10 Wrestlers Struggling To Prove Their Worth To WWE
3. Bayley
WWE has a thing about geeks, or performers who otherwise show that bit too much enthusiasm. Prior to his career-saving heel turn, Sami Zayn was dismissed as such for his grating preparedness.
Zack Ryder, who seems to spend every last dollar he earns on WWE memorabilia, is perhaps the best example of this. AJ Lee, too, was ridiculed for marking her maiden Divas Title victory with a tattoo. You must dedicate your entire being to WWE, in order to make it - but you won't make it if you are seen to dedicate your life to it.
WWE appear to have worked themselves into a shoot with the Superfan Bayley character, who incidentally cannot possibly be a Superfan anymore, provided she isn't a complete masochist. Perhaps Bayley was thought so sympathetic that, while used sacrificially in the interim, she would generate grassroots support from her ardent fanbase.
This approach - if indeed that was the thinking, and not another case of counterproductive nerd-bashing - has not panned out. There are only so many times in which you can antagonise your customer into action. The fans have received Bayley as an abject loser not worth the emotional investment. Management, in turn, has reflected this mentality by fatalistically positioning Bayley as...well. "Positioning" suggests the sort of forethought which doesn't apply at all. Bayley just makes up the numbers on Monday nights. Sometimes a feud with Sasha Banks is teased. Mostly it isn't.
It's only Bayley, is the mentality.