Bayley's Explanation, Alexa Bliss' Dark Turn and More WWE SmackDown Fallout

Character development highlighted Friday's episode of SmackDown, a show dedicated to the evolution of the men and women who dominate the brand and the escalation of their storylines.

Bayley took to the squared circle for a passionate explanation (and defense) of her shocking turn on tag team partner Sasha Banks, Alexa Bliss moved one step closer to the dark side with her actions toward Nikki Cross and Roman Reigns, well, showed up and won as his heel turn continued to grip the WWE Universe.

Their continued growth as on-screen personas highlighted yet another superb edition of the Fox presentation and makes up the bulk of this week's SmackDown Fallout.

Bayley Delivers Strong, Logical Explanation for Shocking Betrayal of Sasha Banks

The importance of Bayley delivering in her explanation for betraying Sasha Banks on the previous week's show could not be understated.

A lackluster, or even convoluted, reason for her shocking actions would handicap her feud with The Boss before it ever really got an opportunity to start.

The SmackDown women's champion needed to knock Friday's promo out of the proverbial ballpark to ensure continued intrigue and momentum for what WWE officials are undoubtedly counting on to be a major part of blue brand storytelling moving into the last quarter of 2020.

She did just that, providing logical reasoning for her actions. She simply cut off Banks before The Blueprint could betray her. She used Banks for her own professional benefit, and the moment she was no longer of use after they lost the Women's Tag Team Championships, Bayley dropped her.

WWE Creative has a tendency to overthink these sorts of explanations, while Bayley has, on occasion, been accused of going over-the-top on the mic. Here she struck the right tone, delivered the key lines expertly and escalated the rivalry to the point that fans will be clamoring for the opportunity to watch Banks kick her ass whenever The Boss returns from the injury angle.

The segment, one of the highest-profile of Friday's broadcast, was further proof of the growth Bayley has experienced as a performer since her much-needed heel turn late last year.

Alexa Bliss Continues Dark Turn with Sister Abigail to Nikki Cross

In the past, WWE Creative would have rushed Alexa Bliss' dark turn, jumping immediately from her intense encounter with The Fiend to a heel turn.

This SmackDown writing team, smarter and more patient, has opted to take a gradual, slow-burn approach to Bliss' story, and it is working far more effectively. Every week brings the viewing audience a new look at Bliss and her turn toward the dark side.

First was her fascination with watching The Fiend compete at Payback. Then there was the return of the Harley Quinn-inspired hair coloring and pigtails. Friday brought with it the latest proof that her relationship with Nikki Cross is not long for this world, as she pulled her longtime tag team partner to the floor and delivered Sister Abigail in an ode to her sudden inspiration.

Cross recovered and won a Fatal 4-Way Match to earn a shot at Bayley's SmackDown Women's Championship, but the gold is almost secondary to the impending implosion of a friendship that catapulted Cross into the WWE Universe's collective consciousness.

As she stated in the above YouTube exclusive, she is now focused on "saving" Bliss from her potentially damaging infatuation with The Fiend, not unlike Poison Ivy would do for the aforementioned Quinn over in the DC Comics universe.

Roman Reigns Shows Up, Wins as He Continues Stellar Heel Run

"Show up and win" is not just a slogan on a new Roman Reigns t-shirt.

For The Big Dog, it is his new in-ring philosophy, as evidenced by his appearance in Friday's main event.

After a somewhat condescending promo in which he dismissed the idea of cousin Jey Uso beating him for the Universal Championship at Clash of Champions, Reigns left his top contender to battle King Corbin and Sheamus in the night's main event, popping up just in time to tag in and deliver a spear to The Celtic Warrior for the win.

Reigns' swagger and "do what I want" attitude has defined his heel turn to this point.

There is nobility, pandering or good old-fashioned babyface nonsense with this new persona. He is imposing, focused, dominant and shows up when he damn well pleases. He speaks softly but will kick ass when the time calls for it.

But not before he's ready.

And if that means leaving opponents or tag partners hanging, so be it.

He is the champ, he is the face of the company and the WWE Universe runs on his time.

Everyone else is just a pawn in his and Paul Heyman's game.

Use of Vignettes Will Ultimately Help Debuting Mystery Woman

We are not sure who the new mystery woman soon to make her debut on SmackDown is, but the vignettes preceding her arrival will do more to help get her over with the audience than jumping in the ring for a cold match.

WWE has a long history of vignette work, leaning heavily on short videos that give fans a taste of a new character before they pop up on television. Those clips, for better or worse, create anticipation and excitement (sometimes an air of mystery), getting them over far quicker than a string of wins in meaningless matches ever could.

How many NXT stars have we watched make their main-roster debuts the night after a major pay-per-view, squashing someone like Curt Hawkins or The Ascension, only to fail to leave an impression because they aren't doing anything else that any other Superstar had not done before?

On the other hand, look how effective The Firefly Funhouse and the slow introduction of The Fiend proved to be when rebuilding Bray Wyatt. Or the vignettes that introduced Mankind and Goldust back in the mid-1990s.

Time will tell whether these Emmalina-like vignettes prove effective. But the intrigue created by the short videos, and the fans' desire to see who is being introduced, will help the newcomer fare far better than if she jumped right into a match with someone like Tamina or Lacey Evans.