Liam Hoofe reviews Boom! Studios’ WWE #16…
Boom! Studios continue its story of the women’s revolution in this month’s comic, which focuses on Bayley and her struggle to reach the main roster. Dennis Hopeless is back on writing duty here and the story continues to be engrossing. Bayley makes for a smart choice as our entry point into this (hopefully) much bigger narrative, and her struggle to earn a place on the main roster is one that the fans can get behind, largely because it felt like such a struggle for us as well.
In this issue, Bayley continues to try to earn her spot by rolling through whatever opponent Triple H throws at her. The biggest moment of the story is her match with Nia Jax, which is excellently captured by Kendell Goode, with series regular Serg Acuna not contributing to this edition. Bayley is a character who is easy to sympathise with, and watching her watch her name not get called up in the draft is a heartbreaking moment, especially as the likes of Carmella and Dana Brookes get a call-up before she does.
Of course, Bayley did make her main-roster debut a few weeks after the draft, so the next issue will likely focus on her arrival on Monday night Raw, and her initial feud with fellow four horse-woman, Charlotte Flair.
The second story in the book continues to focus on Asuka and her quick rise to the top in the WWE. In this month’s story, she realised that she was a big fish in a small pond in NXT and we saw her relinquish her title to William Regal with the intention of heading up to the main roster. This story was fine, but the whole thing feels a little rushed, and this month’s edition could have been padded out with a match or two.
Overall, WWE #16 continues Boom! Studios fine run of form since they switched their focus from The Shield and onto the Women’s Revolution. There are plenty of stories for them to explore in the coming months, and it looks as though they are heading up to the main roster in the next edition. The comics have always had a great ability to add a little extra to storylines we all remember, so hopefully, it will work its magic with the women as well.
Rating: 7/10
Liam Hoofe