Goody Bag XIV: A Flair for (Losing) the Gold

WWE Women's Title Match: Charlotte v Sasha Banks: From RAW, July 25 2016. They fight hard over the initial lockup, ultimately won by Charlotte with some power, but Sasha quickly regroups with a schoolgirl for two. Backslide gets two, but a second one gets blocked, and Dana Brooke hooks Banks' ankle from the floor to allow Charlotte a cheap shot. That's enough to allow the champ to try an exploder suplex, but Sasha counters with a lungblower into a straightjacket. Charlotte escapes, so Sasha shifts to the Bank Statement, but Charlotte's in the ropes, and she bails. Banks is on her with a baseball slide and the flying double high knee off the apron, which gets two on the way back in. Double-kneedrop in the corner, but Charlotte dodges, and hits a neckbreaker. She dumps Banks to the outside, and Sasha fakes getting hit by Brooke, tricking the referee into ejecting her despite Dana not actually doing anything. That was some primo Eddie Guerrero shit there. It only serves to piss Charlotte off, however, and Banks gets locked in a bow-and-arrow for a bit. She manages to escape and hit another double high knee, then starts throwing clotheslines and dropkicks to stagger the champion. Double-kneedrop in the corner gets two, but a reversal sequence goes Charlotte's way with another neckbreaker. The champ goes up with a flying moonsault, but Sasha dodges, so Charlotte lands on her feet and tries a somersault senton splash, but Banks lifts her knees. Charlotte bails, but Banks is right on her tail with a nasty tope, and it gets two on the way back in. That was an ugly bump for poor Sasha, but she looks to be fine. She goes up, but Charlotte crotches her on the top turnbuckle, but Sasha blocks a vertical superplex - only to end up getting dumped to the floor. Charlotte dives out after her with a crazy flying moonsault press to the outside, and even though she didn't quite stick the landing on that one, still tons of points for effort. It barely gets two on the way back in, however, so Charlotte goes for the kill with the Figure Four, but Banks counters with an inside cradle for two. Charlotte quickly cuts her off with a big boot and the Natural Selection looks to finish, but it only gets two! Figure Eight is applied, but Banks manages to roll for the ropes, so Charlotte drops out of the ring - hanging off the apron while still applying the hold! Back in, Charlotte tries again, but Banks blocks, and is able to monkeyflip her into the Statement! She wrenches it on, but Charlotte's in the ropes to force a break. The champ makes one last desperation lunge at the Boss, but walks right into a lungblower, and Sasha shifts to the Statement again - this time getting the tap out at 16:50, in the first of what would be many title switches between these two. Great match here, with both women working hard, and delivering a suitably epic moment for Sasha's first title win. This would probably be better remembered if they didn't switch the title back-and-forth a million more times in the months that followed, of course. *** ¾

WWE RAW Women's Title Match: Charlotte v Sasha Banks: From RAW, October 3 2016. Charlotte throws her around a bit to start, but Sasha blocks an early Figure Four attempt, and dumps the champ for a tope. Getting right down to business here. Charlotte manages to toss her into the barricade out there before bringing it in for a bow-and-arrow, but Sasha fights to a vertical base, so Charlotte mat-slams her for two. Backbreaker submission allows Sasha to get bendy, but she escapes with some knees, so Charlotte delivers a kneeling neckbreaker to one up the challenger's knee game. It's all about the knee, you see? Sasha with a double high knee for two, and a rana sends Charlotte back to the floor - Banks right on her with a baseball slide. She tries the flying double high knee off the apron, but Charlotte catches her, and kinda just sets her down on the apron - in what looked like it was supposed to be an offensive move, but someones wires got crossed. It gets two, regardless. Figure Four, but Sasha counters to the Statement - only for the champ to block. She throws a big boot, but Sasha ducks, and hits another double high knee. She goes up, but Charlotte knocks her down off the ropes, and delivers a big boot for two. She unloads with chops to setup a vertical superplex, but Sasha blocks, and delivers a flying double high knee for two. She really really really likes that spot, doesn't she? Lungblower, but Charlotte manages to dump her to the outside to block, and the champ follows out with a flying corkscrew moonsault press - which misses by a mile, but Sasha sells it anyway. Cool spot, but all the style in the world won't help you if you can't, you know, make contact. Back in, Charlotte hits the Natural Selection for two, and starts slapping her challenger around out of frustration. Sidewalk slam, but Banks counters to the Statement for her second title at 14:18. Another good outing in their long series, though this one tended to be a bit repetitive, with Sasha especially relying on the same few moves over and over again ad nauseam. ***

WWE RAW Women's Title Match: Charlotte v Sasha Banks: From RAW, November 28 2016. Charlotte sweeps her down ahead of the initial lockup to establish dominance, but runs into a lungblower while gloating, and Sasha shifts right into the Bank Statement. Dana Brooke gets involved to help Charlotte get the ropes, so Sasha kicks the shit out of her on the outside, and still manages a flying bodypress for two before the champ can recover! It spills to the outside for a brawl, with Sasha dumping her into the front row, but Charlotte hopping back over and throwing her challenger into the barricade. The referee tries to corral them back in, but they end up brawling into the crowd, and we've got a double countout at 3:09. Ah, but it's all just setup for General Manager Mick Foley to come out and announce that they will face off again later on in the show in a Falls Count Anywhere match! The match was nothing, but it wasn't meant to be more than just setup anyway. ½*

WWE RAW Women's Title Falls Count Anywhere Match: Charlotte v Sasha Banks: From later on the same November 28 episode of RAW. Lockup battle goes to a stalemate, so Sasha quickly dropkicks her out of the ring, and dives after her with a tope. Banks adds a snap suplex out there for two, then dives off the apron with the double high knee, but Charlotte dodges. Sasha manages to land on her feet, however, and they charge each other for a double-knockout spot. Back in, Charlotte grounds her with a headscissors, then applies a straightjacket, but Sasha escapes with a sunset flip - only for Charlotte to block. Figure Four, but Banks blocks that in turn, so Charlotte tries a somersault cradle, but it's countered with a double-kneedrop. Another one in the corner misses, however, and Charlotte tries to vertical suplex her out of the ring, but Banks lands on the apron. They trade chops out there, with Sasha actually getting the better of it, but getting blasted with a big boot to send her crashing to the floor for two. Charlotte hits the Natural Selection out there for two, but Sasha finds a kendo stick underneath the ring, and starts swinging! She manages to beat Charlotte around the ring for a bit before the champ kicks it out of her hands, and drops her with a neckbreaker on the floor. Charlotte slaps on the Figure Eight on the outside, but Sasha manages to get hold of the stick again, and she swats her way free. They brawl over to the entrance set, where Charlotte dumps her of the stage, then dives after her with a flying moonsault press for two! Again, she didn't get all of it, though. She literally drags poor Sasha back to ringside, but ends up getting reversed into the post, then shoved into the barricade. Sasha adds a backdrop out there, then climbs onto the barricade for a flying double high knee for two. She takes some of her frustrations out on the champ with the kendo stick, and they spill into the crowd with the brawl. They end up fighting into the stands, where Charlotte misses a big boot on the stairs, and gets caught in the Bank Statement while wrapped around the hand railing - submitting to it at 16:29! Awesome finish! This was yet another in their long series of unique matches, that continue to break new ground for how we view women’s wrestling. *** ½