Bayley wants to see a retired PPV format make its much-anticipated return.
Back in 2018, the all-women’s pay-per-view Evolution was the first of its kind and was incredibly well-received with an excellent Last Woman Standing match between Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey defending the Women’s Championship in the main event against Nikki Bella. Despite the demand from the fans, the show has yet to make its return. With there being no shortage of talent across all 3 brands and the roster once again out to prove a point, many expect the follow-up to be just as good as the first if not better.
Appearing on What Do You Want To Talk About? hosted by Cody Rhodes, the WWE Women’s Champion was asked if she would like to see Evolution make a comeback:
“Yes. Why not? Like we were just saying, there’s so many women,” Bayley responded. “So the thing about the first one was we had so many girls from NXT for one, which they got to showcase on a bigger stage. But they had so many women from the past. It’s kind of like the first few [women’s Royal] Rumbles, a lot of women from the past because we didn’t have enough women to fill up these matches. But like, now we do. And I think it would be so cool to give everybody on Raw and everybody on SmackDown a part of that show, Evolution 2.
“You can bring girls in from NXT. You can bring girls in — we just saw Jordynne Grace on NXT. TNA girls, whatever that connection is there, we can bring different girls in. You can bring someone in from the past, like if they’re up for it, to do a little something. But we have such a stacked roster right now where it’s like, we can hold down a show on our own, another PLE on our own. And it’s been so many years where it’s not like it’s something we have to do every year where we’re kind of like, ‘All right. We’ve seen it enough times,’ but I think it’s time because it is a different era compared to back then.” [H/t to F4WOnline]
Bayley competed at the inaugural Evolution event, teaming with Sasha Banks and Natalya to defeat The Riott Squad.
Bayley Advocates For Change In The Women’s Division
Also in the interview with Rhodes, Bayley was asked about the changes the WWE women’s division has undergone compared to the Diva’s era of the past which saw short matches and at times degrading storylines. Reflecting on the time period compared to the modern era, the Women’s Champion stated that the athletes from that era were extremely talented but were just not given the opportunities:
“Sometimes when we talk about the Divas Era people think it’s a knock on it, which it’s not. You still had so many talented women in that era that just honestly didn’t get the time to show what they could do, but they could do everything. We would have everyone come down to NXT and work with us, they got the time and showcased what they can do. It was more based off of, and this just off being in NXT for a few years, they would hire athletes based with a certain look and now I think it’s more we are looking for talent and people who are going to have longevity here and people can add to it.
You still get a bit of she’s got a good look, let’s see if she can handle in the ring. It’s still a bit of everything but we have such a good foundation and so many women that still haven’t had the opportunity to show what they can do.”
Bayley also added that she would like to see more storylines in the women’s division that are not directly connected to storylines, such as the Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio angle that is set to progress even further now that Rhea Ripley has returned:
“Of course we still want a little more time, whether that’s TV time or that’s storyline time that’s not connected to a championship. The stuff that they are doing with Liv, Dom and Rhea right now is such good stuff that I wish we could do more of in the women’s division where it’s not always based on a championship. More personal stories and show a different side of the girls. The more that we can show the women interact with each other or with the guys and show different sides of us I think can show the range that we have.
It doesn’t have to be wrestling, it doesn’t always have to be match time, it doesn’t always have to be the number of matches. I think the more that they can show who we are and show our characters and embrace that a little bit more it would be helpful. But we have so many girls on Raw, SmackDown and NXT that I don’t think its a talent issue right now, it’s just let us show you who we are.” [H/t to ITR Wrestling]
Bayley will defend the WWE Women’s Championship at SummerSlam against Queen of the Ring tournament winner Nia Jax.
Featured image: WWE
