Bayley is one of the most beloved faces in WWE, but she says her heel run was needed to extend her career.
Speaking to 8 News Now, Bayley reflected on her heel run. Bayley said that she felt like she lost a “genuine connection” she had with the fans. However, she said the shift was the smartest thing for her career. (H/t Andrew Thompson of POST Wrestling)
“I don’t know. Sometimes I think about where I would be with the fans because when I became a bad guy, I felt like I lost a genuine connection with fans where it was like, ‘Oh, they don’t know how they feel about me or whether they still wanna like me or what it was,” Bayley said. “It was a genuine disconnection.
“So sometimes I still think about, man, I wonder if I never would’ve done that, where I would be? Or if I’d be better or if I’d be off worse but then, I think about times like during the pandemic, I don’t know if that character would have been able to last through the pandemic and have the type of success that I did then, you know?”
Bayley Credits WWE For Allowing Her To Explore
Bayley went on to say that she credited WWE for allowing her to explore and do something different. She stated that the change helped extend her career.
“So, I always credit them allowing me to have that moment and them allowing me to explore my world,” Bayley said. “Because I didn’t feel that what I was doing at the time was gonna extend my career any longer so I knew I needed to turn that page and just make something different happen. As a fan, I wanted to do everything. I wanna be the bad guy, I wanna be the good guy, I wanna have all the crazy storylines. So that was the first taste of doing something different for myself. I cater to a lot of fans coming in, but that was something I felt I needed for my career so, I don’t regret that at all.”
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