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Bayley has opened up about wrestling during the pandemic and how John Cena helped her change her mindset on the issue. The former WWE SmackDown Women's Champion stated she set out to prove she could still deliver without fans being in attendance at shows.
WWE had to change the way they functioned due to the pandemic, with a key change being performing without an audience. The company also had to move their shows to the Performance Center, and later the ThunderDome.
While speaking on Oral Sessions with Renee Paquette, Bayley revealed a conversation John Cena and Daniel Bryan shared and how that made her adapt to the new challenge of wrestling without fans.
"On the first day, I remember talking to Daniel Bryan, and [John] Cena was there. They were having a conversation and Cena was like, 'I've done everything, but I haven't done this. I haven't been in a WWE ring on TV with zero fans. It's a good challenge and will be something new for me to learn.' That instantly changed my whole mindset. If we can do this, we can do anything. I went into that mindset of 'we have to prove we can do this without fans and prove our characters...' that we don't have to lean on that, even though our shows are 90% fan interaction." (H/T Fightful)
Bayley also stated she was "lucky" to be with Sasha Banks during this time as she "could play off her" in the ring.
Bayley on how the pandemic affected WWE Superstars
In the same interview with Renee Paquette, Bayley opened up about the difficulties Superstars faced during the pandemic. She said WWE's stars had to "dig deep" to tell a compelling story.
"A lot of people really had to dig deep to find the core of them. And it feels like everybody did. You can just have more moments and the deeper story-telling that kind of feels more intimate."
WWE Superstars will finally get to perform in front of a crowd next month at WrestleMania 37, which will be held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
