Bayley’s future in WWE is getting some attention, and with her contract situation now part of the conversation, there’s a question about what the company has planned for her moving forward.
During the October 31 edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer discussed Bayley’s status while talking about possible changes to WWE NXT’s leadership. With Shawn Michaels being linked to Bruce Prichard’s position after WrestleMania 43, Garrett Gonzales brought up Bayley as someone who could potentially take on a role helping develop younger talent. And according to Meltzer, that’s not such a crazy idea. He explained that several WWE veterans have expressed interest in working with younger wrestlers, including CM Punk.
“I think that they’re all interested in helping younger wrestlers. You know, Punk’s made it very clear he’s interested in that.”
But Bayley’s situation is a little different. Meltzer suggested that she might actually be open to making that kind of move, although nothing has been decided.
“From all I hear, Bayley, you know, it’s a different story. You know, maybe that’s something that she wants to do. So it’s — that one’s possible.”
The conversation then shifted to Bayley’s WWE contract, and Meltzer made it clear that there’s some uncertainty surrounding her next move. However, he doesn’t expect her to leave WWE for AEW.
“Her deal’s up. I’m pretty much sure she’s not going to AEW. Not 100 sure, but pretty sure, and we’ll see what happens.”
That doesn’t mean Bayley is preparing to leave wrestling or that WWE has offered her a position in NXT. But Meltzer believes there’s another factor worth considering — where WWE currently sees her in its women’s division. Despite Bayley being one of the most accomplished women on the roster, Meltzer doesn’t believe the company intends to position her among its top four female stars.
“They’re not gonna put her in the top four women’s spot. Whether, you know, you could argue she deserves it. She’s really good all around and all that.”
Instead, Meltzer believes WWE has established a particular role for Bayley, and that role involves helping younger stars get over rather than consistently being featured at the top of the championship picture.
“They’ve got her at a certain slot, and really her slot is to be one of the women to get the younger women over.”
That’s an interesting assessment considering Bayley’s history with the company. She’s a former multi-time Women’s Champion, one of WWE’s original Four Horsewomen, and someone who helped establish NXT’s women’s division long before it became the developmental brand fans know today. She’s also spent years working with rising talent on the main roster, so the idea of Bayley eventually becoming more involved with NXT wouldn’t exactly come out of nowhere.
Still, there’s no indication that WWE has officially offered Bayley a developmental position or that she’s planning to stop wrestling. Meltzer’s comments were about what could happen rather than anything that’s already been finalized.
For now, Bayley’s contract status remains an interesting situation to watch. Meltzer doesn’t expect her to jump to AEW, but he also doesn’t see WWE pushing her back into the very top tier of its women’s division. Whether that eventually leads to a bigger role in NXT or simply means she continues helping younger stars on the main roster remains to be seen.
Do you think WWE should give Bayley another major championship run, or would she be a better fit helping develop the next generation of talent in NXT? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
