Bayley Shoots On How WWE Fans Turned Her Heel
Turning heel was an uncomfortable reality for Bayley at the time, but a WWE must.
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.
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.