Bayley’s injury on WWE Raw provides her with an opportunity to break from her rehashed NXT storyline.
Pearl Harbor was largely panned due to stealing the “love despite historical destruction going on around us” premise that Titanic used just a few years prior. At least Pearl Harbor’s cast was different.
Nobody can deny that Bayley was one of those that spearheaded the NXT movement that allowed WWE’s “developmental system to challenge the shows produced by the main roster. Her story as a lifelong fan growing up to live her wildest dream of being a champion in the WWE, combined with her adorable and unique look accompanied by inflatable buddies, headbands, and hugs, made her an instant hit with the crowd at Full Sail University.
Her run with the NXT Women’s Championship, prior to the run of Asuka, was the quintessential women’s title run in NXT history, and had a success that rivals any male wrestler’s run with the NXT Championship. Bayley’s quest for and defense of the NXT Women’s Championship also allowed her to show that her physicality involves much more than hugs. Her showdowns with Sasha Banks and Asuka, including the instant classic she had with Banks at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn.
She, along with Finn Balor, was the face of the NXT brand.
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When Bayley first joined the WWE roster on August 22, 2016, she was met with tremendous fanfare, as WWE fans saw her arrival as yet another double-down on the investment of the New Era.
Unfortunately, the era was new, but Bayley’s narrative was not.
For those who had yet to purchase the WWE Network to see the rise of Bayley (mostly children), they knew from the crowd reaction that she was one to be revered. Her hugger’s mentality and uber-positive vibe was something to inspire kids, and her diehard NXT fan base was still intact. However, WWE creative attempted to tell an identical story of Bayley as the girl from San Jose whose father would take her to WWE shows when they were in town to see her hero, Lita.
Monday Night Raw had turned into a weekly episode of The Wonder Years.
As the once-devoted fanbase of Bayley began to wane, as viewers of reruns typically do (unless the rerun is Seinfeld), Alexa Bliss, the antithesis of the Bayley, showcased just how cheesy the rehashing of the Bayley story is. The fans began to cheer Bliss, and began to ignore Bailey.
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After weeks of embarrassment, Bailey had the chance to get even with Bliss in a “Kendo Stick on a Pole” match at Extreme Rules. As if fans needed further reason to roll their eyes at Bayley, upon getting ahold of one of the kendo sticks, she refused to use it to assist her in reclaiming her WWE Raw Women’s Championship, leading to Bliss, being animatedly-willing to use the weapon, retaining the title.
With a prime opportunity to not only allow Bayley to show her first true sign of aggression, but to finally add a new and eclectic chapter to her character’s narrative, Bayley declined to utilize the kendo stick, leaving the WWE fans with little left to invest in. How can one expect fans to get behind a character who can get pushed around for weeks, but not use a weapon at an event called Extreme Rules to get her title back?
She must not have been watching years ago when Team Xtreme got….well….extreme.
Fast forward to this past Monday Night Raw. Bayley, who had been wildly cheered at Full Sail University and temporarily on Raw, was booed in Toronto when thanking the fans for the get well cards (that were apparently not sent from Toronto) she received in the week since injuring her shoulder. If the WWE needed a sure sign that something needed to done about the Bayley character, they received it this past Monday night.
Ironically, the good news is that Bayley is injured, which gives the WWE audience time to miss her. Despite her dehydrated, girlhood dream storyline, she is talented in the ring and has a character that is unique. Fans really do love the fact that Bayley is a “hugger”, which is cheesy to the extent of being charming. What she needs now is an injection of aggression.
Assuming employees receive a free subscription to the WWE Network, Bayley and WWE Creative members working on her character need to spend time studying two legends in order to give her two different options: The Rock and Kurt Angle.
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Before becoming a trailblazer and eyebrow-raiser, The Rock went by Rocky Maivia, a happy-go-lucky, smiling, enthusiastic babyface that made Greg Brady look like Charlie Sheen. In response to the fans’ rejection, he transitioned into The Rock, an attitude and charisma-fueled lightning bolt that started off as a heel, but then had to become a babyface due to being too good for the fans to resist.
Kurt Angle was brought in to the WWE in 1999, advertised as the American hero from the 1996 Olympic. In an Attitude Era that found fans praising middle fingers, profanity, crotch chops, and complete rejection of authority, Angle was destined to be booed. Keeping a milk-swilling keenness about him, Angle would show that he had an aggressive side to him that was more-than-willing to cheat to win.
The time off puts Bayley in a perfect position to be repackaged with some aggressive notes. Both The Rock and Angle were originally packaged as white meat babyfaces, but when permitted to get their hands dirty and take liberties with opponents in the ring (and on the mic), their pure talent shined through, leading to inevitable Hall of Fame careers and the wholehearted respect of the WWE audience.
WWE showed that they were willing to take a chance and go against the intended course. It is time to show the same willingness with Bayley.
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Lita, Trish Stratus, and other female wrestlers have earned their places in the WWE Hall of Fame, but never before has one of them been put into a position to reach the peaks occupied by the like of The Rock and Kurt Angle. If given the opportunity, Bayley can return and begin on the path to those peaks. However, if her song remains the same, like most reruns, she will eventually be kept from syndication.