Current WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley recently helped her partner, Sasha Banks, secure the Raw Women’s Championship last week on Monday Night Raw.
Speaking with SI.com, Bayley reflected on her current partnership with Banks. She admitted how their pairing is the “most fun” she’s had on TV to date.
Bayley shared how everyone keeps telling her how it looks like she’s having fun on TV. She thinks it’s “awesome” people can see the enjoyment come through. Bayley credited this to the fact she loves being around Banks as they “get along so freakin’ well.”
She commented on how it had taken them a long time to get into this position together. According to Bayley, both Superstars have experienced plenty of ups and downs and “being held back.”
“One of the things we heard a lot was, ‘We can always count on you.’ We believed they could count on us to run the whole company. It took a lot of proving, but that’s what we’re doing now. We are very vocal about what we believe is right and what we want to do to help the company and help the division. It’s finally being able to shine through, and it’s very rewarding.”
Bayley assisted Banks’ victory after her assault of Kairi Sane drew Asuka away from the ring. Banks would win the WWE Raw Women’s Championship after Asuka was counted out.
WWE Executive Vice President of Television Production Kevin Dunn was reportedly upset during The Horror Show at Extreme Rules pay-per-view.
There were said to be some “production snafus” that took place during the match between Sasha Banks and RAW Women’s Champion Asuka, according to Fightful.
Dunn, who has been with WWE for more than 20 years, was said to be upset because cameras were catching SmackDown Women’s Bayley in spots where they weren’t supposed to.
While exact instances were not provided, it was noted that the issues “set Kevin Dunn off.”
The snafus were not considered to be significant, but it was enough of a situation that Dunn reportedly shouted at people for not protecting the talent on camera.
The Banks vs. Asuka match ended in controversy after the referee went down by taking errant mist from the champion. Bayley, who had been at ringside to support Banks, then took the referee’s shirt and went on to count a pin for Banks. They quickly escaped with Asuka’s belt, but she is still considered the official champion.
Next Monday’s RAW will feature Banks vs. Asuka in a match where the title can be decided by pinfall, submission, count out or DQ, including outside interference.
Current WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion and co-WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Bayley has addressed her on-screen character’s evolution.
Speaking with DigitalSpy.com, Bayley opened up about trying to push her character and grow during the coronavirus pandemic. She admitted that the current global situation has helped her freely explore different character choices. Bayley attributed this to the fact she doesn’t “have to worry about the fan’s approval.”
She added how she also doesn’t have to worry about fans believing in what she’s doing or “not buying” what she is saying in her promos.
Bayley shared how she can be very loud. She noted that her voice easily echoes throughout the WWE Performance Center as it’s currently so empty. It’s something she finds “hilarious.”
Bayley thinks WWE’s decision to perform in front of zero fans has benefited her. She shared how this time has allowed her to find herself within her current character:
“I’ve always had in the back of my head an idea of this character that I wanted to try if I were to change. So it was kind of me just throwing things out there and being like, ‘hey, I got this, I got this and I want to do this,’ and just (WWE) trusting me to do it.(WWE) had to really trust me and I had to really go for it, and that’s why I had to change everything and in order for them to believe it.”
Bayley is set to defend her WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship this Sunday at The Horror Show at Extreme Rules. She faces off against Nikki Cross.
Posted July 17th, 2020 in WWE, News. Tagged: Bayley.
Current WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley has admitted she “loves” the idea of once again feuding with the long-time friend Sasha Banks. Speaking with Sporting News, Bayley opened up about her heel turn and what it would mean to reignite her feud with “The Boss.”
Bayley revealed that she was thrilled when she found out she would be turning heel. She confessed that it was a challenge she was always interested in pursuing. She noted how she felt she could “maybe do even better than the other character.” Once she turned heel, however, Bayley shared it was harder than she expected it to be. With her new gimmick, she suddenly had a lot more to learn that she hadn’t encountered before.
Bayley Vs. “The Boss”
Regarding restarting a feud with Banks, Bayley stated how it’s something she’s “always dreamed about, especially after Takeover five years ago.” According to her, as soon as they got to the back, she was already eager to do it again. She added how Banks is her favorite person to be in the ring with.
“Luckily, throughout my time on ‘”Raw” and “SmackDown,” I’ve been able to share every WrestleMania with her and almost every pay-per-view. We’ve been tag team champions. I’m so grateful that we’re doing stuff together every single year. That’s definitely something I would love to do again before we both retire.”
