Bayley suffers a major injury due to training, will miss nine months

WWE announced via their Twitter account that Bayley suffered a major injury during a training exercise and is expected to be out of action for at least nine months.

The tweet also stated that a replacement for the SmackDown Women’s Championship match at Money in the Bank will be revealed tonight on SmackDown on Fox.

Bayley has become a key component of SmackDown’s women’s division and will be missed.

Bayley has been the heart and soul of the WWE Women’s Division since her promotion from NXT in 2016 and a mainstay of entertainment during the ThunderDome Era. The announcement of her injury comes just days after WWE announced their intention to begin their touring and live show schedule again including a return to live fans at WWE Pay Per View events, beginning with Money in The Bank.

She became the first Grand Slam Women’s Champion in the company’s history and held the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship for a record 380 days. This is her first major injury since she joined the company in 2013. She has missed weeks and days, at most, but never this much time in a row.

The promotion has given no official word regarding who will be replacing Bayley to face current SmackDown Women’s Champ Bianca Belair at Money in the Bank, leading to wild speculation across the internet. Some fans were very vocal for Sasha Banks to get the opportunity and to continue her and Bayley’s long-running feud.

Others have asked for new young superstars to be given the opportunity to prove themselves against the young champion, names like Mia Yim, Shotzi Blackheart, Kay Lee Ray, and Candace LeRae, just to name a few.

Fans will have to tune in to SmackDown on FOX for confirmation of what changes are coming to the card, which is set to air on Sunday, July 18 from the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.