What Are the Expectations for a Four-Time Women's Champion's Character Change?

Over the past few weeks on Raw, the WWE has been teasing a character change for Bayley. The four-time women’s champion has been going through what fans have perceived as a personality disorder. One personality is her NXT persona, “The Hugger.” This is a callback to Bayley’s NXT persona, where she was the ultimate babyface. She was an inspiration to the little kids and fans all around the world. Then the other personality is her heel persona. This is when Bayley ditched the babyface look and became a bad guy for the first time in her career. While she was a heel, the former NXT Women’s Champion was one of the brightest stars for the WWE during the pandemic. She held the SmackDown Women’s Championship for a record 380 days and constantly did what was asked of her. With these two opposite personalities affecting Bayley’s psyche right now, the question being asked is what is next for the 2024 Women’s Royal Rumble winner.

This year has been rocky for the two-time Women’s Tag Team Champion. She was left off the WrestleMania card in favor of Becky Lynch, and she failed to claim the Women’s Intercontinental Championship and the Women’s Tag Team Titles. She did, however, deliver one of the best matches of the year at Evolution, a match that should have main-evented the show, with Lynch and Lyra Valkyria in a Triple Threat Match. Yet, she also cost Valkyria her shot at ever challenging Lynch for the Women’s IC championship at SummerSlam. So, it has been a rough year for Bayley, and now it seems that the next stage of her career will revolve around this sudden split in personality. Her first target could be Valkyria as the first Women’s Intercontinental Champion was seen backstage on Raw, asking Adam Pearce what is going on with Bayley, and has anybody checked in on her. It will definitely be a different perspective for Bayley, but maybe this new character could get her on the same level as Charlotte Flair, Lynch, and Rhea Ripley.

Odd characters have always been ones that fans have found intriguing. For example, Bray Wyatt and his family were odd, weird, and strange, but they got over with the audience with their personas. The same can be said for Alexa Bliss; her “Twisted Bliss” persona got over with the WWE Universe, and some remnants of that persona remain a part of Bliss’s character today. If Bayley handles this character well and it gets over with the fans, then the girl once known as “The Hugger” may reach a level of stardom that she can only dream of. Bayley is a fan-favorite of the WWE Universe now, but it will be interesting to see what she does with this new shift in character next.