(Kids can't get enough and the merch is moving, but staying power is a question. Source: WWE.com)
From her first day in NXT, Bayley evolved from a fan girl comedy gimmick into a classic old-school baby face. She was humble, but perseverant. She was a lifelong fan of professional wrestling, but she wasn't just happy to get a foot in the door. Bayley wanted to live her dream and dish out as many hugs and smiles along the way as she could – and fans ate it up, especially young kids.
By the time she left NXT, the world's most prolific hugger was a woman who never lost sight of who she was while she found the will and aggression to become a champion. She debuted on July 22nd 2016 at the Battleground pay-per-view as the partner of her main NXT rival and now best friend Sasha Banks. She officially joined the main roster a month later to a huge pop.
After that, even with t-shirts, bears and scaled down versions of her inflatable Bayley Buddies selling everywhere, hugger #1 seems almost a regression of the woman that said goodbye to NXT after losing her championship rematch with Asuka.
(Only John Cena may have a stronger connection with youth than Bayley. Source: @ItsBayleyWWE twitter)
Bayley's connection with young children, wrestling skill, and feel-good persona are all prime ingredients for a champion. Being the women's standard bearer in 2017 was never a bad move. Her smooth road to the title and stagnation of her character, however, are making a potential phenomenon into a star with a limited shelf life.
Following Charlotte Flair's victory over Sasha Banks in their Roadblock Ironman match, the feud started well enough. Bayley was full of bravado and showed some canniness as she told Charlotte that she deserved a title shot – because she was the one woman Charlotte had yet to beat on Raw. The Queen used her lawyer, Dana Brooke as an uber shady referee, the power of Stephanie McMahon and sometimes her trademark brutality to keep Bayley away from a title shot.
This only lasted until the Royal Rumble, where they had a solid match in which Flair saw her opening and shut down Hugger #1 with Natural Selection to retain. A trial by fire to break Flair's pay-per-view winning streak and gain the title were on the horizon.
(Victory was a feel-good moment booked too early. Source: WWE.com)
Fans embraced her on this journey and a WrestleMania moment of the highest order was on the horizon. Instead, she earned another title shot in a mixed gender tag match with Sheamus and Cesaro against Charlotte with Anderson and Gallows. She would win the title on the February 13th Raw after Sasha Banks prevented Dana Brooke from interfering. This surprisingly short journey did not end the rivalry. Suddenly the story became very crowded.
Sasha was the Apollo Creed to Bayley's Rocky Balboa as she factored into the champ's rematch against Charlotte at FastLane, popping the Queen in the chest with a crutch in retaliation to Dana once again interfering. Suddenly this wasn't a personal journey for Bayley, as she found the strength to vanquish her polar opposite on the world's biggest stage. She was part of an ensemble story revolving around the title in which there was no need for her to evolve any longer.
(Their match was epic in scope, but with no swerves and Bayley merely retaining instead of finally achieving ultimate victory, great became very good. Source: WWE.com)
The WrestleMania contest was solid, despite being overbooked to maximize exposure on a world stage. Plus, it is evident WWE knows what they have in Sasha Banks, who is still the most over female baby face on Raw. The title match needed her. Jax had been built up to the point they felt compelled to inject her into the match as the resident monster after her feud with Banks. Bayley breaking out a more compelling finisher – the Macho Man Elbow – brought a positive ending and a good pop as she pinned Charlotte.
That was it. Further examination shows we received something fun, that could have been the epic feel-good moment of WrestleMania. In the broader context from Mania 32 to 33 nothing in Bayley's ascent outdoes Charlotte's rivalry with Sasha Banks when it could have set the stage for Bayley to eclipse them all. In order to right the ship and take Bayley to that next level as a multimedia icon, WWE needs to remember what made Bayley NXT's biggest female star.
(Bayley's integrity never wavered, but she showed the world she wouldn't take any crap. Source: WWE.com)
In NXT, Bayley was over not only because of the kids, but also because adults of all ages could buy into her even if she wasn't the sort of persona they readily embraced. She was stalwart, a stand-up person, but she wouldn't tolerate a bully. She never gave up, but gave a window into moments of self-doubt she had to overcome. She was visibly downtrodden in the aftermath of losing to Asuka at NXT Takeover: Dallas in 2016, but came back strong in her goodbye match at Takeover: Brooklyn, defiant to the end in a losing effort. We have yet to truly see the woman that screamed at Asuka to hit her in the face.
