The WWE Is Ruining... Bayley

As a pro wrestling fan, it is a part of our identity to always know how to utilize wrestlers better than the WWE. If WWE would just give me, random WWE fan, a job a the company, ratings would immediately rise to the levels of the Monday Night Wars, despite how television ratings have changed as a whole over the last 20 years. But until that happens, WWE will continue ruining our favorite wrestlers, and that is why it is time to point out the error in their ways. Because of WWE's incompetence, I am literally going to pick a wrestler at random and point out how they could be better utilized, because WWE is ruining everyone in one way or another.

Today, I'm not writing anything. That is because Lukewarm Jonah is more passionate about this wrestler than I am about anything in professional wrestling. That's right; IT'S BAYLEY!

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The WWE is ruining Bayley.  The WWE is ruining Bayley more than they’re ruining any other wrestler.  Joe asked me to write this entry because I believe in Bayley more than he does, but I’m worried I believe in her too much.  Nevermind, that’s stupid, you can’t believe in Bayley too much.  Bayley is one of the best wrestlers in the WWE.  Bayley has one of the best characters in the WWE.  Bayley is one of the most likeable wrestlers in the WWE.  Let me illustrate this point.  I’m a grown man who, despite writing multiple articles about professional wrestling, keeps his fandom mostly in the closet.  I own one item of wrestling apparel, and it’s a Bayley shirt that says “I’m A Hugger”.  I wear it out proudly in public.  Simply put, Bayley is my jam.  Bayley’s match against Sasha Banks at NXT Brooklyn was my absolute favorite match from the time it happened until Johnny Gargano took on Andrade Almas at Takeover this year.  Still, being half of the second best match ever is a pretty good accomplishment.

Bayley has been booked into oblivion, but she’s still decently over.  The WWE will have you asking yourself was she just over in NXT where most people are over?  The answer is no, the RAW crowds were chanting for Bayley to debut for two years.  When she debuted as Sasha’s partner on PPV the roof blew off the house.  When she debuted on RAW, the roof blew off the house.  Crowds kept chanting that they wanted some Bayley.  The WWE did what I’m sure they thought was a favor to Bayley by having her beat Charlotte Flair on PPV for Flair’s first PPV loss ever.  Bayley had won the championship on RAW with help from Banks.  The problem was they did this one month before Wrestlemania where it would have meant a lot more, they also had her win with help from Sasha Banks.  Face wrestlers shouldn’t have outside help, it’s not that complicated.  They then had Stephanie McMahon dress her down for the way she won the next night on RAW.  They blew the moment that could have made Bayley a huge star, having her win the title clean at Wrestlemania, but she still remained over because she’s Bayley.  Bayley then lost the title to Alexa Bliss, which ended her title reign at a little over two months.

This lead to the feud that really killed Bayley.  There was the “This Is Your Life” segment that is one of the worst segments the WWE has ever put on, and that’s saying something.  The point of the segment was that Bayley was a nerd growing up because she was a wrestling fan.  Just remember that’s how the WWE views their own fans, as nerds.  Bayley then famously got in a kendo stick on a pole match against Bliss where Bayley got the kendo stick, but was too nice to use it, causing her to lose the match.  She then gave an interview explaining that she didn’t want to hurt anyone, which is a weird thing for a professional wrestler who fights people for a living to say.  Bayley then got screwed over by her best friend Sasha Banks a bunch, which seemed like it would lead to a feud between the two but never really did, and that’s been about the past year of her career.

So that’s what we’re up against here, over two years of crappy booking.  The insane thing is that it’s really not that hard to get her back over.  The pop that happened when she attacked Sasha that one week was insane.  People want Bayley to be successful, they want her to show a bit of edge.  Not too much mind you, Bayley is still a super sweet character, but she shouldn’t be afraid to use weapons in a weapons match.  So here’s what needs to happen.  The WWE just introduced women’s tag team belts.  Bayley and Sasha need to win these titles.  This will keep her on TV and winning matches on TV.  This Wrestlemania women’s main event should be set as Ronda Rousey taking on Becky Lynch, it makes sense for this year.  Bayley can be as big as Becky Lynch.  Sometime after Wrestlemania, Bayley and Sasha need to lose the titles.  Sasha needs to blame Bayley and be a heel, as it’s her best alignment anyways.  Bayley needs to stand up to her and vanquish her.  This will make Bayley a main eventer again, and she can win the RAW women’s title from Becky Lynch.  Then at next year’s Wrestlemania she can fight Becky or Ronda Rousey coming back for her title.  During this time, just book her like Bayley.  She’s a pure white meat babyface, but that doesn’t mean she’s an idiot or a literal child.  She doesn’t cheat, but she’s not afraid to dole out a beating when it’s deserved.  She’s fun outside of the ring and kids and adults love her, but she’s one of the best wrestlers there is inside the ring.  Good news, she already is that talented.

I mentioned this year’s Wrestlemania and it’s important to talk about because it’s the first year where the women could legitimately main event, and I mean main event like go on last and close the show.  Rousey has the name value and pop culture appeal for the casual fans to be interested and Becky Lynch is the most over performer on the roster.  If they put it together like they should, it will literally be the biggest match they put on, but they probably don’t have the guts to actually put it on last.  I mention this because I think Bayley vs. Lynch at next year’s Wrestlemania could be bigger.  It won’t have the name value of Rousey, but they can make Bayley as over as Lynch by following the very simple steps I laid out.  The WWE could have it’s two most over performers face off at Wrestlemania like when Austin took on The Rock, and the crazy thing is, the two most over wrestlers on their shows could be women.  Have Charlotte Flair take on Rousey for the other title in the semi main event and show how much you care about women’s wrestling.

In conclusion, Bayley is criminally underused and underappreciated right now.  The WWE Universe still absolutely loves her, so all it takes is one good moment for her to hit the stratosphere.  Give her the tag titles, let her overcome Sasha Banks, and start counting your money because she will sell more merchandise than anyone else on the roster.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Alicia Fox
Andrade "Cien" Almas
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Roode
Charlotte Flair
Curt Hawkins
Dana Brooke
Dash Wilder
Ember Moon
Jinder Mahal
Kane
Karl Anderson
Killian Dain
Kofi Kingston
Luke Gallows
Mickie James
Mojo Rawley
Nia Jax
Peyton Royce
Randy Orton
Scott Dawson
Shinsuke Nakamura
Tyler Breeze