WWE's Bayley Pulls Back The Curtain On How Her Character Changed From Hugger To Heel

Starting out her WWE career as an ever cheerful character known as "The Hugger," many fans believed that Bayley was destined to be an immortal babyface, much like 16-time world champion John Cena. In October 2019, however, Bayley debuted a new look and attitude that would pour freezing cold water on that idea. During a recent interview on WWE's "What Do You Wanna Talk About," Bayley opened up about her dramatic transition from loveable babyface to bitter heel.

"I was more so nervous because I thought, what if it didn't work?" Bayley recalled. "But I also was in that spot where that character, the fan favorite, bubbly babyface, wasn't working either. So it was kind of like I was at a crossroads of, if I never try this, then I'll never know."

"... I was a little nervous when I first started because I thought I would get a lot of 'female [John] Cena' comments, which is the best compliment I could ever get in that character, but I also was like I wanna try different things. So turning to a bad guy was my decision because I felt that I was going nowhere. And the fact that [WWE] actually wanted to go with it, it was perfect timing."

In the wake of her heel turn, which included the destruction of her inflatable tube-men known as "Bayley Buddies," Bayley defeated Charlotte Flair to regain possession of the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship. Bayley's reign as champion came to an end 380 days later when she was dramatically unseated by her former tag team partner, Sasha Banks. Her heelish demeanor, though, carried on until February 2024, when an attack from her Damage CTRL stablemates prompted her to return to babyface form.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "What Do You Wanna Talk About" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.