Bayley Discusses The Origins Of Her Heel Persona With Ariel Helwani

For a long stretch of her career with WWE, Bayley was known as a perennial babyface, the adoration of the crowd firmly on the side of "Everyone's Favorite Hugger." However, Bayley would go on to turn heel back in 2019, and during a recent interview with Ariel Helwani of "BT Sport," the WWE star elaborated on how the change in character came about.

"It was all my idea when it first happened," Bayley said. "I was in ... such a weird time in my career, where it wasn't really going where we all thought it would, and I felt the fans turning on me already and just not buying into it. I didn't want to just kind of coast along." The three-time world champion stated that she always wanted to be able to do everything in the wrestling business, and that meant working as a villain in addition to her time spent as a hero.

The change in character came about after a title loss to Charlotte that saw Bayley cry and throw a fit onscreen in reaction to her loss. Realizing that she couldn't continue on as the same character following that, Bayley sat down with Vince McMahon and her WWE writers and shared her vision for a heel turn, which was ultimately approved.

After spending several years running around solo as a heel (or sometimes partnering up with Sasha Banks), Bayley started up her own faction during SummerSlam 2022 – Damage CTRL, featuring herself, IYO SKY, and Dakota Kai. It remains unclear what lies ahead for Bayley on "The Grandest Stage of Them All" with WrestleMania 39 just over the horizon, but SKY and Kai will undoubtedly have the back of their leader when push comes to shove — even if Bayley goes through with wrestling Michael Cole.