10 Moments That Solidified Bayley As A WWE Star

As one of the most notable female wrestlers of the WWE modern era, Bayley has been a part of some of the best matches and most memorable moments in women's wrestling ever since her groundbreaking run in "NXT."

From inspiring young women as the happy-go-lucky uber-babyface "Hugger" to being the insufferably annoying host of "Ding, Dong, Hello," Bayley is one of the most decorated and significant female stars in WWE history. From her participation in the first ever Iron Woman Match to her record breaking 380-day reign as "SmackDown" Women's Champion, there is no question Bayley is, and has been for quite some time now, a solidified WWE star.

Some accolades of Bayley include being the first ever Women's Grand Slam Champion and first ever Women's Triple Crown Champion, as well as a Money in the Bank winner, and half of the first ever WWE Women's Tag Team Champions. All this, along her numerous "NXT," "Raw," and "SmackDown" Women's Championship reigns, make her one of the top people in WWE, and, most likely a future Hall of Famer.

Here are 10 of said countless moments in the real-life Pamela Martinez's career that cemented her as one of the biggest stars in the WWE roster.

This match arguably gave women wrestling in WWE a whole new level of credibility and put both Bayley and Sasha Banks in the same league as the company's top performers. In one of the most iconic, memorable, and quite possibly best match in both competitors' respective decorated careers, "The Boss" and "The Hugger" held nothing back and created magic together. This match, which would turn out to be the first of an excellent series, not only stole the show that night in Brooklyn, but it also just might have changed the direction of women's wrestling in WWE.

The match had the added value of being a part of the first ever "NXT" TakeOver event to take place outside of Full Sail University, in front of a sold-out Barclays Center, the night before SummerSlam.

The future Women's Tag Team Champions could do no wrong through the 18 minutes this legendary battle lasted, as they both went all out exhausting every possibility on their arsenal while hitting every beat and executing every move to perfection. There is a reason why this match is still remembered through their storied rivalry and countless matches as one of, if not, the best they ever had together.

Even WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley joined in the praise of the match. In an interview with Alex McCarthy for Inside the Ropes, he called the instant classic "the greatest women's match I have ever seen."

When it was time for Sasha Banks' championship rematch, a stipulation had to be added to even consider matching the quality of their instant classic a little over a month prior. And making the sequel to the Banks-Bayley feud the first-ever edition of an Iron Woman match was an inspired decision from "NXT" creative, as it perfectly matched the story's intensity and hunger from both competitors.

The match itself achieved legendary status not only thanks to the top-tier in-ring throughout the 30-minute bout, but also by having some of the most replayed moments in recent memory. Some of these moments include Sasha taunting Bayley's super-fan Izzy until she cried, Bayley getting violently slammed onto one of the LED boards, and the end of the match, which featured Bayley dramatically coming out on top in the last few seconds of the contest.

As if putting on one of the best matches in "NXT" history and being one of the first women to main event a WWE special event was not enough, the post-match celebration also helps making this match such a career-defining occasion. After the match ended, the "NXT" roster stood on top of the ramp led by Triple H, Sara del Rey, and William Regal, whom presented the history-making pair of Bayley and Banks with flower arrangements and a very much deserved standing ovation.

This felt like a groundbreaking moment for women's wrestling. Bayley later tweeted "This is only the beginning."

Just around three weeks before her final attempt at regaining the "NXT" Women's Championship from the now undefeated Asuka, Bayley made her debut on the WWE main roster as Sasha Banks' surprise partner at Battleground 2016. Back when Charlotte Flair was only 112 days into her first ever Women's Championship reign, her alliance with Dana Brooke was proving to be way too effective, giving "The Queen" a two-on-one advantage on most matches. And after Sasha Banks was a victim of said alliance one too many times, the "Boss" brought her biggest foe from her "NXT" days to help her even the numbers.

The ovation Bayley received from the Verizon Center in Washington, DC right after her music hit singlehandedly makes this moment one of the biggest in Bayley's career. But it quickly got even better for the most recent "NXT" Women's Champion, as the future "Boss 'n Hug Connection" tag team got away with the victory.

