Hotseat: Bayley
THE BAYLEY WE all knew a couple years ago would have surely celebrated topping the PWI “Women’s 100” with a round of hugs for everyone in the WWE women’s locker room. These days, you’re far more likely to find the WWE’s self-professed “Role Model” extending her arms to pat herself on the back—or to clobber an opponent with her title belt.
Even more than a year after turning her back on her legion of admirers, it’s still hard for many fans to agree with Bayley’s methods. But what they can’t disagree with is the results they’ve reaped: the longest reign as Smackdown Women’s champion in history; multiple successful title defenses (including against four opponents at WrestleMania); a second reign with the Women’s tag team championship; the most compelling WWE storyline of 2020; and, now, being chosen by Pro Wrestling Illustrated staff as the best female wrestler in the world.
Bayley’s career resurgence came after many fans and observers began to doubt whether the California native would ever fulfill the potential that was on display during her time in WWE’s developmental system, NXT. There, she and Sasha Banks helped put the black-and-yellow brand on the map with a memorable rivalry that earned them the 2015 PWI Match of the Year.
It took a reunion—and a subsequent falling out—with Banks, and the challenges of performing in the pandemic era, to help Bayley finally find her voice in WWE. And, as she explained to PWI Senior Writer Al Castle in this interview, that voice turned out to be an obnoxious one.
First of all, congratulations on being our #1 “Women’s 100.” I’ll ask you what I asked Jon Moxley a few weeks ago when I interviewed him about being the #1 wrestler in the “500”: Did we get this right?
