Bayley will step into the ring on Monday night as she has for the better part of the past 20 years. This should be a feeling and moment she’d experienced thousands of times before, but there was something undeniably different – intangible – when it came to this round.
Bailey admitted in an interview with Uncrown: “This seems like a sentence that would have been impossible to say even two years ago.”
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First, Bayley mentioned her upcoming Women’s Intercontinental Championship match against AJ Lee on Monday’s episode of “WWE Raw.” This was still far from Bayley’s first championship match – it wasn’t even her first match against the recently returned Lee – but in many ways, it was the culmination of the work Bayley and countless others put in to get women’s wrestling to the level it is today.
“[The women’s division] Definitely the most powerful ever, and that’s saying a lot,” Bailey said. “I’ve wanted to do this since I was a kid because of how great women like Trish, Lita, Gayle King, Victoria, Molly Holly, etc. were during the Attitude Era. Now, I think we have a really strong department with women from all over the world and from different backgrounds – it’s really cool to think that we have something or someone to offer everyone. Everyone is a little different and I think that’s what attracts such a large audience. “
Alongside Trish Stratus and Lita, Bayley was a member of perhaps the most influential female group in professional wrestling history, the Four Horsemen. Along with Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks (now Mercedes Moné), the foursome ushered in a new era in the sport in the mid-2010s, creating the “Female Revolution.”
This also happened to coincide with Lee and Bayley meeting for the first time in a WWE ring. Lee was the Divas Champion at the time, defending her title against Bayley in the early days of WWE’s developmental brand NXT.
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“As someone who was in the Divas Championship with AJ 13 years ago and now in the Women’s Intercontinental Championship, it’s like a completely different world,” Bayley said. “It feels like it was meant to be, she’s been such a good friend of mine all these years and she’s gone. It’s so annoying that she can still go, she’s still so good in the ring. I’m just excited.”
Lee was one of the most influential and popular figures at the start of the women’s revolution, and she was notoriously absent from WWE for over a decade. Her departure in 2015 meant she witnessed much of women’s wrestling’s rise from the sidelines, with stars like Bayley helping to propel the division and the industry as a whole to new heights.
AJ Lee returns in 2025 after a decade away from WWE.
(WWE via Getty Images)
From the Divas Championship back to the Women’s Championship. Four new titles were introduced, including the Women’s Intercontinental Championship. There are WrestleMania main events and premium live events just for women. The emergence of global superstars like Lynch and Rhea Ripley, each of whom could lay claim to being the biggest star in WWE – male or female – for quite some time.
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The changes Bailey helped bring about, lead and elevate not only sowed the seeds for future generations, but also ignited the fire for previous generations.
“The real testament to me recently is seeing the Bellas come back and seeing AJ Lee come back and want to be a part of it and fit in with us and even be a little scared and want to raise their level,” Bailey said.
“It’s so cool because when we were first starting out and trying to build this division, we were thinking about the present, how big we wanted to make it at the time, and how much we wanted to inspire the future. We never really thought about whether people from the past wanted to come back and be a part of it. I think it’s like a cherry on top of the work we put in.”
As excited as Bayley may be to take on Lee for the first time in 13 years, it’s not hard to see Bayley’s enthusiasm when she talks about the future of the division and the business. Bayley earned her chance to compete with Lee last Monday in a 37-minute challenge with five other women. Bayley’s partnership with Ivy Nile was the most notable in matches against the likes of Asuka, Iyo Sky, Lyra Valkyria and Raquel Rodriguez.
During a Women’s Challenge match on “WWE Raw,” Bayley knocked out Ivy Nile with an elbow.
(WWE via Getty Images)
“I selfishly really want to be in that match with her and hope that we can meet in that match because we’ve never wrestled before,” Bailey said. “I witnessed Ivy The growth. She goes to the darks every week, or she goes to the main event every week. Every time she comes back and asks for feedback, I see her doing it the next week, and that says a lot about a person, a performer, or an athlete. Putting her crazy body aside, we know how strong she is and her work ethic is wild and I love seeing her grow. Being in the ring with her really shows how much hard work she puts in and she is truly a worthy contender.”
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In addition to working with WWE’s rising stars, Bayley is also preparing to host her second Magnet Wrestling seminar. The first one, held in Orlando in December, drew such a “crazy” positive response from community insiders that she was overwhelmed — in a good way.
“I’m still figuring things out, taking baby steps,” Bailey said. “I think it’s a great response, the women who played the first game, 22 in total name, they shared their experiences in interviews, posts, and group chats. Just hearing what it means to them and how they’re able to spread what they’ve learned, people out there want to be a part of it, and not just because they might meet John Cena or wrestle in front of him, I think what really connects people is the community of people wanting to be a part of something special and real, because in this world of wrestling, sometimes that’s hard to achieve.”
It also provides tools that didn’t exist for Bayley or many of the generation’s biggest female stars when they broke into the industry. For many, there wasn’t a promotion dedicated to women’s wrestling until the emergence of Shimmer in the mid-2000s, and as independent wrestler Nicole Matthews said in an interview with Uncrown last year, it’s no surprise that the talent pipeline, including Bayley, was flowing into NXT.
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“I’ve never been to a wrestling seminar, which sounds crazy,” Bailey said. “Coming from the Bay Area and California, they weren’t offered, and there weren’t any women in my area, so I didn’t have any female mentors until I got to Shimmer. I had Serena Deeb, who really helped me and all the women there. It was just something I felt like we really needed, and it was an idea I had a few years ago.”
In many ways, Lodestone is the descendant of Shimmer. It could be expanded to include up-and-coming male wrestlers, but for now there’s a uniqueness that adds both intensity and appeal.
“I think it was special to be surrounded by so many women who wanted the same thing, and at a time when it was reserved only for women,” Bailey said. “There are a lot of women who want to be better and help each other. To me, women’s desire is much stronger than men’s desire right now. I would be proud to say that’s what drives it. It’s not me who wants to be better, it’s women.”
Even with her match against Lee looming, the Allegiant Stadium-sized shadow still hangs over Bayley and the entire WWE. With WrestleMania just weeks away, a win on Monday night could go a long way in securing a spot in WWE’s biggest event of the year.
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Through countless character changes, Bayley has always remained close to fans, who are as informed as ever and aware of the disappointment of her not appearing on the WrestleMania 41 card last year.
“Even when I delved into these different characters, there was always something very real about me that was a part of this character,” Bailey said. “I try to let them understand my struggles and my accomplishments. It’s really hard to explain because it’s a natural connection and something I’ve had since being in NXT. I do think they can tell when something’s fake and when you’re calling or not really feeling something. I always try to let them know how I’m feeling in every situation.”
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Bayley sees “three possibilities” leading to WrestleMania 42. The most immediate possibility seems to be to defeat Lee and win her first Women’s Intercontinental Championship. Lynch, Bayley’s long-time costar on “The Four Horsemen,” lurks in the title picture and could be a factor. Bayley also worked with Layla Valkyrie in a months-long tag team relationship, and with her help, this niche could open up a path to becoming one of the most interesting in WWE.
“What I learned from last year is that the only thing I can control is preparation,” she said. “I prepared myself last year and that really helped my mindset going into this year. I honestly feel like the door is open.”
Regardless of the outcome, Monday’s game marks a moment that a year ago was nothing more than the best possible fantasy booking and a decade ago might have been downright impossible. Bayley will be more than just a challenger, she will be, as she always has been, a link between the past, present and future of women’s wrestling.