While it is a perfectly good match, it is not at the level of some absolute classics on this list. Regardless, the surprise debut and the resulting victory are enough to make this night one of the most memorable in a career full of memorable moments for Bayley.

While Bayley would eventually make her way full-time into the WWE main roster, this was not her official call-up as she would stay in "NXT" for a month longer until her eventual final match at "NXT" TakeOver: Brooklyn II.

Bayley's  223-day reign as "NXT" Women's Champion came to an end by the hand of the undefeated "Empress of Tomorrow," Asuka. The result was shocking to many fans who saw Bayley as the top star of the developmental brand, especially considering how decisively Asuka got the victory that night in Dallas.

A little over four months later, the highly-anticipated rematch took place inside the Barclays Center at "NXT" TakeOver: Brooklyn II. This match was yet another excellent exhibition of complete dominance from the former Kana, thanks to her perfect execution of strikes and submissions throughout the entire match.

The match was perfectly crafted to showcase Asuka as the dominant new force of the "NXT" women's division, while still portraying Bayley as a strong challenger with a reasonable chance of defeating the new champion. When the match ended, it was abundantly clear that this was "The Hugger's" farewell match from the black and yellow brand. Bayley was left alone in the middle of the ring just soaking up the arena's long-lasting standing ovation, leaving an absolutely perfect final image fitting for one of the most popular stars in "NXT" history.

These two "NXT" era-defining superstars reignited their feud once more around four years later when the two squared off during WWE's "Pandemic Era" over the "SmackDown" Women's Championship.

Not long after arriving to the WWE main roster, Bayley started a rivalry with fellow "Horsewoman" Charlotte. Bayley and "The Queen" faced off four times in singles competition and challenging for her championship twice, before finally becoming WWE Women's Champion for the very first time in her career.

The sold-out T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas witnessed the two women have, without a doubt, their best match together up until that point, which happened to be Bayley's first ever "Raw" main event match. She and "The Queen" held nothing back, throwing everything in their respective repertoire for almost 18 minutes before a Bayley-to-Belly secured the victory, and the championship, for the future leader of "Damage CTRL."

The only evident detriment to the match and Bayley's overall triumphant moment is the fact she could not get a clean, decisive victory over Charlotte Flair, as Sasha Banks crucially interfered and hit "The Queen" with a crutch right before the conclusion of the match. "The Boss" was not the only one to illegally play a part in the match as Dana Brooke also made her presence felt.

But not even the undecisive and interference-filled finish to the match could overshadow how monumental the occasion was for Bayley, as she jumped the barricade with her newly-won belt to celebrate with the WWE Universe. And that image of Bayley in the middle of a sea of WWE fans celebrating her first championship win in the main roster easily makes this match one of the most transcendental moments in her already excellent career.

With not even a full year on the main roster and just a month and a half into her first reign as "Raw" Women's Champion, Bayley made her very first WrestleMania appearance. She defended said championship against former champion Charlotte Flair, her best friend Sasha Banks, and the dominant rookie Nia Jax in a fatal four-way elimination match.

The match had everything you could ask for in a 'Mania debut, as Bayley got to enjoy a special entrance complete with WrestleMania-edition Bayley buddies, got two eliminations through the course of the match, and even managed to walk out still the champion. It's a luxury not many champions receive at the "Showcase of the Immortals." Some especially notable moments include Bayley hitting a picture-perfect Elbow Drop on Charlotte to ultimately win the match, and all participating horsewomen working together to powerbomb and ultimately eliminate Nia Jax.

Following what can only be described as a lackluster year in 2018, Bayley and enemy-turned-friend Sasha Banks began the year of 2019 with a very public mission of getting women tag team introduced in WWE. All their work paid off when said championships were announced in January 2019 and later announced for its inaugural champions to be determined inside the Elimination Chamber — only the second time there'd ever been a women's match in the structure.

For the second year in a row, Bayley entered the match first. This time she managed to not only endure the entire 33-minute contest, but also win the historic match, becoming one half of the first ever Women's Tag Team Champions in modern WWE History.