Bayley won a 5-way elimination match at WrestleMania 36 to retain her Smackdown women’s championship. The deck had been stacked against the champion by Paige, who announced Bayley’s WrestleMania challengers on a recent episode of Smackdown.
Following her victory last night, Bayley told WWE.com she has a message for Paige.
“Go get Paige right now, pull her up on the Titantron, go Skype her,” Bayley said backstage. “Go face-time her because that’s the only way she likes to communicate, right? Paige, I don’t care what match she has to make. I thought you (Kayla Braxton) were going to be in the match, where’s Renee Young, huh? It’s an open invitation, I would have whooped you too Kayla, tell Paige that.”
“There’s a lot going on, I had to face 4 other women and there’s only 1 of me, if you didn’t notice, including my best friend. That’s like a hundred people versus me. That’s a lot, it’s a lot of stress, I’ve had a big year.”
“How long have I been champion again? I’ve lost count, there’s so many days,” Bayley continued.
Bayley’s Championship Stats
Bayley’s current reign with the title is at 178 days. It is the longest single-reign in the title’s lineage. Her 318+ combined days with the belt is also a record for the title. Bayley also once held the RAW Women’s Championship for 76 days.
Bayley’s backstage interview can be viewed in the player below:
The reign as WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley has been extended.
Bayley successfully retained at the WWE WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view event on Sunday night. A five-pack challenge match was booked with Bayley, Banks, Lacey Evans, Tamina, and Naomi.
Tamina was the first to be eliminated after a reunion with Team Bad. Banks eliminated Naomi after making her tap out. Evans eliminated Banks with the Women’s Right. Banks came back down to the ring and hit the back stabber that allowed Bayley to pin Evans to win the match.
While fans had hoped to finally see a one-on-one encounter between Bayley and Banks after all of these years, WWE had a different plan in mind.
WWE had Paige make an appearance via Skype on the March 20th episode of Friday Night SmackDown. This is where she did a segment with Bayley and Banks.
It was announced that Bayley would defend her title in the contest. Originally, Dana Brooke was supposed to be in the contest. However, she was ill and quarantined. Thus, she was pulled from the championship match.
What are your thoughts on Bayley retaining the WWE SmackDown Women’s Title? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.
This week’s episode of SmackDown saw Paige making an appearance on the show through Skype and announcing a six-pack challenge for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 36.
During the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer talked about this announcement and revealed the original plans for the championship at the Show Of Shows.
According to him, the original plans called for Sasha Banks to challenge her friend for the title at the Grandest Stage Of Them All but they nixed these arrangements.
The company felt that there wasn’t enough time to build a feud between the two. So the officials decided to hold off the bout for a later late and announced the six-pack challenge for WrestleMania instead.
While not confirmed, it’s likely that they will use the announced bout to kick off the feud between the two and have a singles match with a longer build somewhere down the line.
For those who don’t know, Paige announced that Bayley will
be defending her SmackDown Women’s Championship against Sasha Banks, Lacey
Evans, Naomi, Tamina Snuka, and Dana Brooke in a six-pack challenge at
WrestleMania.
There is no word yet on which night of the show this match will take place on but you can check out the updated match card for the event at this link.
Sasha Banks and Bayley have both commented on being left off this year’s WrestleMania event. Responding to a tweet from WWE Hall of Famer Edge, Banks joked how she would be headlining the pre-show. She was interjecting her joke into a twitter exchange between Edge and Roman Reigns.
Sasha Banks & Bayley On WrestleMania
“That’s cute Mr. Wolf and Mr. Dog. But this Panther will be main eventing the pre show. I left my mark at the @WWEPC. Just ask the eagle @itsBayleyWWE. She was there for 5 years so technically that’s her land and she wants you off her yard! #TheMainEventbeforeTheMainEvent”
That’s cute Mr. Wolf and Mr. Dog. But this Panther will be main eventing the pre show. I left my mark at the @WWEPC Just ask the eagle @itsBayleyWWE She was there for 5 years so technically that’s her land and she wants you off her yard! #TheMainEventbeforeTheMainEventhttps://t.co/cc64UFGEya
— Mercedes Moné Varnado (@MercedesVarnado) March 19, 2020
Bayley also saw Reigns’ initial tweet, which was hyping the now two-day event. Answering Reigns’ question over who would claim one of the night’s, she replied “NOT ME!!! hahahahahahahahahaha Have fun Big dog woof woof”
Sasha Banks would see Bayley’s response and reply to her friend, writing “Oops I mean, we will not be on. Let’s go gather some sheep baaaaahaha”
Both Sasha Banks and Bayley performed to an empty crowd in the WWE PC for last week’s episode of SmackDown Live. They competed against Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss. Banks and Bayley would walk away with the win.
