Bayley is one of the most popular wrestlers in WWE currently. The real-life Pamela Rose Martinez joined the wrestling behemoth back in 2012, developing her ‘The Hugger’ persona in WWE’s developmental brand NXT. The persona was basically of a happy-go-lucky girl who always stayed positive and motivated herself and those around her by giving them a hug. The gimmick helped Bayley gain a lot of popularity among the NXT fanbase and that coupled with her exceptional in-ring skills led to Bayley becoming the face of the Black and Gold brand by winning the NXT Women’s Championship. The Huggable One was also hailed as the John Cena of the women’s division, given how well she was able to connect with the younger section of the WWE Universe and her never-give-up attitude.
However, Bayley’s momentum fizzled out once she made the move up to the main roster due to no fault of her own. WWE’s 50-50 booking of the Women’s division and scripting of not-so-good segments like ‘Bayley, this is your life’ did more harm to Bayley’s presentation than good. However, Bayley reached a new level of stardom when she turned heel in 2019, shedding off everything that resembled her previous gimmick: the ponytail, the inflatable Bayley buddies and the attire. She has since then won the WWE Women’s Grand Slam, being the first woman in WWE history to do so and has also taken part in historic matches, like the first Women’s Championship match to have taken place in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Bayley was born on June 15, 1989, in Newark, California. She was introduced to wrestling at a young age and grew up in a family of wrestlers. Bayley's father was a high school wrestling coach, and she would frequently join him in sessions and matches. She also watched wrestling on television and grew to admire performers such as Shawn Michaels, Eddie Guerrero, and Lita.
Bayley participated in a variety of sports as a child, including basketball and track & field. She was a standout athlete in high school, earning numerous awards and breaking records. Her enthusiasm for wrestling, though, remained strong, and she began training at a local wrestling school when she was 18 years old.
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Bayley began her wrestling career in 2008, when she enrolled in the Big Time Wrestling (BTW) training facility in California. During that year, she made her ring debut under the ring name Davina Rose. She continued to wrestle for BTW and other indie promoters in California, establishing a reputation as a talented wrestler with a distinctive style.
Shimmer Women Athletes, a Chicago-based women's wrestling brand, signed Bayley in 2011. She made her promotion debut at Shimmer Volume 41, teaming up with Mia Yim to defeat Kellie Skater and Jessie McKay. Bayley kept working for Shimmer, eventually becoming a regular performer for the company. Bayley also competed for other independent wrestling outfits, such as Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), and Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW).
Bayley signed with WWE in 2012 and debuted for their developmental territory NXT in 2013 as a masked Luchadora. She later adopted the name Bayley and had several matches, starting with a loss to Paige in March 2013. In August 2015, she defeated Charlotte and Becky Lynch to become the #1 contender for the NXT Women's Championship, which she won at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn in August by defeating Sasha Banks. She retained the title in a rematch with Banks in October in the first-ever women's 30-minute Iron Man match in WWE history. However, Bayley lost the championship to Asuka at NXT TakeOver: Dallas in April 2016. She asked for a rematch at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II in July 2016 but failed to regain the title, which was her last match in NXT.
Bayley made her main roster debut on July 24, 2016 at WWE's Battleground pay-per-view, being revealed as Sasha Bank's mystery partner. The duo defeated Charlotte and Dana Brooke. She officially joined Raw on August 22, as confirmed by General Manager Mick Foley. Despite multiple efforts, Bayley was unable to capture the RAW Women's Title until she defeated Charlotte with the assistance of Banks in the main event of February 13, 2017 edition of RAW. She successfully defended her championship against Charlotte at Fastlane with Banks' interference, resulting in Charlotte's first pay-per-view loss. Bayley's title run, however, came to an end on April 30 when she was defeated by Alexa Bliss at Payback.
After weeks of tension, which included Bayley abandoning Banks during their matches, Bayley and Sasha Banks engaged in a physical brawl backstage on March 26, 2018, edition of Raw. They continued to dispute into mid-2018, and they were ordered to attend counselling sessions in order to save their friendship. They finally reconciled and established a tag team named The Boss 'n' Hug Connection in July of that year. They won the first-ever WWE Women's Tag Team Championships at the Elimination Chamber on February 17, 2019, defeating Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville in a six-team Elimination Chamber match. On March 10, they successfully defended their title against Nia Jax and Tamina at Fastlane. The Boss 'n' Hug Connection would, however, lose the Tag Team Championships in a Fatal Fourway match at WrestleMania 35 to The IIconics.
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In April 2019, Bayley was drafted to the SmackDown brand as part of the Superstar Shake-up, breaking up her alliance with Sasha Banks. She won the Money in the Bank ladder match in May of that year, earning her a women's championship match at any time. She cashed in her briefcase on the same night and defeated Charlotte Flair to become the SmackDown Women's Champion, marking her the first Women's Grand Slam winner in WWE history. Bayley lost the title to Charlotte Flair at Hell in a Cell on October 6, 2019, ending her reign after 140 days.
Bayley unveiled a new look and attacked her inflatable tube men during her entrance on the following edition of SmackDown, indicating a heel turn. She regained the championship from Flair on October 11, 2019, completing her transformation into a villainous character.
