After a ton of speculation that her brutal loss to Lyra Valkyria was WWE’s way of writing her off television, Bayley was back in action Saturday night, competing in a triple threat match against Lyra Valkyria and Sol Ruca at WWE’s live event in Stockton, California.
The match is Bayley’s first since Saturday Night’s Main Event, where Lyra beat her clean before planting her on the steel steps with a Nightwing. Then, on Raw, Lyra claimed she had “run Bayley out of here,” a line that suddenly looked a lot more interesting after Bayley disappeared from television.
The storyline was only part of the reason fans believed something bigger could be happening. Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that there had been backstage talk before Saturday Night’s Main Event that Bayley’s match with Lyra at Madison Square Garden could be her last appearance at the legendary venue. Around the same time, fans also noticed Bayley had quietly been removed from WWE’s advertised SummerSlam Prospect Tryout VIP Experience, with Ivy Nile taking her place, adding more to the rumors.
Those developments have turned Bayley’s contract into one of wrestling’s biggest talking points. Previous reports noted that both WWE and AEW are expected to pursue her if she reaches free agency, with some within the industry believing she’ll at least make it to the negotiation window. If that happens, Bayley could be in a rare position to negotiate contract protections that aren’t typically included in WWE deals.
For now, Bayley’s return doesn’t answer the biggest question surrounding her future, but it does complicate the story. Whether Saturday night’s match was simply a one-off live event appearance or the first sign that Bayley isn’t leaving WWE after all is something only time will answer.
What do you think? Was Bayley’s return just a one-off, or do you think she’s staying with WWE after all? Let us know in the comments below.