WrestleMania 36 has been relocated from Raymond James Stadium due to coronavirus concerns. It will now take place in multiple locations, including the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
Originally set to take place on Sunday, April 5, the show has now been split across April 4 and April 5 and may even be pre-recorded.
WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley has reflected on her experiences wrestling in front of an empty WWE Performance Center. Last week’s episode of SmackDown was relocated to the WWE PC in the wake of coronavirus concerns. Tonight’s 3:16 edition of Monday Night RAW has done the same.
Taking to Instagram, Bayley shared her feelings on the situation, stressing how “first is forever.”
“First is forever. I’m not gonna brag about the fact that @sashabankswwe and I opened Friday Night SmackDown (live on FOX) with a big ol victory (classic), in the house that we built (the Performance Center…literally we put together the rings and stuff), in front of good ol Papa Hunter and (apparently Paige’s travel agent) Michael Cole, with zero fans in the audience due to the terrible circumstances going on in our world, we did what we do best no matter what is asked of us because we are professionals, superstars, role models…no, no, no, I won’t talk about any of that.
BUT it was something I will remember forever. I was very proud to be a part of that whole night. Wrestling is something wild/special/crazy. @WWE”
At the time of writing, Bayley does not have a championship matchup scheduled for WrestleMania 36. WWE met with Tampa officials last week to discuss options and alternatives due to the coronavirus pandemic. Following their discussion, Tampa officials have claimed they may have to “pull the plug” on the event.
Posted March 16th, 2020 in WWE, News. Tagged: Bayley.
“How special was it for them? Probably very special. They’ve probably been waiting—how long have I been in the WWE—about seven years for this moment. For Bayley to arrive as the champion, of course. It’s only a matter of time.”
She noted how it was special for her to beat Naomi. Bayley stressed how, in the time she was away, things have changed, including the fact ‘The Role Model’ has taken over. With her win, the champion declared that Naomi can now leave, asking her to “Maybe go away again.”
Bayley Wants A “Bayleybration”
When it was brought up that SmackDown was just around the corner, Bayley stated she didn’t have plans to attend. She noted how her best friend Sasha Banks isn’t there because of how she is currently working on an album. The champion then added with a frustrated sigh:
“I’ll probably be there because I have to and I’m the champion, and it’s in my contract, and they’ll yell at me if I’m not. What? I’m not going to defend my title again, that’s for sure. […] Maybe we can have a celebration, what do you think about that? You know what, we have Alexa Bliss, A Moment of Bliss every single freaking day. Maybe A Moment of Bliss can throw a Bayley celebration—Bayleybration.”
If you use any quotes from this article, please provide a H/T to SEScoops.
Posted February 28th, 2020 in WWE, News. Tagged: Bayley.
A new match has been announced for the upcoming WWE Super ShowDown PPV and it involves women.
On Friday’s episode of SmackDown, WWE booked a match between Carmella and Naomi with the winner being crowned the new #1 contender for the SmackDown Women’s Title.
As seen on the show, Naomi ended up winning the contest and now she’ll challenge Bayley for the strap at this PPV event. This comes after a few weeks of building up to it.
First up was two weeks ago on an episode of SmackDown where a Fatal Four-Way match was booked. Carmella ended up winning the contest.
Last week, she lost to Bayley for the WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship. After the match, Naomi ran out to make the save for Carmella. Thus, it set up this latest #1 contender match.
WWE presents the Super ShowDown pay-per-view event on Thursday, February 27, 2020 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the Mohammed Abdou Arena that will air on the WWE Network.