Bayley won the first-ever women's championship match in Saudi Arabia at the Super ShowDown Premium Live Event on February 27, 2020, defeating Naomi to retain the title. She also won the Women's Tag Team Championship alongside Sasha Banks on June 5, 2020, by defeating Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, becoming a double champion in the process.
However, they lost the belts to Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler at Payback on August 30, 2020. On the September 4, 2020 episode of SmackDown, Bayley turned on Banks once again by attacking her and disbanding their team.
Bayley lost the SmackDown Women's Title to Sasha Banks on October 25, 2020 at the Hell in a Cell Premium Live Event, bringing her reign to a conclusion after 380 days. She was supposed to face Bianca Belair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship in a "I Quit" match at Money in the Bank on July 18, 2021, however on July 9, WWE reported that Bayley had ruptured her ACL while practicing at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, which would keep her out of action for almost nine months.
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Bayley made her return on July 30, 2022, at SummerSlam, after being missing in action for a year. She joined forces with Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai to confront Bianca Belair following her Raw Women's Championship battle against Becky Lynch, reigniting her feud with the EST of WWE. Bayley's return also meant her move back to the Raw brand.
Bayley's group Damage CTRL competed in a WarGames match at Survivor Series WarGames on November 26, 2022. They competed alongside Nikki Cross and Rhea Ripley against Belair, Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Mia Yim, and Becky Lynch. They were defeated after Lynch pinned Kai following a diving legdrop from Lynch from the top of the cage through a table.
Following the match, Bayley and Damage Control turned their attention to Becky Lynch, leading to a 6-Women Tag Team Match at WrestleMania 39. In what is expected to be a spectacular match, Bayley and her stablemates will battle Lynch and WWE Hall of Famers Lita and Trish Stratus.
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Busted OpenTag Team of the Year (with Sasha Banks): 2020
CBS SportsTag Team of the Year (with Sasha Banks): 2020
Inside The Ropes MagazineFemale Wrestler of the Year: 2020
Pro Wrestling IllustratedFeud of the Year (vs. Sasha Banks): 2020Inspirational Wrestler of the Year: 2015 and 2016Match of the Year (vs. Sasha Banks at NXT TakeOver: Respect): 2015Tag Team of the Year (with Sasha Banks): 2020Ranked No. 1 of the top 100 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Women's 100: 2020Ranked No. 3 of the top 50 tag teams in the PWI Tag Team 50 (with Sasha Banks): 2020
Rolling StoneNXT Match of the Year (vs. Sasha Banks at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn): 2015Title Feud of the Year, NXT (vs. Sasha Banks for the NXT Women's Championship): 2015
Sports IllustratedRanked No. 6 of the top 10 wrestlers: 2020Ranked No. 8 of the top 10 women's wrestlers (tied with Sasha Banks): 2019
Wrestling Observer NewsletterMost Improved: 2015Worst Feud of the Year (vs. Sasha Banks): 2018Women's Wrestling MVP: 2020
WWENXT Year-End Award (2 times):Female Competitor of the Year: 2015Match of the Year (vs. Sasha Banks at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn): 2015Ranked No. 10 of the top 50 Greatest WWE Female Superstars of all time: 2021Slammy Award (2 times):Double-Cross of the Year (for attacking Sasha Banks on SmackDown September 4, 2020 edition): 2020Social Media Superstar of the Year: 2020Bumpy Award (2 times):Tag Team of the Half-Year (with Sasha Banks): 2020Social Superstar of the Half-Year: 2021
BBCBBC Love Letter to Wrestling Champion (1 time, inaugural) - with Seth Rollins
WWENXT Women's Championship (1 time)WWE Raw Women's Championship (1 time)WWE SmackDown Women's Championship (2 times)WWE Women's Tag Team Championship (2 times, inaugural) – with Sasha BanksWomen's Money in the Bank: 2019First WWE Women's Triple Crown ChampionFirst WWE Women's Grand Slam Champion
Bayley was raised in a household that was in the wrestling business. Her father, Thomas Martinez, was a professional wrestler who wrestled in independent promotions on the West Coast under the ring name "Speedy."
Annmarie Martinez, Bayley's mother, was also involved in the wrestling industry. She worked as a ticket salesperson and ring announcer for Big Time Wrestling, a promotion based in Hayward, California. Bayley has frequently credited her parents for exposing her to wrestling at a young age and developing in her a love for the sport.
Bayley is known for keeping her personal life discreet. She hasn't revealed a lot about her family or connections. The former SmackDown Women's Champion was previously engaged to fellow professional wrestler Aaron Solo, whom she met in 2010. However, on February 21, 2021, the engagement was called off.
A. Bayley’s real name is Pamela Rose Martinez.
A. No, it was revealed by Bayley herself that Balor and she were never dating and it was a picture posted by Balor featuring both of them and Balor’s parents that led to fans merely speculating about their relationship. The details of the same can be read here.
A. Born on June 15, 1989, Bayley is 33 years old as of this writing.
A. Born as an American, Bayley has a Mexican lineage as well, making her Mexican-American by ethnicity.
A. Bayley’s billed height is 5 ft 6 in (168 cm).
