Bayley Shoots On How WWE Fans Turned Her Heel

Turning heel was an uncomfortable reality for Bayley at the time, but a WWE must.

by Jamie Kennedy
Bayley WWE
WWE.com

Bayley has revealed that it was her idea to turn heel quickly in 2019, and that Vince McMahon was willing to listen to her ideas when she felt that fans had totally turned against her "huggable" babyface persona at live events/on TV.

The Damage CTRL leader told Ariel Helwani and BT Sport that the turn "felt natural". She also completely understands why regular viewers were tired of her NXT character, and why change was necessary if she wanted to thrive on an increasingly-competitive female roster.

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Going rogue was a survival instinct at the time, but also something Bayley had wanted to try on when she first inked a WWE contract - finding the right time to pull the trigger on that was difficult. The company (and Bayley herself) got there in the end by bravely trying to stay ahead of the curve when the boos rolled in.

Bayley was booked to break down in tears following her SmackDown Women's Title loss to Charlotte Flair at Hell In A Cell 2019. Mere days later, she debuted a fresh look on TV and regained the belt in a hot match/segment that got everyone talking.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.