Updated WWE Super ShowDown Card
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Ricochet
WWE Universal Champion Bray Wyatt vs. Goldberg
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. John Morrison & The Miz
Roman Reigns vs. Baron Corbin – Steel Cage Match
Tuwaiq Mountain Trophy Gauntlet Match: Andrade, Bobby Lashley, Erick Rowan, AJ Styles, R-Truth, Rusev
WWE RAW Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins & Buddy Murphy vs. The Street Profits
A new match has been revealed for the upcoming WWE WrestleMania 36 PPV.
It was noted by Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Live that the current plan is for SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley to defend the title against Naomi at the biggest event of the year for WWE.
WWE has already announced Carmella vs. Naomi for Friday’s episode of SmackDown on FOX. The winner of this contest will then challenge Bayley for the strap at the Super ShowDown show in Saudi Arabia on February 27.
As of this writing, there’s no word yet on whether this currently planned match at WrestleMania will have an impact on Bayley’s title defense at Super ShowDown.
There’s no word yet on if they plan to do Carmella vs. Bayley in Saudi Arabia, and then Naomi vs. Bayley at WrestleMania.
WWE presents the WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view event on Sunday, April 5, 2020 in Tampa, Florida at the Raymond James Stadium that will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks.
Updated WWE WrestleMania 36 Card
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre
WWE NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair
What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.
Bayley turned heel in last September and cut off the trademark ponytail that she had for seven years. This marked a major change in her overall character and persona.
Bayley revealed in an interview with The Sun that she receives a lot of criticism from fans about her looks but she doesn’t care.
“I have always taken a lot of flak, fans are always mean to me, what else is new. But who cares?”
Bayley says that a lot of people have told her that they don’t like her haircut and that they want her to get a manager.
“They have been making fun of my hair too but it doesn’t get to me, these guys can make fun of me all they want.”
Bayley also said that she was never the type of fan who would overstep her boundary with her idol. She asked people to not follow her around when they see her outside.
“I don’t like it when they overstep their boundaries, because I was never that sort of fan. If you bump into me at the gym or in a restaurant and you want to say hi, then it’s OK, just don’t follow me,” Bayley said.
Bayley also talked about achieving her dream of finding success in the WWE. She says that she sometimes wonders if this is the same WWE she used to watch as a kid because she is one of the top stars right now.
Bayley added that this has been her dream since she was ten years old, and she tries not to disappoint her. She tries to snap out of it and tells herself that this is her career and she’s doing great as it is. “If I could get a message to that 10-year-old version of me it would be ‘you’re not crazy and it’s going to be OK.”
Bayley is set to defend her SmackDown Women’s title on Super ShowDown against the winner of the number one contender match which will take place next week at SmackDown, between Carmella and Naomi.
Posted February 15th, 2020 in WWE, News. Tagged: Bayley.
WWE is going to return to Saudi Arabia for its second Super ShowDown event in less than two weeks’ time. The last event of the series took place on June 7, 2019.
The company will then have to prepare for their next event, the Elimination Chamber, which will take place just nine days later.
The WWE women’s division will have their second-ever match in Saudi Arabia as the company revealed that the SmackDown Women’s Championship will be defended at the event.
On last night’s WWE SmackDown, we saw SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley announcing that she’ll be defending her title at Super ShowDown. The announcement was made after Bayley successfully defended her title against Carmella on the show.
In the next week’s episode, Carmella will face Naomi in a number one contender’s match. The winner will then face Bayley for the Women’s Championship at Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia.
Prior to last week’s SmackDown, another number one contender’s match had taken place. It was a fatal four-way match between Naomi, Alexa Bliss, Carmella, and Dana Brooke. WWE had advertised that the winner of this bout will face Bayley on Super ShowDown. Carmella won the match, but the company pulled down the advertising and announced that Carmella would instead face Bayley for the title on the next SmackDown, with the Super ShowDown match seemingly nixed.
Looks like plans changed, and Carmella has another opportunity at getting the title shot on next week’s SmackDown from Phoenix.
The Super ShowDown match will the first time that a Women’s title will be defended in Saudi Arabia. This is coming just months after the first-ever women’s match in Saudi Arabia was held at Crown Jewel in October 2019.
WWE Super ShowDown will take place at the Mohammed Abdu Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on February 27.
WWE Superstar Carmella recently appeared on the After The Bell podcast alongside her partner and host Corey Graves. During the interview on the show Graves asked Carmella about her upcoming Championship match against Bayley. The match will be taking place next Friday on SmackDown for the brand’s Women’s Title.
