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Bayley Beats Asuka, Retains SmackDown Women's Title at WWE SummerSlam 2020
August 23, 2020
Bayley defeated Asuka at WWE SummerSlam on Sunday to retain the SmackDown Women's Championship.
Sasha Banks' presence proved to be decisive in the final outcome. She was a constant nuisance for the challenger, at one point diverting The Empress of Tomorrow's attention that led her to breaking an armbar on Bayley.
Toward the end of the match, Asuka went for her running hip attack on The Role Model, who moved out of the way. Asuka hit Banks instead, and Bayley capitalized by quickly pinning her for the victory.
The match against Bayley was the first of two bouts on the night for The Empress, as she also had a Raw Women's Championship match against The Role Model's best friend, Banks.
The question over which of the titleholders would face the Japanese Superstar first on the bill was answered during Friday's SmackDown when The Legit Boss defeated Naomi in a Beat the Clock match while Bayley lost to the same opponent.
Initially, Stephanie McMahon granted The Empress a shot at revenge after Banks and Bayley had pulled one over on the former champion on two separate occasions.
The first came at Extreme Rules when Bayley stole the referee's shirt after Asuka accidentally misted him and counted a pin for Banks. The win didn't count, but a rematch was set for Raw with the title being able to change hands in any way, including disqualification or count-out.
Banks won the match and the title, but it was largely thanks to the actions of Bayley, who attacked Kairi Sane backstage, prompting Asuka to run out on the match and get counted out.
Having a shot at the Raw women's title at SummerSlam wasn't enough for Asuka, though, as she also entered a triple-brand Battle Royal on SmackDown for a shot at the women's title on the blue brand, much to the surprise of Banks and Bayley.
The champion attempted to eliminate The Empress from the match from the outside, but Asuka was able to evade it and eliminated Shayna Baszler to win and earn a second title match at SummerSlam.
On the following episode of Raw, Asuka and Baszler joined forces to face The Golden Role Models in a tag team match. Their WWE Women's Tag Team Championships weren't on the line, but Banks and Bayley suffered a big loss, as Baszler made Bayley tap.
The defeat made Banks and Bayley look quite vulnerable entering SummerSlam, but they teamed up after The Role Model's win to slam Asuka ahead of her contest against The Boss later in the night.
Bayley has now held the SmackDown Women's Championship for 317 consecutive days.
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