Bayley, also known as the woman with the most fun entrance in the history of professional wrestling, has experienced quite the rise through the WWE ranks over the last few years. From a shy and plain entity behind the scenes to being one of the most over superstars on the roster, The Huggable One is a valuable member of the WWE family nowadays.
Unfortunately, a run as Raw Women’s Champion can’t hide the fact that her booking on the main roster has been pretty confusing. Hell, even her successful defence of the belt at WrestleMania 33 felt rushed, and that was supposed to be a crowning achievement for the fan-turned-superstar. Then again, perhaps some of you think we’re being too harsh.
To those people, we beg you to go back and watch NXT in the weeks building up to Takeover: Brooklyn because that’s the Bayley story we all know and love. That’s the character that we want to see being developed on a weekly basis as opposed to seeing her be thrust into the spotlight just because of her name. Work needs to be done, and there’s no hiding that anymore.
So with that being said, here are five things that Bayley needs to change in WWE.
#1 Cocky attitude
We aren’t quite sure when, why or how it happened, but all of a sudden Bayley has developed a cockier persona on Monday Night Raw. This kind of thing would make a lot more sense if she were on the verge of turning heel, but that doesn’t appear to be happening anytime soon, and someone like Bayley should always be a babyface.
But back to the point, it’s getting quite distracting. We don’t want to see Bayley walking with swagger to the ring because that just isn’t who she is. Sure some will argue that she’s evolving as a character, but that’s not what worked so well down in NXT, and you can hear the difference when it comes to the reactions she receives.
Bye Bye, Boss.
#2 Sasha association
Boy oh boy, how sickening has this partnership gotten over the last few weeks and months? Somehow Bayley and Sasha have gone from must see television to please get off our TV screens in the span of a year, with the real life best friends toggling back and forth between helping each other out and teasing heel turns.
Over the last couple weeks, we’ve seen them move in their own directions a bit more, but we need to see that transformation be completed entirely. If the end game is to have them square off at SummerSlam, then that’s great, but we’re still quite far away from the biggest party of the summer, so they need to stay away from each other for the time being.
This one may rub a few people the wrong way.
#3 Main event status
Bayley as a main eventer is great, but she’s had her time in the sunshine for now, and we need to experience something fresh. Losing to Alexa for the second time would actually be one of the best things to happen to Bayley in a while because it would give her a ‘reality check’ of sorts that could allow her to revitalise her character.
Given the lack of options for alternative feuds you could also write her off television for a while because as we said, the eventual Sasha feud needs some time to grow naturally before they pull the trigger on it. Have Banks go against Bliss for the next few months for the title, then Bayley can swoop in and return as the goofy babyface once more.
Please stop.
Also read: 5 things that Dean Ambrose needs to change in WWE
#4 Same old promos
Unfortunately, when it comes to Bayley delivering promos, we’ve heard the same old stick for quite some time now. She talks about how being a WWE superstar was her dream when she was a kid, she talks about how she was just a fan who broke into the business, then she's torn down by whatever challenger is standing in her way.
Lather, rinse, repeat. It’s getting a little bit dull now, and in all honesty, we’re starting to lose interest in her story. If she can come up with some more unique material, then things would work out a lot better in the long run, and it doesn’t even have to be all too different in terms of the subject matter. Keep the same kind of gimmick, but freshen things up.
Just. Bayley.
#5 Just Bayley
We know that this nickname is only used once every so often, but it needs to go. We understand the idea of her being a plain old fan who managed to reach the mountain top, but when you think about it that doesn’t give much credibility to the woman who is supposed to be leading the way as the top babyface on Monday Night Raw.
The jacket was the worst part of all because it’s as if she was laughing along with the heels who were mocking her. Again, it sounds like we’re just getting drawn into the storyline, but the way in which they drive these slogans down our throats on the main roster just makes us hate them even more.
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