“I didn’t know what the hell I was doing”
“I mean Bayley and I’ve only had one match against each other” Carmella began. “That was in NXT and that was for the [NXT Women’s] title. I had only been wrestling at the time for…it was probably less than two years. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing, not that I know any more now, but to know where we’re at now?”
“it’s gonna happen on Friday, which I just found out last night!”
Carmella elaborated further, saying “I have been a Champion. I’ve been, you know, Miss Money In The Bank. I’ve done so many things in my career. So, I don’t know, I’m just excited for this opportunity and apparently it’s gonna happen on Friday, which I just found out last night! So, I’m ready. I’m excited, and I’m [going to be] ready to go in time for Smackdown.”
“I was hopefully waiting for a bigger stage” – Carmella
Graves then revealed that Carmella had legitimately not been told about the match until it was confirmed earlier that week. “I was like ‘what the hell!?’ Carmella revealed. “I had no idea that was gonna be this soon. I was hopefully waiting for a bigger stage. Maybe a pay per view? Maybe Super Showdown, maybe WrestleMania? I don’t know, and now it’s gonna be this Friday but I’m really ready for it.”
Do you think that there’s a chance Carmella wins the Championship on Friday? Let us know in the comments
Bayley will remain the WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion as she retained the title in her latest title defense.
As seen at Sunday’s (January 26, 2020) WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view event from the Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas on the WWE Network, Bayley beat Lacey Evans.
Bayley Retains SmackDown Women’s Title
It turns out that this contest was originally slated to take place at the WWE TLC pay-per-view event in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Target Center but the match was nixed.
This match, which was never announced, had been reportedly on the card as of December 9th.
Time will tell whether WWE continues this feud or goes into a different direction heading into the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event on March 8, 2020 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Bayley’s reign as champion, which marked her second time at being the top star in SmackDown women’s division, started on October 11th.
This is where she beat Charlotte Flair to win the title in the main event on the episode of Friday Night SmackDown in Las Vegas, Nevada at the T-Mobile Arena on FOX.
What are your thoughts on Bayley retaining the SmackDown Women’s Title? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.
After being a babyface ever since her debut in WWE, Bayley turned heel for the first time in her career last year in September and since then, she has embraced the role.
The SmackDown Women’s Champion recently talked to MySanAntonio.com where she discussed things like similarities between Seth Rollins’ recent heel turn and her own transition to a villainous role.
During the interview, she was asked how far ahead in the time her heel turn was in the works and Bayley revealed that it was an on-the-fly thing. She also mentioned how changing her look was her own idea:
“In that particular situation, it was definitely kind of an on-the-fly kind of thing. I felt after Hell in a Cell that I needed to make a huge change. I didn’t want to come back the same person. I didn’t want to fight for the same things.
So it was really my decision to come out in this whole different attitude and whole different outlook, in a way that I never have before in order to see if I can jump the ladder. I think, for the long run, it’s probably the best decision I’ve made in a really long time.”
Bayley then discussed how nerve wracking it was once she was given a thumbs up for her heel turn because everything she had known and done in the past seven years was about to change.
While Bayley had shown signs of being a heel prior to the Hell In A Cell PPV last year, it was her loss to Charlotte Flair on the show which caused her to snap completely.
The female star lost her SmackDown Women’s title on the PPV. After the event, she cut down her signature ponytail and changed her entrance style, solidifying her heel turn.
Posted January 22nd, 2020 in WWE, News. Tagged: Bayley.
Nobody in WWE history has held the Smackdown Women’s Championship for more days than Bayley has. Granted, the title was only introduced a few years ago but since that time, Bayley’s 219 days (as of this writing) spent with the championship top what any other wrestler has done.
Bayley recently commented on breaking Becky Lynch’s previously held record of 216 combined days with the belt on Instagram. WWE posted the following video of Bayley’s comments to its official account:
“So, you sheep seem to be surprised that once again Bayley has made history in the WWE as the longest-combined-reigning Smackdown Women’s Champion.”
“There is 365 days in a year and I have been your champion for 217 of them,” Bayley said in reference to both her two SmackDown title reigns occurring in 2019. “Don’t even mention the 49 days that Sasha Banks and I were the inaugural Women’s Tag Team Champions. 99 days that I wasn’t a champion, you know what I was doing? I was being a role model for your kids, I was being a leader for this locker room, so it’s about time that you guys start to recognize what’s in front of you right now because I have taken over this decade and I’m going into 2020 as your Smackdown Women’s Champion and as the best role model you have ever seen.”
