WWE: Bayley is the Best SmackDown Women’s Champion in History

Bayley, our defiant role model, is one of the most prestigious SmackDown Women’s Champions in WWE history. The following will articulate why she is, in fact, the best SmackDown Women’s Champion in WWE history.

After Bayley lost the Women’s Tag Team Championships with Sasha Banks at WWE WrestleMania 35, Banks went on a hiatus from WWE and many fans wondered what would be next for Bayley. There was speculation that she would remain in the Women’s Tag Team Division, but there was no other tag team partner she could find to possibly replace her best friend.

Thanks to the Superstar Shakeup trading her to SmackDown, she sought a new pathway in her singles career and miraculously became Mrs. MITB at WWE MITB 2019. This was just the beginning of something new and forthcoming for The Huggable One.

Bayley’s MITB Cash-In Had Shock Value

At WWE MITB 2019, Bayley shocked the WWE Universe when she cashed in the MITB Briefcase on the same night she won it and won the coveted SmackDown Women’s Championship for the first time in her career to become a Grand Slam Champion. She quickly put the SmackDown Women’s Division on notice by letting the women in the locker room know that she is at the top and they need to catch up.

Using shock value to kickstart Bayley’s road to super stardom was neatly booked and it was clear that seeds were being planted for her ultimate success. After Bayley fulfilled her role as a babyface champion by becoming a fighting champion and successfully retaining her championship against the likes of Alexa Bliss, Nikki Cross, and Ember Moon over the summer, the WWE Universe thought her shock value disintegrated until her jaw-dropping heel turn commenced.

Bayley’s Jaw-Dropping Heel Turn Struck A Chord

On the October 11, 2019 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, Bayley destroyed all the Bayley Buddies and won back her SmackDown Women’s Championship from Charlotte Flair, the same woman who she cashed her MITB Briefcase on in June, a week after Charlotte won it at WWE Hell in a Cell 2019. One must take note that this heel turn was not merely an attempt to be relevant.

This heel turn was special and pivotal in Bayley’s career because the destruction of the Bayley Buddies signified her betrayal of all the young kids and other Bayley fans out there who looked up to her and aspired to be like her. Henceforth, her gimmick of being a ‘role model’ was a double entendre, so to speak.

Her babyface role of being a role model was inspirational and overtly moralistic, which are common qualities a prototypical role model should have. Meanwhile, her newborn heel role of being a role model is far from prototypical.

Bayley’s Heel Promos Are Rightfully Grotesque

On the Oct. 18, 2019 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, Bayley starkly declaimed ‘Life sucks, and then you die.’ This advice and incredible sound byte by said role model is not inspirational by any means, but it was rightfully grotesque because she is a heel and a heel’s job is to elicit abhorrence from the crowd in attendance as well as the consumerists watching at home.

Her heel promos on SmackDown are significantly better than her babyface promos from Raw and NXT. This significant improvement indicates how she is truly in her element at this stage of her career as well as how developed her character has become in her main roster journey.

However, Bayley is not limited by her heel promos and backstage interviews. When it comes to fully displaying her fascinating heel persona, she also lets her high-stake championship matches speak for themselves.

Bayley’s Nefarious Finishes To Her Championships Matches Are Genius

As the cliche goes, actions speak louder than words. Bayley’s matches showcase how a true heel superstar should end her matches and that is in a way that will be dissatisfying and repulsive to the WWE fans. Here are three examples of Bayley nefariously retaining her championship and finding a way to win by any means necessary:

(1) Bayley exposed the steel on the turnbuckle pad to nefariously retain the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair at WWE Clash of Champions 2019.

(2) Bayley obtained a fluky win against Lacey Evans at WWE Royal Rumble 2020.

(3) Bayley’s feet were on the ropes in her pinfall victory against Carmella on the February 14 episode of Friday Night SmackDown.

Bayley never retains her championship fair and square or cleanly and that’s a good thing. A heel champion should be cheating to retain the championship and ‘rewarding’ the fans with dissatisfying finishes that will leave bad tastes in their mouths.

Also, instead of using the credited, babyface-like Bayley to Belly to finish her matches, Bayley rightfully uses her new heel maneuver, the Headlock Driver (i.e. the old Dirty Deeds), to end her opponent when deemed necessary. This maneuver has been protected since its inception and has not been overexposed, so it’s a clever addition to Bayley’s arsenal.

At WWE Super ShowDown 2020 this Thursday, Bayley, the dirtiest player in the game, will be defending her SmackDown Women’s Championship against Naomi. The WWE Universe should keep an ‘eye’ out (maybe she will actually poke Naomi in the ‘eye’) for a nefarious finish to Bayley’s retention because it will surely be innovative, like her past examples have been.

Nonetheless, Bayley is not selfish because she is not only elevating herself to stardom. She is also elevating an entire SmackDown Women’s Division full of hungry competitors, ready to chomp at the bit for any opportunity that comes their way.

Bayley Has Already Elevated the SmackDown Women’s Division

As SmackDown Women’s Champion, Bayley was begging the SmackDown Women’s Division to step it up. Before, she thought the SmackDown Women’s Division lacked opportunity.

Now that she is a heel, she thinks the division lacks desire and passion. As a locker room leader and champion of gravitas, she continuously discerns the laziness and lack of motivation in the SmackDown Women’s locker room.

This continuous yet haughty discernment motivated the superstars in the locker room to step up to the plate, especially when pertaining to the likes of Lacey Evans, Dana Brooke, Carmella, and Naomi. These superstars became strong babyfaces on the blue brand in their pursuit to topple the top heel champion.

Nonetheless, as she audibly asserted in her backstage interview with Cathy Kelley on Friday Night SmackDown, no one is on her level and no one is on her pay grade. Thanks to her well-booked heel run, it is quite clear that Bayley has not only set but also elevated the bar for this division.

The WWE fans are her sheep, and she is their role model. As sheep, they don’t have to jump over any fences, because Bayley knocked down those fences before they followed in her footsteps.