For Smackdown Women’s Champion Bayley, life is good. WrestleMania 36 saw the former hugger defend her championship against all comers. Her friendship with Sasha Banks is seemingly stronger than ever, with the Boss helping her dispatch Lacey Evans at the ending of that Elimination match.
Talking with Sporting News, Bayley looks back at turning heel in what has to be one of the most significant years in her career. When asked about turning heel, Bayley was open to the challenge, even though it came with unexpected hurdles.
When I first realized I was going to be doing this, I was so happy. I was like, “This is a challenge I’ve always wanted to do.” I always felt like I’d be good at (it), and I could maybe do even better than the other character. I was really excited. Once I started going on it, I was like, “Oh, dude, this is so hard. This is not what I expected it to be. I have to learn even more, and I have to just go about it a totally different way.
On top of the heel changes, Bayley has had to deal with what we’re all dealing with, a WWE without a crowd. For Bayley, this stretch of time has been “crazy, but in the best way.”
I think it turned out to be such a cool experience and knowing that you can pull that off and (WWE) pulled off WrestleMania. It was something that I was looking forward to all week. I was doing nothing all day at home and just doing my routine, but this was something for me that it felt like a party.
Bayley is also often asked about a seemingly inevitable second feud with current running buddy Sasha Banks. Bayley is hopeful that they can eventually recapture that TakeOver: Brooklyn magic.
It’s something that I’ve always dreamed about, especially after Takeover five years ago. That was supposed to be our first match. Afterward, I was like, “Oh, my God, when are we ever going to get to do this again? I’m going to miss her so much.” She’s my favorite person to be in the ring with. Luckily, throughout my time on ‘”Raw” and “SmackDown,” I’ve been able to share every WrestleMania with her and almost every pay-per-view. We’ve been tag team champions. I’m so grateful that we’re doing stuff together every single year. That’s definitely something I would love to do again before we both retire.
RELATED: WWE’s Women’s Roster Unites For Don’t Rush Challenge
