What’s the story?
According to Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE views Bayley as the next Daniel Bryan.
Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez (his co-host on WOR) were talking about Bayley’s match with Nia Jax this past Monday Night on RAW, where The Hugger was defeated. Meltzer stated that WWE’s mentality of building a sympathetic babyface is by having them lose matches over and over because it helped get Daniel Bryan over with the fans.
In case you didn’t know...
Daniel Bryan was booked as a major sympathetic underdog between 2013-14, which made him the most popular Superstar on the WWE roster, to the point where fans rejected any other top babyface who wasn’t Daniel Bryan. Their passion and support for Bryan led to him headlining WrestleMania 30, where he defeated Batista and Randy Orton to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Bayley rose to the top of the NXT Women’s division at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn in 2015 when she defeated Sasha Banks in a critically acclaimed match to become the NXT Women’s Championship. The story of Bayley’s rise to the top garnered praise from fans due to the underdog role that she played.
The organic storyline led to Bayley having a character restart when she debuted on the main roster.
The heart of the matter
Meltzer stated that the current booking of Bayley as a sympathetic babyface who loses constantly won’t kill her, but it is not the prototype of how to book a sympathetic babyface. Bryan Alvarez agreed, saying that WWE has done the same thing hundreds of times.
He gave the example of Sami Zayn and Dolph Ziggler, where the booking didn’t work well in either case.
What’s next?
Bayley will continue to be booked as an underdog, and she will very likely be in the Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania 33. The rumour is that she will be part of a fatal-4-way match involving Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Nia Jax. She is also rumoured to win the match, and feud with a heel Sasha Banks later this year.
Sportskeeda’s take
Regardless of the criticism, Bayley gets one of the best reactions on the entire roster. She is also one of the most reliable babyfaces on the roster long term. She has the biggest potential to be the face of Women’s division, and she will very likely carry the torch for years to come.
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