And while Bayley was not the one to make the final submission, as Sasha made Sonya Deville submit to ultimately win the championships, the "Hugger" made more than enough of an impact during the match to earn her emotional moment at the end of the grueling bout. 

Just a couple of months after losing the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships, and over two years after her last singles championship reign, Bayley was once again with singles success in mind. For the first time in her career, she competed in a Ladder Match. And as fans know, the Money in the Bank Ladder Match is no ordinary Ladder Match, as Carmella and Alexa Bliss respectively demonstrated in the previous two iterations of the match, turning the coveted briefcase into championship gold with relative ease.

As you might expect from any Money in the Bank Ladder Match, this particular one was a dangerous and high-risk car crash of a match. The Chicago crowd was red hot, and all competitors were performing at the highest level we had seen from most of them. Highlights include Ember Moon hitting Natalya with an Eclipse from the top of a ladder, a sunset flip from Bayley to Dana Brooke onto a ladder, and Naomi hitting a split-legged moonsault on Bayley, who was laying on a ladder.

Similar to the ovation she received when she made her main roster debut, Bayley once again got one of the loudest crowd reactions in her career when she unhooked the briefcase and officially became Ms. Money in the Bank. But the night did not end there for the "Hugger," as only around 80 minutes after winning the PPV-themed Ladder Match, she cashed in her newly won briefcase on Charlotte Flair, who herself had just won the "SmackDown" Women's Championship from Becky Lynch.

This was the perfect night to be a fan of Bayley. The mix of her flawless double-duty performance and the unbelievable support from a ruckus, sold-out Allstate Arena, instantly made for a legendary, career-defining moment for the newly crown first ever Women's Grand Slam and Triple Crown Champion.

A week after the premiere episode of "SmackDown" on Fox in 2019, the unthinkable happened. The universally-liked, always-smiling, side ponytail version of Bayley the WWE Universe got to know and love over the past four years, finally turned heel. She could not have been any clearer in her turn, attacking Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair with a chair alongside Sasha Banks in the return of "Monday Night Raw" to Madison Square Garden was not enough for her. Bayley went the extra mile by cutting off her trademark ponytail, and attacking her inflatable "Bayley Buddies" with an axe during her entrance.

The shocking heel turn during Bayley's entrance is not the only thing that gets this match into the list — the actual bout is probably one of the best out of their long series of matches. This victory also marked the beginning of what turned out to be a record-breaking championship reign for Bayley, making this match one of the moments that played a big part in solidifying her as a WWE star.

And as if fate wanted it that way, this match took place in the very same building where Bayley defeated Charlotte Flair to win her very first WWE main roster Women's Championship two and a half years before — the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Bayley's storied rivalry with Sasha Banks has arguably defined the career of "The Role Model." From bitter rivals, to tag team champions, back to bitter rivals, the feud between the former Davina Rose and the real-life Mercedes Varnado has made its way into WWE history as one of the most intense and entertaining. This match only adds to their legacy.

This was the perfect conclusion to the cautiously told story that began roughly a year before when Bayley turned heel for the first time to align with Banks. It feels like a throwback to Attitude Era and Ruthless Aggression WWE, when the longest and most personal feuds would only be decided inside the barbaric Hell in a Cell structure.

The match was a brutal fight that featured chairs, kendo sticks, tables and even a ladder, making it by far the most violent match in Bayley's career up to that point. As brutal as the contest was, it was just as flawless as her first encounter in Brooklyn over five years earlier.

And while Bayley did not come out on top, this still was a career-defining moment for the California native. It not only put an end to her most successful championship reign to date at 380 days, making it the longest "SmackDown" Women's Championship run in history, but it also was one of the best matches in her career. It received 4.25 stars from Dave Meltzer and even Sasha herself told Digital Spy how much she loved the match: "I am extremely happy with the Hell in a Cell match. Bayley is absolutely my favorite opponent of all time and it went just exactly how I wanted. To have that Hell in a Cell with her was incredible. I love that match and I loved the outcome of the match."