WWE Superstar Bayley was the most recent guest on The New Day’s podcast, Feel The Power. Here are the most notable talking points from the episode.
On being number 1 in the PWI 500 Women’s ranking
“I think if this happened five years ago I would have been crying ever since. I used to buy those magazines at Walgreens and see The Rock or Stone Cold on them, but had no idea what it was about. I saw independent wrestlers in there. I had no idea who they were though. It was where I learned about different wrestlers and different companies. When I think about that, I thought it’s pretty cool. Someone could pick that magazine up, have no idea who I am. Then they read the article about me. It’s something that I can be proud of because I have never been on the cover of a magazine before.”
On her influence on young fans and Izzy
“When I wanted to become a wrestler, I did it because it looked so fun. I just wanted to be in a ring, be seen as this big super hero. I realized Izzy was this first girl watching the women’s match and we were making a difference. When I grew up, I was the only girl in my school that thought that wrestling was cool. I then tried to have at least one special moment with a little girl. Hunter saw what happened with Izzy and saw it was special. It could show what Bayley is all about. It was someone that I could reach out to and inspire.”
On her tryout and early days in FCW
“My tryout was in LA. I hadn’t even seen FCW or been there. I only saw it on pictures or short videos. When I got there, it was grungy. All the walls were black. It was very intimidating. I was scared of being a diva or a model. One of my first days was when all the writers came in and we all had to dress up. Because it was my first week I didn’t have to. I was just told to wear something presentable. I bought this dress that I thought was going to get me noticed. They made me get dressed because I was showing way too much cleavage. It really wasn’t me. I was so unsure on where I was going to fit. But in that first month, AJ Lee gave me this long talk about being myself, but meeting the company halfway. Then I went OK just be me. Try to figure it out, do the best I can and just wrestle. It took a long while to just be me and to not try and put on a show. It was a lot of trial and error.”
On her new heel persona
“I think because I did my old character for so long. It started as a super bubbly babyface, like a kid. I felt myself growing up. From championship matches in NXT to winning the title in Brooklyn to being the locker room leader. It was a real f=gradual growth. I felt like it was time for a change. I didn’t want to be the same character for the rest of my career. I didn’t think they were going to give me that chance. I had this random thing where I hit Becky Lynch with a chair and last hell in a cell I cried when I lost the title. I thought I can’t come back the same character. So I really fought for the change to take my career in a different direction. It was the scariest but the best decision I have ever made. The first seven years of my career I have dedicated to the fans, but I feel like this end of my career is about me. I need to do this to get to the next level. I care about me and what I need to do to succeed.”
On her early friendship with Sasha Banks
“The friendship took longer than anything, because we are such different people. They literally threw us in the ring together to have a match. We got five minutes in front of the coaches in an empty arena. It was the best match I ever had at that point and we just pulled it off. I thought I can wrestle this girl, she was never out of place. We could push each other. We had a million dark matches on NXT before televised matches. It took a while to realise we could be friends. We were quite stand off ish with each other. Once we realised we loved wrestling since childhood we talked a bit more. We also found our characters at the same time.”
On cutting her hair
“It was always my idea for this character that I wanted. I wanted to have this Egyptian look to me. It all happened so fast that I didn’t have time to find the right gear. I had to cut my hair because I wanted to be the complete opposite of what I was. I was in shock the whole day. It was an event backstage, all the girls were shocked. I didn’t feel like me. I had to see Vince to get approval. I hoped he approved because it was gone! I couldn’t just grow it back. I also started dying it black. It was raining outside. I ran to my car with a plastic bag on my head then drove to my hotel. I then felt this burning because I left the plastic bag on my head the whole time.. I joked I had staples in my head and had to get stitches. Ironically My scalp was bloody and I had scabs on my head from the burning.”
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