The longest single reign in the history of the title is Charlotte Flair’s 147-day reign with the belt from 2017 to 2018. Bayley’s last reign with the title lasted 140 days and her current run with the belt is at 79+ days.
Smackdown Women’s Championship Combined Days As Champion Statistics
Bayley 2x 219+ days as champion.
Becky Lynch 3x 216 days as champion.
Charlotte Flair 5x 193 days as champion.
Naomi 2x 149 days as champion.
Carmella 1x 131 days as champion.
Alexa Bliss 2x 110 days as champion.
Asuka 1x 100 days as champion.
Natalya 1x 86 days as champion.
Posted December 30th, 2019 in WWE, News. Tagged: Bayley.
in the short history of the Smackdown Women’s Championship, nobody has held the title for more combined days than the current champion Bayley has. Bayley has surpassed Becky Lynch’s previously held record of 216 combined days as champion with today being the 217th day Bayley has spent with the title.
Bayley’s time spent with the title has been spread out amongst 2 reigns while Lynch has held the title on 3 separate occasions.
Smackdown Women’s Championship Combined Days As Champion Statistics
Bayley 2x 217+ days as champion.
Becky Lynch 3x 216 days as champion.
Charlotte Flair 5x 193 days as champion.
Naomi 2x 149 days as champion.
Carmella 1x 131 days as champion.
Alexa Bliss 2x 110 days as champion.
Asuka 1x 100 days as champion.
Natalya 1x 86 days as champion.
Bayley’s two reigns with the Smackdown Women’s Championship both came in 2019. She won the title for the first time at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view in Hartford Connecticut on May 19th this year. She would then lose the title to Charlotte Flair at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view from Sacramento this October but then won it back on Smackdown just 5 days later.
WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley recently did an interview with The Detroit News and discussed her recent change in character where she would ditch her happy and cheerful persona and turn heel for the first time in her career.
One of the most memorable moments from this was Bayley cutting off her signature ponytail, which she revealed was actually done backstage with the help of a “very trusted stylist” that day at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“It felt great,” Bayley said of the cut. “I knew what I wanted to do and I knew what I needed to do. But the actual snip of the ponytail, I was a little in shock. My hair was the longest I’ve ever had it, and I’ve had that freakin’ ponytail for seven years. The last time my hair was this short, I was 10 years old.”
Bayley said that playing the babyface character for so long was tiring and she didn’t even know what she was fighting for anymore. She described the heel turn as a “much-needed” change, not only for her character but also for herself personally.
“Character-wise and personally, mostly personally, it was much needed,” she said. “I really go off my emotions or what I’m passionate about at the time, and there came a point where I was like, ‘I don’t even know what I’m fighting for anymore.’ That’s when it hit me, and I was like, something needs to change. And that was it.”
Bayley said that she’s hoping this new change in her career goes well. If it doesn’t do well for her then she believes that she would be able to make it work somehow.
“I’m just taking this leap and hoping this next chapter goes well,” Bayley said. “But I believe in myself and I trust that I won’t let myself fall too far. If this doesn’t work out as great as I’d hoped it would, I’ll find a way to make it work.”
Bayley who is the current WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion, has held the title for more combined days than any other champion. Bayley, who has now spent 217 days as champ, has overtaken Becky Lynch’s combined reign which was at 216 days.
Posted December 26th, 2019 in News, WWE. Tagged: Bayley.
Bayley has discussed her need to constantly evolve in the business, which ultimately led to her recent heel turn on WWE television.
The WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion did so while speaking with The New York Post for a new interview.
“I need to be able to do everything and test the waters everywhere and ride the waves and challenge myself,” she said. “I can’t get stale and bored and do the same thing over and over. In order to excel in this business, you have to constantly evolve.”
Bayley also brought up how projecting her character’s disgust and anger makes her feel as exhausting as being a happy babyface on television. She also brought up how she had real frustration after being in WWE for almost a decade.
Bayley Discusses Her Feelings
“I think honestly it’s real frustration. I’ve been wrestling for over 10 years. I’ve been with WWE for seven years, so not all of it has been colorful and castle-like and wacky wavy inflatable tube man and happy and fun.”
