXT climax and only five months after getting called up to the blue brand.

Not surprisingly, the power of its SmackDown win didn't come close to its NXT one.

The developmental brand has often been more patient than Raw or SmackDown. Bayley going from plucky dark horse to champion was an example of that. So was Sami Zayn's redemption story.

Raw's writers would be wise to watch clips of those narratives unfolding.

NXT allowed those heroes' tales time to connect with fans. The fan favorites earned their titles after months of struggling. They experienced failures and detours along the way.

Bayley's win over Flair didn't come with all those elements—at least not fully explored versions of them.

The Huggable One reached the Raw mountaintop in less time than it takes for an NBA season to start and finish. Her victory didn't need to come at WrestleMania necessarily, but it needed to be built toward with a more deliberate pace.

WWE continues to script powerful moments, but lacks of story development before them lessens the power of their punches. Imagine what Bayley's victory could have been had the narrative been a full-strength strike rather than a quick, half-hearted blow.