"Heyyyyy we want some Bayley!" That chant was once joyfully sung in unison by the live crowd each night when Bayley was in action in NXT. Crowds also sang to Bayley if she would be their girl to the tune of Bruce Channel's 1961 song "Hey! Baby;" popularized by DJ Otzi in 2000.
Bayley was loved during her time in NXT, being part of WWE's Four Horsewomen alongside Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Sasha Banks. A year after debuting on Raw in 2016 the fans began to boo Bayley, beginning the mixed crowd responses. Here are five times fans loved Bayley, and five times they couldn't stand her.
10 Loved: NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn
NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn occurred the night before SummerSlam 2015 and was co-main evented by Bayley vs Sasha Banks for the NXT Women's Championship. Both competitors got a loud crowd reaction for their entrances. The match was competitive, entertaining, and thrilling.
The finish saw Bayley execute an Avalanche Poisonrana then hit a Bayley-To-Belly to win her first championship in front of an amazed crowd. Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch joined the two in the ring post-fight to celebrate and acknowledge the quality match that had just taken place.
9 Couldn't Stand: Injury Announcement On Raw
In 2017, Bayley and Alexa Bliss were feuding over the Raw Women's Championship. Leading up to SummerSlam, Alexa attacked Bayley to cause a kayfabe separated shoulder. That August, Bayley did an interview on Raw in front of the live crowd discussing her injury and inability to compete.
The crowd did not buy Bayley's speech and began booing The Hugger as she was trying to express her heartbreak and sadness for losing her title opportunity. Bayley's facial expression and vocal tone did not seem believable and the audience did not let it go unnoticed.
8 Loved: NXT TakeOver: Respect
Two months after Bayley and Sasha Banks tore down the Barclays Center in August 2015, the two upped the ante at TakeOver: Respect. The two met in an NXT Women's Championship rematch in the first-ever Ironman match to feature women.
Bayley and Sasha went 30 minutes, which was the longest women's match in WWE until the end of the following year. Another quality, competitive match took place with Bayley getting the deciding fall in the final seconds. The NXT locker room and HHH presented the two with flowers post-fight to a standing ovation from the audience.
7 Couldn't Stand: SmackDown Transfer
WWE shook up the rosters in April 2019 and as part of the shakeup, Bayley was moved from Raw to SmackDown. Bayley had just come off a loss at WrestleMania 35 that saw her and Sasha Banks drop the WWE Women's Tag Tag Championships to The IIconics.
When Bayley came out on SmackDown unannounced, it was to a mixed crowd reaction. As soon as her theme music stopped, the boos became more noticeable. It did not help that her appearing took attention away from the recently crowned SmackDown Women's champion, Becky "2 Belts" Lynch.
6 Loved: Battleground 2016
In the summer of 2016, Sasha Banks entered a feud with Charlotte Flair for the WWE Women's Championship. At the 2016 Battleground pay-per-view, Sasha was booked in a tag match against Charlotte and her then-protége Dana Brooke. Sasha went into the event advertised to have a mystery partner.
Fans knew what was coming as there was only one person who the mystery partner could be: Sasha's best friend from NXT. With Charlotte and Dana in the ring and Sasha at the stage, Bayley's music hit to an overjoyed crowd reaction in what was her main roster debut.
5 Couldn't Stand: Extreme Rules 2017
Alexa Bliss won the Raw Women's Championship from Bayley at the 2017 Payback pay-per-view and the return match was set for Extreme Rules. Along the way, Alexa Bliss hosted the heavily criticized "Bayley: This Is Your Life!" segment.
Alexa called out Bayley for her lack of toughness and at Extreme Rules, the two competed in a Kendo Stick On A Pole match. Bayley obtained the kendo stick but hesitated to attack Alexa, allowing Bliss to gain the upper hand and win. Fans could not believe Bayley's cowardly actions and began to turn on The Hugger.
4 Loved: Turning On Sasha Banks
Bayley and Sasha Banks were frenemies in 2018. On an episode of Raw that June, Ruby Riott had just pinned Banks in a 6-person tag, continuing a string of losses for The Hugger and The Boss, and immediately following the bell, Bayley attacked her partner.
Bayley blindsided Banks out of nowhere and unleashed a furious attack. The fans cheered loudly in approval, enjoying every kick, punch, and obscenity vocalized by Bayley as she left Sasha motionless. The cuss was censored on the TV broadcast.
3 Couldn't Stand: SummerSlam 2019
Bayley won the 2019 Women's Money In The Bank ladder match, granting her a title opportunity. Bayley cashed in later that night at the Money In The Bank pay-per-view against Charlotte Flair to win her first SmackDown Women's Championship.
Bayley was champion entering that year's SummerSlam and squared off against Ember Moon. The crowd was mild for Bayley starting from her entrance. There was little to no reaction during the match and for her title defense celebration. The audience showed weariness with Bayley at the company's second-biggest annual event.
2 Loved: Raw Women's Championship Win
Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair were coming off a competitive 2016 which saw the two trade the Raw Women's Championship on numerous occasions over various episodes of Raw and pay-per-view events. In February of 2017, Charlotte moved on as champion to defend against Bayley.
Bayley was still new to the main roster and riding her NXT popularity. She challenged Charlotte for the title on Raw and saw interference from Sasha, who attacked Charlotte and allowed Bayley to score the victory. It was her first main roster championship in front of an ecstatic live crowd.
1 Couldn't Stand: Clash Of Champions 2019
Bayley began to tease a heel turn shortly after SummerSlam 2019, upping her trash-talking, especially towards the next challenger for her SmackDown Women's Championship, Charlotte Flair. Bayley labeled Charlotte as selfish and expressed her case for being the proper role model.
The fans reacted mildly to Bayley's angry side. It wasn't until she cut her hair and destroyed her Bayley Buddies that October that the fans embraced her heel persona. Bayley acted cowardly in the Clash of Champions title match, picking up the win via an exposed turnbuckle attack to mediocre crowd response.