Bayley On How Empty Arena Shows Have Helped Her Heel Turn

Bayley, the reigning Smackdown Women's Champion, spoke to Digital Spy to shed light on her heel turn.

During an episode of Raw last September, Bayley turned heel for the first time in her WWE career by unleashing a tirade of chair shots on Becky Lynch and subsequently aligning herself with Sasha Banks. While Bayley's transition from cheerful hugger to the dark side left many fans in shock, the WWE superstar was admittedly eager to make the turn.

"I've always had in the back of my head an idea of this character that I wanted to try if I were to change. So it was kind of me just throwing things out there and being like, 'hey, I got this, I got this and I want to do this,' and just (WWE) trusting me to do it," Bayley said during the interview.

In order to make her heel turn believable, Bayley changed her outfit, theme song, and debuted her shorter, darker hair.

"(WWE) had to really trust me and I had to really go for it, and that's why I had to change everything and in order for them to believe it," Bayley sad.

Interestingly, Bayley has credited the empty arena shows in helping her tap into her heel persona.

"It's (performing in front of no crowds) helped me a lot because I don't really have to worry about the fan's approval. I've found a certain annoyance in my character. I think that I can be very loud and it basically just echoes in the Performance Center because there's nobody there and I just think it's hilarious," added Bayley, one half of the Golden Role Models, the reigning WWE Women's Tag Team Champions.

WWE has held all three of its televised shows, Raw, Smackdown, and NXT, at the Performance Center since the outbreak of COVID-19. Bayley has held the Smackdown Women's Championship since October 2019, making her the longest reigning women's champion in the history of the blue brand.