In years past, the winners of the men's and women's Royal Rumble – which, in 2024, were Cody Rhodes and Bayley – were afforded one of the grandest prizes in professional wrestling: a headlining spot at WrestleMania.
Sure, technically, there were always debates between fans over which matches should headline which night, or if another match was more worthy of the choice s, but ever since WrestleMania went to two nights in front of a live crowd in 2021, one night would be headlined by the woman's Royal Rumble winner, Bianca Belair in 2021 and Ronda Rousey in 2022 – yes Kein Owens versus “Stone Cold” Steve Austin headline Night 1 but that match wasn't an advertised match – and the other would be headlined by the men's winner, Edge in 2021 and Brock Lesnar in 2022.
And then, in 2023, everything changed when the duo of Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens were afforded a chance to take on The Usos and forced Rhea Ripley versus Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women's Championship into the penultimate spot on Night 2.
With The Rock and Roman Reigns set to headline Night 1 versus Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins, it looks like that trend of Royal Rumble winners headline the “Showcase of the Immortals” will be broken once more, but in Baylye's opinion it shouldn't have to. No, if the former leader of Damage CTRL had her way, women would be afforded a chance to headline both nights of WrestleMania, as she noted in an interview with Alex McCarthy and The Daily Mail.
“I would never say that the women shouldn't be main-eventing a WrestleMania, especially at the caliber of Rhea and Becky. Becky has had an insane career already and Rhea, her rise has been so quick. Fans love her,” Bayley told the Daily Mail. “But she's still so young. Rhea, you got time to main event WrestleMania some other time, because this year is mine and IYO's year. This year has been the role model's year, starting at Royal Rumble, OK? And I've been doing this for a long time, and I've been fighting for this for a long time. Becky's had her main event spot, so it's time for the role model, ding dong hello Bayley, to take this main event spot. You guys can have the first night, and I'll take the second night. You know, we can do that. You never had two women main event both shows at WrestleMania. Why can't it be this year? It's the biggest WrestleMania of the year. With all due respect, I would like to take that spot. Rhea, you're very young.”
Unfortunately for Bayley, it appears incredibly unlikely that either women's title match will main event WrestleMania 40, as both Rhodes-Reigns matches feel destined for the top spots in Philadelphia. Still, WWE has been known to bill more than one match as a main event, so semantically speaking, it's likely Bayley will still earn that honor even if she doesn't go on last.
Bayley is proud to have supported Mercedes Mone's AEW debut.
Elsewhere in her conversation with Alex McCarthy, Bayley touched on making her way up to “Bo$$ton” to see Mercedes Mone debut at AEW Big Business.
Discussing her decision to show support, even if it didn't happen on camera, Bayley celebrated her friend's big moment, noting that she will always be there for her, just like how Mone has always been there for her in the past.
“She deserves that. I mean, we all know everything she's done for the industry. To me, it's like, it doesn't matter where she is or what country she is in or what company she works for. She makes wrestling special because she's so passionate about it, and she loves it so much. So just her being back in a ring I think just brought the wrestling world together. That's something I couldn't miss,” Bayley told The Daily Mail. “There's certain people in your life and in your career that you share moments with that that bond you for life. For us, that started from the moment we met to our first practice match we had the second day we knew each other, and then to Brooklyn. It's like, when you share those things together, it's like, alright, well, we're bonded for life. I will always be there for you. So no matter where she is, I will always be there for her just like she's been for me.”
While Bayley and Mone likely won't get to wrestle side-by-side at any point in the not-too-distant future, when it comes to professional wrestling, nothing is ever truly off the table until one or both performers are never able to go again, as who would have predicted Edge and Christian Cage would be working matches in 2024 after they were both forced to medically retire last decade? If Bayley keeps working matches at a high level, who knows, maybe she'll be reunited with her Adam Copeland in the future too?
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