Bayley is BACK! The former Raw and SmackDown Women's Champion made her long-awaited return to WWE at SummerSlam 2022 when she confronted Bianca Belair following Belair's victory over Becky Lynch in the opening match of WWE's second-biggest Premium Live Event. It all went down at the Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday, July 30. Belair had just retained the Raw Women's Championship with a hard-fought victory over Becky Lynch in the opening match when Lynch embraced Belair as a sign of respect, seemingly turning face in the process. As the two women were hugging, they were interrupted by someone who used to be a hugger.

Bayley's music rang out around the stadium and the former NXT star sauntered down the aisle towards the ring ... but she didn't climb the apron. Instead, Bayley stood outside the ring and waited. She was then joined by NXT stalwarts Dakota Kai and Io Shirai (who commentary referred to as Iyo Sky, confirming name change).

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Bayley, Kai, and Sky entered the ring and confronted Belair. It looked like things were about to get physical, but Becky came to her former foe's aid and the newly-formed trio retreated.

Bayley's last match in a WWE ring went down on June 25, 2021, when she teamed up with Seth Rollins to take on Bianca Belair and Cesaro in mixed tag action on an edition of SmackDown on FOX. Shortly afterward, she injured her left knee and was written off WWE programming while she recovered.

Dakota Kai was released by WWE along with several of her now-former colleagues on Friday, April 29. Following Kai's release, Bayley took to Twitter to praise her.

"I can never fully express how much Dakota Kai has helped me during my injury process. She constantly checks in on me, reassures what I’m feeling is only temporary, and shares her experience with me so I don’t feel alone," Bayley wrote.

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