Bayley: 6 things you probably didn't know about the WWE Superstar
Former Raw Women's Champion Bayley isn't new to the world of wrestling. On the road to earning respect from her peers and fans, she has seen her fair share of challenges and has overcome them. She prevented these challenges from dictating her success wherever she competed.
Fans who watched the Breaking Ground series on the WWE Network are aware that as a child, the former NXT Women's Champion wrote an essay talking about how she wanted to become a wrestler when she grew up, and how that strengthened her resolve. One of the biggest challenges she has faced has been convincing not necessarily fans, but trainers and promoters that she belongs inside the squared circle.
Her squeaky-clean character could be considered unrealistic, but it is her turned up to the ninth degree. Despite only competing actively for a few years, she has achieved great success. The former Ms. Money in the Bank achieved new heights after turning heel, carrying the Women's division on her back during the pandemic era (alongside Sasha Banks).
Here are six things you probably won’t know about about Bayley.
#6 Bayley fought to turn heel in WWE
Found it part 2 of @itsBayleyWWE heel turn.
Strong move by WWE writers, went on to a lot of success following this!
Bayley is so much better as heel. Really hope when she returns to #WWENXT #Smackdown #WWEraw they don't turn her back to a baby-face!
#Bayley #Hellodingdong twitter.com/WWE/status/144…
Bayley was famously known as the John Cena of the women's division. Her hugger persona suited the PG product that WWE was providing to its fans, and her smiling personality connected well with the fans. Thus, when the former SmackDown Women's Champion turned heel, the entire WWE Universe was shocked.
It was revealed that it was Bayley's idea to turn heel. The former Women's Tag Team Champion spoke in detail about her heel turn on The New Day: Feel the Power podcast:
“I think because I did that (babyface) character for so long, as much as it was me, I felt with my age and what I was doing in my life and where I was in my career, literally growing up starting as a super bubbly babyface, that I was in awe to be there. I was like a little kid with a ponytail. But I felt myself growing up from having these championship matches in NXT, to winning the title in Brooklyn, to being the leader of the locker room once Charlotte, Sasha, and Becky got called up. It was a real gradual growth. It took a couple years, but it was time for a change and I didn’t want to be the same character for the rest of my career." (H/T WrestlingNews)
To say that the heel turn was a success will be an understatement. Bayley's career reached new heights after turning heel, and fans cannot wait to see the former Hugger back on their screens.
#5 She was mentored by a former member of the Straight Edge Society
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@BayleyLover19 Bayley’s mentor Serena Deeb 🥺 twitter.com/serenadeeb/sta… twitter.com/SerenaDeeb/sta…
Before she could achieve the success that she has now, Bayley needed to lean on different people for support, and whether it was friends or family, a number of different people have been there to aid her in her dream of becoming a WWE Superstar.
About seven years ago, she competed under the name Davina Rose and worked as part of the all-women's wrestling promotion, Shimmer. It proved to be a wonderful learning experience for her, and it was while she was there that a wrestler by the name of Serena Deeb took the young ‘Davina Rose' under her wing and helped her become the fundamentally sound wrestler that we see today.
#4 She would have loved to compete in the Attitude Era
Bayley & Sasha brought back the Attitude Era, GOATS 🐐 🐐 twitter.com/WWE/status/128…
Bayley is a role model for young girls, liked and respected because of her hard work and determination. During her time in NXT, she made a name for herself battling the likes of Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch in matches that showcased her talents and those of her opponents.
Despite Charlotte saying in promos that Bayley was the last one to move up because she wasn't good enough, fans can clearly see that she is, and now she's an integral part of the division’s success.
While she states that she would have loved to have competed in the Attitude era, that is not a slap at the women of today, it purely reflects her desire to face the likes of Trish Stratus and Lita.
#3 Her ex-boyfriend was a former Tough Enough contestant
AEW's Aaron Solow announced he and Bayley have called off their engagement and ended their relationship after several years together. https://t.co/54aFyve8Dc
Sure, over their time on NXT, there were a number of images of Bayley and Finn Balor sharing a ring together, hanging out and generally being playful with one another. However, this was one of those instances where there was smoke, but no fire. Both Bayley and Balor have come out publicly a number of times stating that they are just friends that simply enjoy what they do, and fans should simply take it as that.
The former SmackDown Women's Champion was in a relationship with Aaron Solow, an independent wrestler who was part of the final installment of WWE's Tough Enough program. Solow and Bayley were even engaged, but the engagement was called off in 2021.
#2 She wore a mask in her NXT debut
In 2013 a masked wrestler made her debut at a #NXT live event. 6 years later @itsBayleyWWE finally took her mask off and started rewriting history. Better keep an eye out because Sunday’s coming....
#SmackDown #RAW #SurvivorSeries https://t.co/zbN8FZZpwn
The Bayley that we see today has come a long way from when she first joined NXT and was hugging everyone in sight. Back then, she would hug them until they appeared uncomfortable, and were just trying to appease her so she would eventually let go. Bayley wanted everyone to like her, but as it goes in wrestling, that wasn't always the case and others likely tried to beat her down and take her out of contention.
Her early win-loss record certainly helped Bayley grow thicker skin. What fans may not be as aware of is that when she first debuted in NXT, it was under a mask. While masked wrestlers are fairly commonplace, female masked wrestlers aren't. In fact, during her younger days, Bayley wanted to be a luchadora!
However, the mask lasted for just one match, before the former NXT Women's Champion adopted the Hugger persona. The rest, as they say, is history.
#1 Her trainer wanted her to stop smiling
Finally got to meet Bayley trainer from Los Banos California Mr Jason Styles himself really cool guy did a thumb up and big smile
PS: his match was enjoyable to watch https://t.co/K1ctFG7Gr1
Anyone who has watched Holy Foley can tell that the biggest challenge Noelle Foley had was staying in character because of her smile. If she smiled, then it completely negated anything she was attempting to do to her opponent.
After all, how could fans be convinced by her if she was trying to beat down an opponent, but smiling in the process? This leads us to Bayley. If there was ever a characteristic that could best define the former RAW Women's Champion's in-ring persona, it was her ability to smile. Without a doubt, this is what makes her so recognisable, and shows fans how happy she is to be a WWE Superstar.
After learning her trade, her first trainer, Jason Styles, told her to 'stop smiling so much'. Smiling can be a problem if you're trying to convince the fanbase that you are in any kind of danger; you shouldn't be smiling when you are receiving a beating. However, the former Ms Money in the Bank was able to keep her smiling personality while making fans believe in her work.