Bayley added that it’s been a struggle for her and it’s really difficult to kind of stay on top for a period of time. Thus, she thinks it’s pretty easy to find frustration.
WWE’s next plans for Bayley on television is still up in the air after the company decided to nix her most recent feud.
Original plans called for Bayley to defend the SmackDown Women’s Title against Lacey Evans at the TLC pay-per-view event. That match didn’t happen. It was reported at the time that there are no plans for the match to happen at the Royal Rumble either.
WWE has scrapped another match from the card for the final pay-per-view event of the year for the company, TLC.
Plans for WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley at TLC has been nixed as WWE officials have decided to hold off on booking a championship match between Bayley and Lacey Evans.
Originally, the belief was that Bayley would defend the SmackDown Women’s Title against Evans at the show. Meltzer noted that the call was made not to book the match at TLC.
One would think then not at TLC then the company would wait a month and book the contest at the next and first pay-per-view event of 2020, Royal Rumble.
That’s not the case as Meltzer noted, “They were not planning to hold that match off until the Royal Rumble.” This leaves plans for Bayley up in the air for both shows.
Although she doesn’t have a match booked, she will witness history.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions The Kabuki Warriors vs. RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair will go down in the first-ever Women’s TLC Tag Team Match.
Two new matches have been announced for the upcoming WWE Survivor Series PPV and will feature talent from all three brands – RAW, SmackDown, and NXT.
This comes after WWE confirmed last week that talent from NXT would be featured for the first time ever at Survivor Series.
The card will see a Triple Threat Match as RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler, and SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley will compete against each other.
WWE set up this contest on Monday’s episode of RAW in Uniondale, New York at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum when Lynch was doing a backstage promo when Bazler interrupted her and they have a tense conversation.
Due to the WWE Draft, Bayley didn’t appear on the show as members of each show are exclusive to their respective brands and can’t appear on the opposite show.
Also, SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Revival vs. NXT Tag Team Champions Undisputed Era vs. RAW Tag Team Champions Viking Raiders will take place.
WWE presents the Survivor Series pay-per-view event on Sunday, November 24, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois at the Allstate Arena that will air on the WWE Network.
Updated WWE Survivor Series Card
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Rey Mysterio
RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley – Non-Title Triple Threat
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Revival vs. NXT Tag Team Champions Undisputed Era vs. RAW Tag Team Champions Viking Raiders
There is a new #1 contender in the WWE SmackDown women’s division and that’s Nikki Cross. This will be the next feud for Bayley.
During Friday’s episode of SmackDown in Indianapolis, IN at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse on FOX, WWE held a match that would determine who is next line for a title shot.
A Six-Pack Challenge Match featuring Carmella, Nikki Cross, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans, Sonya Deville, and Mandy Rose took place with the winner becoming the next challenger to SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley.
As seen in the match, Cross ended up winning it. As a result, Cross has earned a future title match against Bayley. As of this writing, there’s no word yet on when this contest will take place.
How about that hug, @itsBayleyWWE? NIKKI wants to play with you.
WWE could save it for next week’s episode as that is a special episode for two reasons.
First up is the fact that it will mark the first time that SmackDown will air on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) due to the MLB Playoffs. Also, it will serve as the go-home show for the SmackDown brand for the upcoming WWE Crown Jewel pay-per-view event.
This show will feature only male talent as female stars are not allowed to wrestle at the show.
Current WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley was a recent guest on the Sky Sports Lock Up podcast. She spoke about her evolution as a character, having recently turned heel with a new look and attitude that saw her recapture the championship.
During the interview, Bayley commented on the rumors and speculation that she and former tag team partner Sasha Banks had a “tantrum” backstage at this year’s WrestleMania.
“We read all the stupid rumors and it’s ridiculous,” she stated. “There’s no proof of it and it’s people just spreading these rumors because they want to talk, they want something to start up. We literally watched the main event in person by the hard cam and enjoyed the women stealing the show.”
She added, “We’re professionals and we love this more than anyone can imagine, more than anyone else in that locker room,” Bayley said.
Rumors had been rife that both women were deeply unhappy with WWE’s decision for them to drop the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. They were allegedly promised a long title run to legitimize the belts, but this did not happen. They held the championships for 49 days, losing them to The IIconics during a Fatal Four-Way tag team match at WrestleMania 35.