7 Ways WWE Have Made Bayley Look Stupid
Less than a year into her main roster run, Bayley has become a joke.
Bayley should probably be the biggest female wrestler in the world right now. Her NXT underdog saga is one of the most organic, believable stories WWE have told this decade, and it helped build a massive fanbase that followed her to the main roster when she debuted at Battleground 2016. Unfortunately, Bayley's subsequent career has been one misstep after another, and her stock is now lower than ever before.
Extreme Rules 2017 saw Bayley succumb to Alexa Bliss in a dismal five-minute loss, cementing her lowly status. Instead of using her inherent likeability, spirit, and appeal among younger demographics to turn Bayley into a female John Cena, WWE have made a joke of her, and it's all their own doing.
She's a former Raw Women's Champion, but Bayley's main roster booking has been wholly destructive. Once one of the company's most popular athletes, she was met with widespread indifference at Extreme Rules. WWE have somehow managed to make the audience stop caring about a white-hot babyface commodity, and while it's too early to write Bayley's career off, she has looked nothing but dumb, incompetent, and cripplingly naive lately.
How did she fall so low? Let's take a look.
7. Too Much, Too Fast
Bayley left NXT as one of the most popular wrestlers in the brand’s history, but it wasn’t an overnight thing. Her journey started in January 2013, but she didn’t capture the Women’s Championship until two-and-a-half years later, and when she finally bettered Sasha Banks to reach the top of the mountain, it was a hugely cathartic moment.
Why? Because WWE took their time. Bayley was a lovable, scrappy underdog that got by on heart and determination alone, but these qualities weren’t enough to topple the division’s more devious personalities a first. She grew with time, however: every setback made her stronger, and eventually, her heart and determination were enough to score the ultimate victory.
The fans gradually became invested in the character by following this long, gut-wrenching journey, and that’s why it worked. Her lengthy road to the title built investment, but WWE decided to forgo this on the main roster, and Bayley was thrown into the hunt for gold right away. Her eventual title victory came just six months after joining Raw, giving main roster viewers little time to form the same kind of emotional attachment that Bayley had earned in NXT, thus squandering a potentially great underdog tale.