Bayley Talks Advice For NXT Talent, Working With Asuka, The Importance Of A Character In WWE, More
Bayley was recently a guest on Steve Austin's podcast where she talked about working in the Japanese culture and her battles with Asuka in NXT. The former WWE Raw Women's Champion was teaming with Asuka and Sasha Banks on WWE shows in Asia.
"I know how the crowds are," said Bayley of working in Asia. "That is why I am kind of nervous; I know Asuka is going to be on our team so she can kind of help us with that. She is an awesome person. I always mess around with her because she speaks a little English to us so when she won the title, everyday I would just take the title from her and she would start hitting me. She is so funny. I miss being in the ring with her because she always made me up my game because her style is so different but you have to be quick minded and quick on your feet. I miss wrestling her."
Bayley and Asuka contributed heavily to the women's wrestling revolution, with epic encounters on WWE NXT shows. Their final match in NXT took place last August.
"She can be snug," Bayley said of Asuka. "Her kicks can be, but it was actually easier than I thought. I actually worked with Japanese women before I got to WWE and I was with SHIMMER, but I didn't really know how to approach them either."
"I know it's some Lucha-style pro wrestling; I guess I can incorporate with them but I didn't know what to expect from Asuka," Bayley explained. "She's been wrestling for a long time, but I think we mesh pretty well, we only had a few TakeOver matches and her kicks were a little stiff but it's okay. With all the adrenaline, you don't feel it until afterwards."
While Bayley has shown superior in-ring work since signing with WWE in 2012, it was her character that first won her over with the audience.
"It's so important," Bayley said about the importance of playing herself as a character. "It makes it all easier and makes it make a lot more sense where you can just have fun and not think as hard. All you have to do is go out there and be you. Backstage I'm more laid back and even shy around people and not in the groups being loud or anything."
"With my friends I am talkative, but once I go out there I can go out there and express myself that you can't do anywhere else," said Bayley. "It's so much fun, but it's just me turned up 100. Even after I found myself, it made the wrestling psychology easier because you think of what makes sense to me doing this, or you can put your character things here. It made everything better. It wasn't until I got to NXT until everything clicked for me."
Prior to getting signed by WWE at the end of 2012, Bayley began her professional wrestling career in 2008. She trained with Big Time Pro Wrestling under Jason Styles, beginning at just 18-years-old.
"I loved where I trained with a guy named Jason Styles in Newark, California. He taught me the basic fundamentals perfectly. I couldn't thank him enough, and I kind of knew how to tell a simple story in a match. I can put on a basic and simple match."
"When I got to NXT is when I figured everything out where I was training everyday and having these matches on the fly with whoever and re-watching my stuff. I watch matches; I know people that don't like to because it pisses them off seeing themselves, but seeing yourself making mistakes is annoying but you have to do it."
Bayley revealed some advice that she gives to talent in WWE's pipeline.
"Girls that are coming up, they'll ask three to four times," said Bayley. "I always watch different things so I'll watch one to watch myself and then watch it again for my opponent; then I will watch it again with no sound, and then watch it again to the commentators so I can see what they are saying and what I was doing and why they made a big deal for what I was doing at that time, or watch my body language, or if I sold wrong, or whatever."
You can listen to Bayley's complete appearance on The Steve Austin Show by clicking here.