The Bayley Saga Is FINALLY Over... (WWE News)

Bayley returned on WWE Raw.

by Andrew Pollard
WWE Raw Bayley Lyra Valkyria
WWE

After months of speculation over her future, Bayley finally made her long-awaited WWE return on last night's Raw.

There, the Role Model appeared during the triple-threat Money in the Bank qualifying match between Lyra Valkyria, Sol Ruca, and Maxxine Dupri. After Lyra had hit the Nightwing on Dupri, Bayley pulled the referee out of the ring to stop the three-count. With Valkyria distracted, Ruca hit her Sol Snatcher finish on Lyra for the 1-2-3.

Post-match, Bayley attacked Lyra in the ring, took the assault to the outside, and attempted to put the Irish grappler through the announce table with what looked to be a powerbomb... before Valkyria was able to escape and run off into the crowd.

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This return was the first time Bayley had been seen on WWE programming since Saturday Night's Main Event in July, where she lost to Lyra Valkyria and was then brutally attacked by Valkyria post-match.

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While the four-time Women's Champion hasn't been seen on TV since that attack, she did work a couple of house shows in the immediate aftermath of SNME. However, that absence from TV sparked plenty of rumblings that Bayley was set to depart WWE when her existing contract was up later this year. And those rumblings only had more fuel added to them by the 37-year-old teasing a move to AEW on her social media accounts.

Last week saw reports that Bayley had quietly re-signed with WWE, and that her return to TV was imminent. While there has been no confirmation that she has in fact penned a new deal with the market leader, her Raw return seems to indicate that is the case.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.