Bayley Knew Pivotal Moment In WWE Career Would Be Bittersweet
Bayley is reflecting on a big moment in her career when a significant change took place.
As a former four-time WWE Women’s Champion who has been with the company for over a decade, Bayley is one of the most respected women in all of pro wrestling. However, when telling her story as a WWE superstar, there are the days of life before the inflatable “buddies” and life after.
During the first half of Bayley’s WWE career when she was on NXT and then on the main roster by mid-2016, she was known as a likable babyface with a big smile and somebody who was idolized by the kids in the audience. As part of her entrance, inflatable “Bayley buddies” were by her side.
When it was time to do the unthinkable and turn heel in October 2019, Bayley cut those inflatable “buddies” and they haven’t been seen since then. For the next four years, she was in heel mode before going back to being a babyface around the time of her 2024 Royal Rumble win.
Bayley made an appearance on the Rob Brown Show where she spoke about how she knew it was time to move on from the inflatable buddies.
“There was a moment, I knew it was going to be best for me in the long run, but there really was a moment before I went out where I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ Not in the sense of ‘am I making the right decision?’ But in the sense of, ‘This is the last time I’m going to come out to this song and this is the last time I will have this entrance.’
It was bittersweet and sad to see them go type thing, but I needed to move on and break that relationship off. It was time.”
Putting An End To The “Bayley Buddies” Was A Dangerous Experience
As the discussion continued, Bayley noted that WWE created a makeshift ax for her and while going through it rehearsal, it ended up being a dangerous process.
“It was the weirdest thing, and they ended up putting it in one of my Mattel action figures, which I thought was hilarious. They had to customize an axe for me. It was an axe head, the wooden part, and then they somehow welded some blades on there. I don’t know why they didn’t give me a real axe, maybe they were worried about me using it. It was the strangest thing.”
“The first time I practiced it, swinging it around, the blade flew off, so it was very dangerous.”
The year 2024 has been a big one for Bayley since she won the Royal Rumble, and then the WWE Women’s Title at WrestleMania 40. While she failed to win the title back from Nia Jax at Bad Blood, she remains one of the top female stars on the Smackdown brand.