Most of the women watched from the back in awe, as Naomi dominated her totally outmatched opponent Alexa Bliss and the subsequent destruction after the match except two women. Summer Rae and Sasha Banks were set for the forth matchup of the first round. In a bout that was sure to come short of living up to the spectacle set for by its predecessor Summer Rae was matched up against one of WWE’s most popular female competitors in the form of Sasha Banks, and was also a heavy underdog going into their match. Summer Rae had little intention of being a stepping stone for the “Boss” and was ready to upset one of the favorites.
Sasha Banks was out first to a thunderous ovation as she strolled down the ramp, drinking in the adulation of the fans and ready for a quick match to warm her up for the second round of the tournament. As she was nonchalantly walking down the ramp however, Summer Rae charged out from the back behind Sasha. Before Sasha even knew her opponent was behind her, Summer dove down and took Sasha’s legs out from under her, as Sasha came crashed down slamming the back of her head on the hard metal ramp. Sasha screamed out in pain as she rolled over onto her stomach, gripping the back of her head in pain. Summer grab Sasha’s left leg and started slamming it against the hard metal ramp as Banks tried to kick her attacker away with her free leg to no avail. “How’s that feel bitch!” Summer yelled as she held up Sasha’s leg and started kicking her in the hamstring just above her ass.
Summer then started to roughly drag Sasha towards the ring by her already hurting left leg, Sasha cried out in pain as Summer bent her leg as she dragged her down the ramp. Summer had Banks right by the ring apron as she contemplated tossing her opponent into the ring to officially get the match started. Summer pulled Sasha up to her feet on her weak left leg, Summer grabbed Banks by the hair and by her tights wedging them into her ass. Before Summer sent Sasha into the ring however, she noticed the steel steps leading up to the ring, she swung Sasha around and tossed her in the direction of the steps. Sasha’s left leg rammed right into the hard steel causing Sasha to cry out in pain again as she collapsed into a heap, clutching her leg.
Summer started to taunt the crowd as she cockily walked over to her downed opponent, “We want Sasha, we want Sasha” Summer mocked as she reached down and grabbed Sasha by the hair. Summer again held Banks up by her hair and her bottoms but this time decided to actually take the fight into the ring, she rolled Sasha in under the bottom rope and quickly followed her. The referee kept Summer away from Sasha as Banks got to her feet on an uneasy left leg. The ref asked Sasha if she was able to compete as she leaned on the ropes for support to keep her up, Sasha reached down and clutched her leg before letting go of the rope and putting pressure onto her left leg to stand on her own. “Yeah, I’m ready,” Sasha responded as she started to try and get more comfortable on her leg, the referee called for the bell as the two women approached each other. Sasha was enraged by Summer’s dastardly tactics as she slowly lunged towards her opponent, Summer easily evaded the hobbled Sasha and dropped her with a drop kick to her left leg.
Sasha cried out in pain again as she grabbed her leg in pain, nearly crying on the mat. “Oh what’s the matter Sasha does your leg hurt,” Summer taunted as she again grabbed the protesting Sasha by her leg. “No, don’t!” Sasha pleaded as Summer started to bend her leg in directions that it wasn’t meant to bend in. Sasha screeched out in pain as she desperately tried to kick Summer away with her free leg. Summer dodged Sasha’s wild kicks as she continued to punish her left leg, out of nowhere Sasha caught Summer on the chin with an uncoordinated kick. Summer immediately relinquished her hold on Sasha’s leg and fell on her ass.
Sasha scrambled to try and take advantage of the situation as soon as she realized what she’d done, but just as she’d gotten to her feet Summer was already up and ready behind her as she dove down and took out Sasha’s leg again. As Sasha grabbed her leg in pain, Summer bent down and slapped Sasha hard across the face, leaving a red mark on her check. Summer then grabbed Sasha’s leg and spun it around, before laying down herself, locking Sasha in a devastating figure-4 leg lock. Sasha slammed her arms down on the mat and cried out in agony as Summer applied a serious amount of pressure onto her already hurting left leg. “Come on, be a good little girl and tap!” Summer screamed at Sasha as she tortured her with the brutal submission hold. Sasha cried out no in response as she tried everything she could to keep herself from tapping out. Once she caught her breath Sasha started to drag herself and Summer towards the ropes for a rope break.
As the two edged closer and closer to the ropes Summer started to panic as she was unable to keep Sasha from scooting towards the rope break. In a desperate attempt Summer reached forward and slammed her fist down like a hammer on Sasha’s left leg, Banks cried out in pain again as Summer quickly took advantage of Sasha’s pain by dragging her back to the middle of the ring with no hope of a rope break. Sasha laid out on her back as tears of pain streaked down her face, “Tap out!” Summer screamed in anger, annoyed that Sasha had been able to hold on for this long. It looked to be the end for Sasha Banks as she laid out in the center of the ring, totally at the mercy of her dominant opponent with nowhere to go. Summer decided to change up her tactics in an attempt to break Sasha mentally as she resorted to taunting her diminutive opponent. “Whose the boss now Sasha, huh? Tap out you ugly bitch!” As Summer Rae focused on taunting her opponent, Sasha saw one more chance to turn this around, as Summer Rae was distracted Sasha swung her weight to flip both her and her opponent over, shifting the pressure from the figure-4 leg lock from her own leg onto Summer’s.
Stunned by the sudden change in the match, Summer yelped out in pain and began thrashing around violently. She quickly let go of the hold and rolled away from her downed opponent, Sasha slowly got up to her feet and turned around just in time to see Summer Rae charging towards her for a spear to the corner, Sasha used all of the strength she had left in her legs to leap out of the way just before Summer made contact. Summer flew through the air and in the absence of her target she smacked the top of her head onto the metal ring post between the turnbuckles. Summer staggered back totally dazed as she held her head in pain, Sasha again saw an opening and flipped Summer over into a schoolgirl pin, “1, 2, and 3” The referee’s hand slapped the mat for the three- count just before Summer managed to kick out of the pin.
Summer Rae sat stunned in the ring as Sahsa Banks’ music played and the referee held her arm in victory, she almost couldn’t understand what just happened to her. Sasha started to head out to leave the ring, limping on her injured left leg. Summer thought that if she couldn’t win the match, she could at least make sure that Sasha wouldn’t make it to the next round either. Summer dove down again to take Sasha’s leg out from under her. Unfortunately Sasha heard her coming from behind her and spun out of the way just in time so that Summer Rae simply slid down to the mat onto her stomach. Sasha jumped down on top of Summer’s back grabbing her head and pulling her into a crossface, locking Summer into the “Banks Statement.” Summer Rae started to panic immediately as Sasha locked in her submission hold, it didn’t take long for Summer to start slapping the mat vigorously, tapping out. Sasha held onto the submission for a few moments more to put an exclamation mark on the finish, before releasing Summer Rae. “I’m the boss,” Sasha said as she stood up over the beaten Summer Rae and limped out of the ring heading up the ramp for the next round.
Sasha Banks edged out Summer Rae in a relatively close match 74-56
