5 Potential Opponents for Bayley After WrestleMania

Bayley is expected to return either at or the night after WrestleMania

Bayley is widely rumored to be making her return as soon as next weekend at WrestleMania. While her injury was highly unfortunate, her absence has allowed the creative team to focus on the other women in the division.

WWE has been building new stars and fresh matchups that will be waiting when the former SmackDown Women's Champion returns. While there is still a lot of work to be done, she will return to a different division than the one she left, offering some interesting feuds that could come to fruition in the coming months.

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The following article outlines five potential opponents for the former champion either immediately upon her return or several months down the line. Regardless of the direction WWE takes, her comeback will be welcomed at a time when things are flatter than they have been in the past.

#5. Bayley could reignite her feud with Bianca Belair

Bayley was in in the middle of a long feud with then-SmackDown Women's Champion Bianca Belair when she suffered an injury while training for an upcoming match.

As Belair will likely defeat RAW Women's Champion Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 38, it's logical that WWE will look to pick things up where the two left off.

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The only questions that remain are when and how they will reignite this feud. It's very likely that fans could see her return to attack Bianca on RAW the night after WrestleMania during a championship celebration of some kind.

Given the chemistry the two have shown in previous matches, this will easily be a marquee match at upcoming events over the next couple of months.

#4. She could challenge Becky Lynch

The reputation of both women as members of the "Four Horsewomen" has been well-documented. Should the creative team decide to go in this direction, there is a great story to be told around their history and career trajectories.

The one thing WWE will need to figure out going into this feud will be who is the babyface and who is the heel. While Lynch has always been more popular as an edgy hero, she is just starting to come around as a credible heel.

Additionally, while Bayley has reinvented herself as a heel, she is the type of villain that has had her share of fans. So it's an interesting call that WWE will have to make in order to ensure the talent is cast in the correct roles.

#3. She could be a high profile opponent for Ronda Rousey

These two met during Ronda Rousey's initial WWE run in 2019. And, similar to Bianca Belair, it's likely that Rousey will walk out of WrestleMania victorious, meaning that she will quickly find herself in need of challengers once her program with Flair is complete.

With Bayley's reinvented character, she would be a great challenger and capable of getting passable matches out of Rousey. However, WWE needs to be careful on this one.

If the goal is to keep Rousey as a babyface, this isn't the right match, as the returning challenger will likely receive the lion's share of the cheers. However, Rousey has shown herself more than capable of being a good heel if that's the direction WWE wants to go.

#2. She could start a fight with Charlotte Flair

Similar to Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair is also a member of the "Horsewomen" and has a lengthy history of matches against her peers. With Bayley's new persona, this would be an interesting feud to go back to.

In this scenario, Bayley would definitely have to play the babyface, as there's no plausible scenario at this time in which Charlotte could assume the role of the hero.

#1. Bayley and Sasha Banks could resume their rivalry

Of all of her past opponents, Bayley has the deepest history with former friend and fellow "Horsewoman" Sasha Banks. This could lead to the argument that the two have met too many times already and a renewed feud wouldn't seem fresh.

However, one could also argue that WWE never recaptured the magic the two had during their feud in NXT. Also, while Bayley turned on Banks after a solid run with the WWE Tag Team Champions, their feud was a bit rushed and wasn't as good as it could have been.

This is another opportunity to create something that leans into WWE's and NXT's long history while telling a story that makes the matches compelling enough for fans to anticipate the payoff.