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Bayley recently stated that she believes former WWE Superstar AJ Lee changed her life, both in the ring and outside of it.
Lee was a trendsetter during her WWE career, and she is still fondly remembered by WWWE fans. The former WWE Divas Champion left an incredible mark on WWE, as she set the stage for the women's evolution.
Bayley appeared on the newest episode of Corey Graves' WWE After the Bell podcast. The Role Model named AJ Lee as someone who has significantly influenced her career.
“Obviously I can’t name all the women that have helped us, but I always have to give credit to AJ [Lee]. She changed my life when she just said it’s okay to be myself. Her whole thing was stay weird and be yourself, and she dressed how she wanted to and it inspired so many girls. There’s a lot of women that people don’t even realize have made this all possible.” (H/t Wrestling Inc.)
Lee and Bayley's careers have fittingly followed similar paths. Lee made history with her 295-day long reign with the Divas Championship, and Bayley's run as the SmackDown Women's Champion (380 days) is unmatched.
"It’s helped me find my words and find my voice" - Bayley on how 'Ding Dong, Hello?' has helped her become a well-rounded performer in WWE
Bayley also revealed that her new talk show, "Ding Dong, Hello?" has helped her find her voice in WWE, as it allowed her to craft her persona.
“This whole talk show thing, it wasn’t even my idea. It wasn’t something where I went to them and said hey, I’d love to do a talk show. I was the complete opposite of anything you see on T.V. now. I would get in front of Dusty and I would freak out and start shaking, all I wanted to do was wrestle and be in the ring. That’s why I wanted to be in WWE, I didn’t care about talking yet because I didn’t know how to do it yet, I was crying every single word I let out, I was shivering. Even in my past, it took me a long time to get comfortable even as the hugger character."
"It’s helped me find my words and find my voice and it’s so crazy. It’s something that I thought I was never going to find in WWE, when I signed I wanted to be the best wrestler in the world, wanted to be a champion, I wanted to do it all. I never thought this was going to take me to different heights. My dream was always to be well rounded, I wanted to be the one superstar that could do it all and I feel like I’m on my way to do that because this talk show has helped me in a different light.” (H/t Wrestling Inc.)
What do you think of Bayley's comments? How impactful do you think AJ Lee was on today's WWE women's division? Sound off in the comments section below.