(Integrity and reckless bravado aren't mutually exclusive and both keep fans coming back. Her final NXT match with Asuka Source: Fringekid Youtube)
The emotional depth and the window into a wrestler's strengths, weaknesses, hopes and fears make these characters relatable and that is symbiotic with the story told inside the ring.
Sasha Banks goes for broke, and would rather risk ending her career in an instant in a drive to be the greatest ever than be just another wrestler. Charlotte Flair wrestles inside with embracing her father's legacy while simultaneously ripping him from her life to forge her own identity. These women's characters connect with fans across a broader age spectrum once little kids become tweens and then start their high school years and beyond. Take a look on Twitter, Instagram, etc. You'll notice more young people in their teens and beyond embrace personalities like Banks, Charlotte, Becky Lynch, etc.
Kid friendly can still feel grown-up down the line.
(Sasha Banks, Christmas champ, reads "The Night Before Christmas" to children at Kennywood Park prior to her final title defense. Source: WPXI)
In other words, Bayley's peers won't seem childish as young people grow up watching their favorite wrestlers. While it's too easy to smile and feel good when those inflatable people come up and Bayley high-fives her way down the ramp, her off center topknot bobbing jauntily, there is an aura of corny. This would not necessarily go away if she changed her look and the sparkles and warm fuzzies were gone. The person in the tights has not gone through the personal struggles to the masses that her opponents have.
Even Nia Jax's anger is a subtle statement about a woman who is out to decimate opponents and perceptions about women and body image. Bayley just smiles and moves on. She needs to get mad, have her world and everything she has worked for challenged, then smile and move on. She already skipped over Rocky into Rocky II. Now if she is going to be one of the biggest stars in the entire history of pro wrestling, she needs to start her Rocky III.
We can't change her easy path to the title, but with character developments and the roster shakeup over the last two weeks, there is still a chance for fans to embrace Bayley as a broken champion trying to claw out of the darkness and back into the light. There are two very easy ways to set this in motion.
(Bravado and a hint of malice are a good foundation for ultimate betrayal. Source: WWE.com)
First, pull the trigger on the Sasha Banks heel turn. The body language, promo swagger and subtle changes in her wardrobe are in place for the Boss to turn on her best friend. Nothing says "day of reckoning" than shameless, violent betrayal. Banks' character has been given subtle complexity since losing the title in December. This arc is in an apparent creative holding pattern, but a simpler route can start as soon as this Monday.
(Shameless, coldhearted, yet adorable. Bliss could be the foe to help launch Bayley to the next level in as little as five minutes. Source: WWE.com)
Alexa Bliss took advantage of Nia Jax's hard work and pinned Banks to become the new #1 contender. Get the ball rolling now. Bliss snaps like she has never snapped before and savagely brutalizes Bayley on RAW.
Showing she doesn't give a damn, Little Miss Bliss grabs a chair, a kendo stick, a pipe, anything she can get her hands on and she storms down the ramp behind Bayley at Payback. The champ's feel-good entrance is snuffed out in a vulgar display of power as Bliss unleashes her savagery. Five Feet of Fury is smart enough to stop so the match can actually begin. Have paramedics come down to evaluate Bayley's condition. The champ, always the stalwart one, elects to fight through her injuries en route to certain defeat. Bayley is off TV for a couple weeks, then makes a return to demand her rematch.
Maybe title ping pong would be tough to swallow, but having Bayley find her "eye of the tiger" and reemerge as champion, overcoming the pain and fear that led to that point would be the compelling moment her run at the top needs. After that, Sasha Banks can stab her in the back and the former best friends can throw down from there to SummerSlam.
If WWE can remember that the warmth of sunlight is most satisfying after languishing in chilling darkness, then Bayley could become the biggest female star in the history of professional wrestling and Hugamania will finally run wild.
(Inner peace needs to be fought for as much if not more than world championships. Source: WWE.com)
In the next Glitter and Slam, analysis of the women of Raw, Smackdown Live and NXT will continue. As always I welcome your thoughts in the comments section and on twitter. Follow me and Wrestlementary for this and insightful commentary on WWE and American pro wrestling.
Me: @WesKozalla
Ace & Wrestlementary: @WrestlementaryT
