Bayley looks back on the pandemic era of WWE and her remarkable run throughout it.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, Bayley was the reigning WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship. She went on to hold the title for the first few months of this challenging period. In doing so, she and Sasha Banks helped carry WWE through an unprecedented time.
Speaking with Fightful‘s Sean Ross Sapp, Bayley reflected on being the “pandemic MVP” for WWE.
“I think it just kind of happened,” Bayley said. “Like, I don’t know if they honestly…I can tell you, they didn’t make a decision where it was like, ‘Yeah, we’re gonna rely on Bailey and Sasha for this stuff.’ It just kind of happened. I think they saw how much we were killing it, you know, and how much that we were able to not only do what they asked, but excel and like, give them more and more and more. That honestly, as weird as it sounds, is probably some of the best times of my career and probably the most rewarding.”
When asked to name some of her favorite moments, Bayley reflected on some of the memories that stood out the most to her.
“I don’t think I have like, a favorite moment,” Bayley said. “I have so many memories, especially in the back. TJ Wilson and I laugh about it all the time, because there’s so many crazy memories. Having a WrestleMania at the Performance Center was insane. But I think some of the proudest moments I had…the stuff of the Kabuki Warriors, the tag matches I had with them.
“I loved the stuff with [Kairi Sane] and Asuka, but also…like, I had two Hell in a Cell matches in front of nobody, in front of no fans, within the span of a year. So I think those are two of my highlights.”
Bayley On The Return Of Fans
In the same interview, Bayley discussed the return of fans and recalled how she was disappointed that she missed it. She then jumped ahead to the debut of Damage CTRL.
“So let’s just start there. That was the stinger that really messed me up,” she said. “After everything I’d done, I didn’t get to wrestle at WrestleMania. So like, that was the one time we were in front of fans, and then we were back in front of screens.
“Then they put me back on, and then I got hurt. So it was boiling inside for the longest time while I was injured. That’s why I knew I needed to bring in some reinforcements to make sure that that would never happen again. [Dakota Kai] and [IYO SKY], I love you.”
The full interview is available here:
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