There was a time when WWE star Bayley was your everyday fan playing WWE video games with her brother.
Fast-forward years later and she is now an actual superstar who is among the 135 playable characters in the recently released “WWE 2K17.” It’s a surreal experience for the 27-year-old.
“I played all the WWE games as a kid,” she said.
“I made my dad buy me all the “SmackDown vs. Raw” ones. One of the first games I played was “WCW Thunder.” So I would play as [Bill] Goldberg and Macho Man. Now Goldberg is in there again and Macho Man is one of the legends in the game. So the fact I’m a part of a game with him is pretty cool. It’s something that will always be with me. Even if they never want to put me in a game ever again, at least I can say I was in 2K17, and they can’t take it away from me.”
Bayley, who recently joined Raw from NXT in August, found out about her inclusion in the game through a fan tweet. However, the popular performer didn’t believe it until she got some more proof.
“I was tweeted a link that just had my picture,” Bayley said.
“Then came my entrance and it started setting in. I started freaking out a little bit. I remember sitting on my couch and reading my tweets and saw it. I got a weird, warm feeling. I had to text my brother — so he is also excited. I don’t think he has bought a game in the past two years. Now he is going to buy this one and play as me next time we are together.”
A personal dream match for Bayley is teaming with Macho Man to face Sasha Banks and Eddie Guerrero. Overall, she is happy at the finished product of her video game counterpart.
“I’ve seen videos of a match with me and Sasha,” Bayley said.
“It was a ‘falls count anywhere’ match. They put so much thought into my entrance, interacting with the crowd and putting the wacky inflatable tube men in there. I think that’s just crazy. Everything about it is just so good. It’s kind of humbling. They could have left the tube men out or left the high-fives out and just did a generic entrance. Then you think about the move set, and it has everything I do. It’s really cool.”
The leader of #HugLife has captured the adoration of the WWE Universe with the genuine joy she brings to the ring. It’s not uncommon to see purple “I’m A Hugger” shirts in the crowd worn by men and women alike. And her fan base has only gotten bigger since transitioning to the main roster. The experience has been a whirlwind for Bayley, who paid her dues on the independent scene and WWE developmental.
“It’s really amazing,” she said, reflecting on her journey thus far.
“I just came back from South America and I was thinking about the tour. It was insane to me to see how many fans knew who I was because I’m the newest member of the roster coming from NXT. It’s a crazy feeling…It has been a lot of fun. It’s kind of hard to sit back and think about it. We are just moving so much. A part of me miss the NXT family, there is a lot of NXT people up here. It’s been incredible. I’ve accomplished so many things here, but there is a lot to be done.”
Bayley has joined many of her longtime rivals and good friends on Raw like Charlotte and Banks in new surroundings. Although she can feel the support from both brands as each competitor looks to make the women divisions successful.
“We are all working together with the same main goal,” Bayley said.
“There have been eras in the past where it’s been a huge deal with Trish Stratus and Lita main eventing and Stephanie McMahon. We kind of want to build the women’s division back up. It’s definitely a sisterhood. It’s hard to explain, but it’s a team effort where everyone helps everyone and knows we can trust each other and everyone is working for the same thing. We want people to buy tickets to the women’s matches. And that’s through everyone who steps in the ring.
“…I’ve been very lucky being the last one of our little group from NXT because I’ve had everyone help me along the way. Sasha has always been there when there are things I didn’t understand or if I needed to be somewhere or make sure I’m somewhere earlier than everyone else. She has always been there and is really helpful. Alicia Fox I didn’t know much before getting here. Now I’ve been able to tour with her and doing some live events with her. She has been very helpful and welcoming. She has been here a long time now, so it’s nice to have.”
Even though NXT is reaching new heights, Raw and SmackDown is still a whole different animal. There are bigger audiences and the challenge of winning over a larger segment of fans. Bayley knows she has to prove herself all over again. At the same time, the superstar knows how important it is to stay true to oneself.
“I started from the very bottom of NXT, and my character evolved,” she said.
“A lot of my character is a lot of who I am. I rose up as a fan when I was younger. If my character grows and evolves further in WWE I think it will be me adjusting and growing with certain things. I don’t necessarily want to change too much, but if there is a certain person who is going to push my buttons or certain matches that I need to be more aggressive and not be so happy go lucky, then I will definitely adjust when needed. Right now I’m just living the dream and having fun. Once I get back in that title picture, which hopefully will be sometime soon, it won’t be all smiles all the time.”
A piece of Bayley’s heart will always be with NXT. She watches from the outside these days in a sense and realizes the brand is in good hands.
“I’ve noticed Liv Morgan has stepped it up working against Asuka,” Bayley said. “She kind of reminded me of myself when I started out in FCW and NXT because she was a lifelong fan and what you see out there is who she is backstage. I see she is just having the time of her life. Peyton Royce and Billie Kaye are starting out. I saw the last few episodes and they’re really delivering.
“They are making me hate them and doing well with their characters and their aggressiveness. I’m really excited to see what comes next in the division for them. The tag division has been incredible. The Revival has been going strong for so long for a while now. A lot of others are stepping up there. Tye Dillinger is so amazing. To see him in the game as well, he has had a struggle within NXT. Now he is the video game and having these matches in NXT and doing the tours, so he is someone. I have always wanted to see him do well.”
Another co-worker she is proud of is her former regular running buddy Carmella, who is currently on SmackDown Live.
“I can’t even explain it,” Bayley said.
“It’s so crazy to see how much fun she is having and how comfortable she is and how easy she transitioned from NXT. She was just someone when I saw her from the first day I thought she was incredibly gifted. She had something about her that I knew she would do well. Now in such a short time from NXT and on WWE she is having these huge matches and hanging with the best in Nikki Bella. It shows how far she is going to go in the division,”
Women’s wrestling in WWE has no doubt taken many steps forward to creating a level playing field. Banks and Charlotte will make history in the first-ever women’s Hell in a Cell at the event with the same name 8 p.m. ET Sunday, October 30 on pay-per-view and WWE Network. Bayley hopes to see more ground broken.
“We have always been saying we want to hang where the men do,” Bayley said.
“We are all superstars. I want people to buy tickets for people to see us. If the men are doing it, we want to do it. So them doing a hell in a cell match, that is pretty insane. We can start out with a cage, ladder, or whatever match. We can just play it in the video game and maybe Triple H or Vince McMahon will walk by and see us playing as ourselves in these matches, and maybe it will spark other ideas.”
- Play as Bayley in “WWE 2K17,” available now for PlayStation 3 and 4, as well as Xbox One and Xbox 360. The video game features the largest roster of superstars in franchise history, extensive new options in Creation Suite and Universal Mode and a host of substantial gameplay additions and enhancements. If that weren’t enough there is also an opportunity to “Become a Paul Heyman Guy” in MyCareer Mode.
- Watch Raw Mondaysat 8/7CT on USA Network.
- Follow me on Twitter @smFISHMAN.
