Bayley: The Villain We Love

DING DONG, HELLO? 

Bayley, Bayley, Bayley. If you search the web long enough, it's highly possible you'll come across a conspiracy theory that says Bayley's heel turn was so powerful it sent the world into a year long confinement for safety measures. One of the most beloved babyfaces in WWE's history suddenly shifting gears and switching lanes was a high risk / unknown reward type of situations. As if that wasn't already frightening enough, the rebirth of Bayley's character happened at the precise time where wrestling went through the most unprecedented and unnatural shift: no crowd. Everyone knows that wrestling, while it has the sports component that doesn't change regardless of what's surrounding it, has a very specific type of entertainment that thrives from crowd reaction. If a soccer team can be pushed to victory with the chants of a crowd, a wrestling match can be changed and rearranged multiple times depending on the direction the crowd would like it to go.

Without that support and response, it was hard for every superstar, regardless of what their character was, to understand the real impact their actions were having. However, a select few rose to the challenge and at the top of that pyramid, perhaps even taking the MVP trophy, is Bayley. Without fans in attendance, she was able to try everything that crossed her mind. No one could've predicted that who once was a quiet storm in the women's locker room became the most obnoxiously loud presence that, with a simple microphone in hand, filled an entire building with her energy.

During what will be known as the Performance Centre Era, Bayley and Sasha Banks were the backbone of the entire company. They touched bases on every brand, held every title, created some of the most memorable moments of that Era and revitalized their characters while making others rise to their level. The duo seemed to be having the most fun they've ever had in their careers simply by turning up the volume on every aspect of their characters. However, that brought a question: what about the fans?

From the Performance Centre to the Thunderdome, COVID restrictions strictly forbade fans in attendance up until Wrestlemania 37. Being one of the select few to carry WWE through the most difficult time of the company's existence, fans expected to see Bayley be "rewarded" with a Wrestlemania match of her own - just like the others were. Pitches were made, legends names were mentioned left and right over on social media with some of them actually stepping up to the Role Model's Slammy Award Winner Twitter banter. Yet all fan efforts seemed to hit a wall that refused to move and, upon her disappearance from TV for weeks, all types of rumours started making rounds on social media. One of them noted that, very likely, Bayley would have a special episode of the talk show she started months ago but fans didn't think that'd be enough.

Wrestlemania Night 1 came and nothing had been announced for Bayley until... She appeared in all of her talk show glory, with two pairs of glasses as if she was ready for the rain that fell and the sun that didn't shine. Her role? Antagonize the official hosts as if they had, somehow, forgotten to notify her that she would be a third co-host. And this is where all Bayley's tireless hard work throughout the fan-less year collected it's fruits. Despite the fact that the hosts were members of the 2020 class of Hall of Famer's and two beloved members of the WWE Universe, the obnoxious heel that grew up without fan reactions got the biggest cheers.

While her time of appearance was limited, Bayley did the most of what she had and produced "palate cleanser" moments on an otherwise sensory overloaded Wrestlemania. On Night 2, Bayley came to the stage to demand praise from her unofficial co-hosts as she, in her words, carried their hosting duties for both nights all by herself, and was showered with seemingly all the pyro available in the stadium. However, the Bella Twins appeared to defend Titus O'Neill and Hulk Hogan and the response to that moment, where the twins tossed Bayley down the ramp like a cartoon character would fall to her demise, received an overwhelmingly loud booing across the stadium.

Bayley's role this Wrestlemania was the same she had throughout the fan-less shows: antagonize the stars, the WWE Universe and Michael Cole in specific. In a short two night tale, the villain received the comic ending she deserved after her obnoxious actions. And yet, as every fan could've already predicted, Bayley was cheered. Against legends, against all odds. Because Bayley is a rare case of being a character so beloved it doesn't matter where she stands, who she attacks, what she says or what she does. Her consistency is rewarded in the trust the company places onto her by giving her legends to play with and returning stars, as well as new ones, to help them get the ball running. And Bayley's fanbase, as the crowd reaction on the first Wrestlemania of the rest of our lives confirmed it, is the entire WWE Universe.

For that and so much more,

thank you, Pam.