Bayley’s WWE contract situation looked settled for all of a few hours. After reports claimed she had signed a new deal following her RAW return, WWE sources are now saying that didn’t happen at all and that Bayley still has plenty of time left on the contract she already had.
According to PWInsider, there weren’t even conversations about Bayley signing another deal before she returned on September 7. Multiple WWE sources told the outlet that reports of a new contract are incorrect, with the idea that she needed to sign one in order to return being shot down completely.
“There are reports that Bayley signed a new WWE deal with that report attributed to Dave Meltzer. That is incorrect. Multiple WWE sources have indicated that there were no conversations about Bayley signing a new deal as she still has lots of time left on her contract. Anyone claiming she signed a new deal as a condition of her return would be 100% wrong.”
That’s quite a different story from the one that emerged immediately after RAW. Meltzer was asked about Bayley’s status on Wrestling Observer Radio and didn’t leave much room for interpretation with his answer.
“Yep, signed a new deal.”
The confusion didn’t start there either. Sean Ross Sapp had previously said a WWE wrestler he spoke with believed Bayley had re-signed, although he made it clear that he couldn’t confirm it himself.
“I spoke to a wrestler two weeks ago that believes she re-signed with WWE, but none of that was confirmed yet.”
That uncertainty was also why AEW appeared to still be hanging around the situation. Sapp said the company didn’t necessarily have confirmation that Bayley had re-signed and had hoped it would at least get the opportunity to make a play for her.
“I can tell you AEW doesn’t necessarily have that information yet, and they definitely had high hopes that they would at least be able to make a play for Bayley.”
If PWInsider’s latest report is accurate, though, there wasn’t an imminent free agency for AEW to chase. Bayley wasn’t coming back because WWE had convinced her to stay with a new contract. She was already under contract with significant time remaining. There’s also no uncertainty about where Bayley fits on television now. PWInsider reported that her return wasn’t a one-night deal and that she is officially back on the RAW roster full-time.
“As PWInsiderElite.com reported, Bayley returned to WWE storylines last night, attacking Lyra Valkyria. She is back on the Raw roster full-time and will be on the road going forward.”
Bayley made that return by costing Lyra Valkyria her Money in the Bank qualifier against Sol Ruca and Maxxine Dupri before attacking Valkyria after the match. That immediately restarted their issues and gave Bayley something to sink her teeth into after weeks away from television.
So Bayley is staying in WWE, just apparently not for the reason everyone thought. What briefly looked like a brand-new contract is now being described by WWE sources as no new deal at all, with Bayley simply returning to work under the contract she already had.
What do you make of the conflicting reports over Bayley’s WWE contract? Let us know in the comments.
