There was a time in the not-too-distant past when Bayley looked like WWE's next great babyface.
Coming up in NXT with her inflatable buddies and signature ponytail, the friendlier half of The Boss ‘n' Hug Connection made waves in 2019 when she turned heel in a major way, chopping off her signature hairstyle before taking an ax handle to her inflatable friends to prove she meant business.
Discussing the situation with Cody Rhodes on his new What Do You Wanna Talk About podcast, Bayley revealed why it was her idea to turn heel when she did and how it set her up for an incredible professional wrestling career.
“Yes, I was more so nervous because I thought, what if it didn't work? But, I was also in that spot where that character, the fan favorite bubbly baby face wasn't working either. So it was kind of like I was at a crossroads of, if I never try this then i'll never know. I always, as a fan, wanted to do everything . I wanna be a good guy, I wanna be a bad guy, I wanna be in a love story, I wanna do the craziest things cause I want all of that experience. I was a little nervous when I first started because I thought I would get a lot of female Cena comments, which is the best compliment I could ever get in that character, but I also was like, I wanna try different things,” Bayley told Cody Rhodes via Fightful.
“So, turning to a bad guy was my decision because I felt that I was going nowhere and the fact that they actually wanted to go with it, it was perfect timing. I cut my hair off and had to go in to see if it was okay. They cut off my whole gimmick, and luckily, they approved of it and liked it. I just think that is really when I mean, I had so much fun with that character but being able to embrace myself and my own personality in a real way — and I always try to connect who I really am with my character, and it just felt like I was growing as a person inside. Being able to share that with the audience, it just felt like the right time, and it was scary, but I think that's what made it good.”
Would it have been interesting to see how babyface Bayley would have fared long-term on the main roster instead of cutting the experiment short in favor of her heel turn? Sure thing, fans really like Bayley's current babyface run, and who knows, maybe there still would have been a Damage CTRL and all of her other career highlights, but from a positive perspective. Still, considering Bayley is a darn good heel, it all turned out okay in the end, as no one is going to accuse the WWE Woman's Champion of having an underwhelming main roster run.
Bayley reflects on her relationship with John Cena in WWE
While Bayley didn't want to become the next John Cena in the WWE Universe, that doesn't mean she doesn't have serious admiration and appreciation for the genuine article, even if he, at times, can be hard to see.
Discussing what it's been like to work with Cena during her WWE career in an interview with USA Weekly, Bayley put “The Face That Runs the Place” over for his willingness to help out younger talent, with his advice helping to shape the “Role Model” fans see today.
“I said, ‘John, if there's anything you think is missing from the women's division or anything specific you think I should work on, what should it be?' It turned into this hour-long conversation, and it all came down to storytelling. What's the story we're trying to tell tonight? Don't think about what they want, what he wants, what you want. It's all about storytelling,” Bayley explained via Fightful. “He wants to give back in a way that not everybody does. He has such unique information that he can share. It brings us back to why we got into it. Having him around to have conversations has been really great.”
Though Bayley and Cena have never actually shared the ring together for a mixed tag match, they have shared locker rooms, busses, planes, and venues all over the world together for professional and publicity purposes. If Bayley was able to use that time to learn from one of the best to ever do it, well, then she did it right, as with his retirement tour set to come to an end in December of 2025, there's only so much time left for anyone to sit at his learning tree.
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