Bayley still finding her place in WWE during first solo run in years (2024)

WWE Press Junkets can be a bit a mad house. Dozens of interviewers and reporters, from media outlets across the globe, are herded into a hotel ball room and then set loose like it’s the Kentucky Derby. All of us jockeying for position as we strategically place ourselves into separate lines to (hopefully) speak with the WWE Superstars of our choosing.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a scene out of Mad Max or anything like that. Although we are technically competitors, many of us have bonded through the years over our love of professional wrestling.

There’s actually a great deal of team work at these events. Whether it’s lining up someone’s camera shot for them or even brain storming interview questions. We all do better, when we all do better. But at the end of the day, it’s all about getting as much content as you possibly can, which can be very difficult given the sheer mass of media present and a very strict time window.

It can get hot (especially under all the lights). It can get stressful and it can frustrating. Now imagine you’re the WWE PR team of three trying to keep all these sheep in line. Imagine you’re the talent who has to tend to as many sheep as possible and give each one the same attention and energy as the next.

It is a daunting task, quiet frankly, and one that was met with the utmost professionalism from everyone involved, including the reigning WWE Women’s Champion.

During my time at Cageside Seats I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with Bayley on a number of occasions, whether it be over Zoom or in a press conference setting, but never face-to-face. This was technically our first time meeting in person but you’d have thought we were old friends the way we just jumped into a conversation about her insane juggling skills and an unpaid cornhole tab to her nephew that now totals over $730.

She just has this affable charm and positive attitude that makes it hard to believe she was one of the company’s top heels for nearly five years.

It was incredibly easy for me to lose track of time, but after noticing that I had already eaten up 90 seconds of the three minutes I promised WWE PR I would take up (sorry for going over time Lara), we tossed the cornhole conversation to the side and got down to the business of discussing SummerSlam.

It’s an event that’s become a milestone marker for Bayley. It was two years ago inside Nashville’s Nissan Stadium that her former faction, Damage CTRL, made their surprise debut. The first big splash of the Triple H regime in WWE.

A year later in Detroit, Bayley’s goal of elevating her teammates to main event stars came to fruition when IYO SKY pinned Bianca Belair to become the new WWE Women’s Champion. A night many will look back on and remember IYO’s successful MITB cash-in, but I’ll never forget watching Bayley run what seemed like 150 yards down Ford Field to throw the three key blocks that made it all possible.

It was a plan that was - almost - executed to perfection.

“IYO made fun of me that night,” Bayley said with a smile on her face. “The plan was that I would come out with the briefcase and hit the girls. So, I should be in front to make way for her to get to the ring. But she’s so fast and I got my knee injury, so I was running as fast as I could and I just see her pass me. I’m like, ‘Dude! I’m supposed to be in front of you.’”

Once she reached the ring area, SKY finally slowed down enough to let her blocker arrive and clear her way to the end zone.

After the bell had rung, it was all hugs and smiles. Especially after Dakota Kai, who had been off TV for months with a knee injury, surprised her teammates by showing up for the celebration.

Backstage Bayley and SKY would joke about her getting absolutely boat raced to the ring and soak in what had to be one of the more enjoyable nights of the group’s tenure.

This year’s SummerSlam will emanate from the banks of Lake Erie as WWE once again enters an NFL battleground by taking over Cleveland Browns Stadium. The spotlight this time around, will be entirely on Bayley. A position she’s still trying to get used to being in once again.

Prior to her two year story arc with Damage CTRL, the WWE Women’s Champion was on the sidelines for more than a year after she tore her ACL during a training session in the summer of 2021. Her injury came just as WWE was beginning to transition from the COVID-era ThunderDome shows to being back out on the road in front of live audiences.

Her solo run that began in the weeks leading up to her win at the Royal Rumble, marked the Role Model’s first foray as a babyface since she savagely murdered her Bayley Buddies in October of 2019. A portrayal of a vastly different hero than the loveable hugger than won over the hearts of the NXT faithful years ago.

“I’ve had to reconnect with the fans differently. Although they were ready for [the babyface turn] and it felt like they were super into the story. They were ready for me to win the Royal Rumble and the title, but it’s like we’ve had to find our place again. I’ve been here so long that I don’t feel I ever lost [her core fanbase], but it’s like we lost what made us work together, in a way.”

As Bayley has forged ahead with trying to rekindle that relationship with her adoring public, she’s also had to navigate an ever changing locker room. Chock full of talented veterans, global superstars and hungry newcomers ready to prove themselves.

All of them, especially Nia Jax, aiming to be where Bayley sits right now. A top the SmackDown Women’s Division as the WWE Women’s Champion.

Bayley was widely considered to be one of the MVP’s of the pandemic era of wrestling, both on screen and behind the scenes. Consistently receiving praise for trying to help as many people as possible get through what was an extremely difficult time. She has built and earned a reputation of being a truly selfless performer.

When others may have come back from a devastating knee injury and focused on rebuilding their own brand, Bayley chose to raise up others upon her return two years ago. And that goes beyond her Damage CTRL teammates as she played a key role in Bianca Belair’s ascension to becoming a main event superstar.

It’s a truly admirable trait, but one that Bayley feels has been to her own detriment at times.

“It has been a little difficult to learn how to put the attention on me.” Bayley said. “Part of our division needs that [selflessness] in a way, but I feel like I miss opportunities because of that. I’ve noticed that I’m not on the posters or I’m not in commercials or I’m not on these talk shows and I think it’s because I am not selfish and I need to be.”

Noticing the giant SummerSlam poster behind us, we began to joke about there being plenty of space on the right side to feature the WWE Women’s Champion. To which I say, digital editors... do your thing!

Putting together an all women’s group is something that Bayley had to really push for behind the scenes in WWE, and if it wasn’t for Triple H taking over as the Chief Content Officer, it very likely would not have happened.

It’s a bit ironic that the woman that advocated harder than anyone for female factions has now hit a solo juncture in her career as team-ups have become common practice.

Just last night on SmackDown we saw Blair Davenport align with Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn, setting up a likely reunion of the Big Three - Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill and Naomi.

Over on Raw the trio of Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark are on a collision course with Damage CTRL after their recent battles with Lyra Valkyria and her new friends Kayden Carter and Katana Chance.

While Bayley would not take credit for being the catalyst for a suddenly booming trios division, she is interested to see the how things play out. Slightly concerned that some of the women involved could get lost in the sauce, so to speak.

“My main thing with Damage CTRL was like, okay, I can be the talker. I’ve been here longer than you guys, but I do not wanna water down who you are and what you bring to the ring. So if that doesn’t happen [with these factions], if there isn’t just one big standout, but all of them equal to make this strong for [the division], then it’ll be a really, really good thing.”

Catch WWE SummerSlam live on Peaco*ck tonight, starting at 7pm ET/6pm CT as Bayley gets set to put her WWE Women’s Championship on the line against Nia Jax. The Countdown Pre-Show will air on all WWE social channels starting at 4pm ET/3pm CT.

You can follow Rick Ucchino on X/Twitter and stay tuned for more in depth interviews with WWE and AEW talent here on Cageside Seats.