10 Wrestlers You Can’t Believe WWE Ruined

2. Bayley

alexa bliss bayley
WWE.com

All hope is not yet lost.

Bayley's main roster run has been a disaster - almost a singular indictment of the main roster creative process. This was Bayley - the last of the white meat babyfaces - and WWE still ballsed it up.

Debuting her at Battleground 2016 on a one-off basis was a bit baffling, in retrospect. She was presented as Sasha Bank's little mate from the minor leagues and returned to whence she came, sent back to the NXT sea, thereby sending a message to the more casual audience that she wasn't ready to hit the ground running in the big time. Which was mixed, given that she won the match. The confusion deepened when Bayley arrived on the main roster proper; here was this underdog character, the only Horsewomen to have missed out on the 2015 "Women's Revolution," as a presumed result of her not being kayfabe good enough. She then entered the title picture and was very quickly successful in it, burning through and wasting an incredibly basic, natural story arc with a careless breeze. The character itself was off, too. She retained her childlike traits (that is an understatement) but was far more bratty than endearing.

But all is not yet lost. The teased rivalry with Banks represents an opportunity for WWE to press the reset button. Can WWE be trusted to even approach the standard set in 2015?

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!