Bayley is one of the top stars from the Women's Revolution who has been overlooked and yet has risen to the upper echelons of the card. However, there have been some things in Bayley's career that failed to make sense.
The Role Model is the longest-reigning SmackDown Women's Champion in WWE history after holding the championship for a record 380 days. Bayley is unquestionably the most underrated out of her Four Horsewomen contemporaries Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch. Nevertheless, she has still managed to carve out a successful career.
Bayley is a history maker as she is the first of the four women to become a Grand Slam Champion which is a remarkable achievement. Nonetheless, there have been some questionable bookings at the way Bayley has been presented, which is why some things in her career did not add up.
10 Not Get Called Up During The Women's Revolution
In the summer of 2015, the Women's Revolution took off and Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch were called up to the main roster. The first couple of months were not the best but for the Women's Revolution but it improved drastically once Charlotte captured the Divas Title from Nikki Bella at Night of Champions.
However, Bayley was left behind in NXT and she shortly captured the NXT Women's Championship from Banks. It made sense for Bayley to stay in NXT for a short while, but it was a little unfair that she made her main roster debut a year later when she could have joined the rest of the Four Horsewomen by the end of 2015.
9 Beating Charlotte For The Raw Women's Title On Raw Instead Of Fastlane
Charlotte Flair was unstoppable, and she was riding a wave of momentum as Raw Women's Champion. The Queen continued her dominance by retaining the Raw Women's Title against Bayley in a competitive match at the 2017 Royal Rumble.
However, The Hugger never gave up, and she stunned Charlotte on the February 13th edition of Raw to capture her first singles title on the main roster. Whilst, it was a significant moment in Bayley's career, it made sense for her to end Charlotte's unbeaten run on pay-per-view at Fastlane by winning the title. It would have been a bigger deal to win the Raw Women's Championship and end her unbeaten run on pay-per-view simultaneously.
8 Losing WWE Tag Team Championship At WrestleMania 35
At Elimination Chamber 2019, Bayley and Sasha Banks made history as the inaugural WWE Women's Tag Team Champions. They were the perfect duo to hold the new titles and make them feel prestigious.
However, at WrestleMania 35, they dropped the titles to The Ilconics in a fatal-4-way tag team match. It was a shocking moment, and a poor decision to change the titles as Banks and Bayley could have had a lengthy run with the championship and establish the gold but it was not meant to be.
7 Dropping SmackDown Women's Title To Charlotte At Hell In A Cell 2019
In the fall of 2019, Bayley did the unthinkable by turning heel which was long overdue after she viciously assaulted Becky Lynch. The Man was feuding with Bayley's best friend Sasha, and it was a new change of heart for Bayley.
The Hugger retained the SmackDown Women's Championship against Charlotte at Clash of Champions but lost it to The Queen at Hell in a Cell. It made little sense for Bayley to drop the championship to Charlotte, but luckily she regained it which catapulted her historic 380-day reign as SmackDown Women's Champion.
6 Failing To Turn Heel Sooner
Bayley's happy-go-lucky Hugger character already began to grow tiresome with some fans who were bored of Bayley. Unfortunately, Bayley sustained a legitimate arm injury, and on August 7, 2017, edition of Raw, she was doing an in-ring interview with Charly Caruso talking about her injury.
It was a cringeworthy interview as Bayley was close to tears as fans booed her out of the building. This should have been the catalyst for Bayley to turn heel instead of making Bayley continue her face run when she returned to action. It wouldn't be for another two years until she had her breakthrough heel run in the fall of 2019.
5 Short Raw Women's Championship Reign
After defeating Charlotte for the Raw Women's Championship, Bayley had the chance to stamp down her authority and carry the Raw Women's Division as champion. It seemed that Bayley was destined for big things as she retained the Raw Women's Title at WrestleMania 33 when she overcame Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Nia Jax.
Ultimately, Bayley suffered another setback when she dropped the title to Alexa Bliss at Payback 2017. Bayley failed to recapture the Raw Women's Title, and she was floundering on the card once more. The Hugger desperately needed a lengthy run on the top to cement herself as a top name on the roster.
4 Not Win The Women's Battle Royal At WrestleMania 34
WrestleMania 34 would have felt like a demotion for Bayley, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch, who all competed in title matches the year prior and were relegated to the kick-off show. They all collided in the first-ever Women's WrestleMania Battle Royal.
This was the perfect opportunity to give Bayley another WrestleMania moment. Again she was rejected by the fans, and they rejoiced when Naomi eliminated her to win the women's Battle Royal. Bayley certainly should have gone over to have another significant victory at Mania, but she came up short.
3 No Match At WrestleMania 37
Bayley was one of the standout performers in the pandemic era in 2020 and she carried SmackDown for large portions of the year. Unfortunately, when Bayley's SmackDown Women's Championship reign ended, she has seen herself fall down the pecking order.
However, there was another travesty and Bayley failed to have a match at WrestleMania 37. There's no reason why Bayley was not featured in a significant encounter at WrestleMania, and she deserved to have a WrestleMania match for the remarkable job she did as SmackDown Women's Champion.
2 Not Lasting Longer In The 2021 Royal Rumble Match
After losing the SmackDown Women's Championship, Bayley reinvented herself and began a talk show called Ding Dong! Hello. The Role Model is hilarious and she entered the 2021 Royal Rumble match from the unenviable number one position.
Bianca Belair won the match and rightfully so, but Bayley could have lasted longer in this Rumble. Her elimination was premature and despite lasting 29 minutes, Bayley should have reached the latter stages of the Rumble, just to remain relevant in the SmackDown Women's Division.
1 Feud With Sasha Banks Not Lasting Until WrestleMania 37
There were no hotter female commodities than Bayley and Sasha Banks who were running roughshod on Raw, SmackDown, and NXT, and they had all the gold in their possession in 2020. They were called The Golden Role Models, and they were in their second reign as WWE Women's Tag Team Champions with Bayley holding the SmackDown Women's Title and Banks, the holder of the Raw iteration of the belt.
However, they dropped the titles to Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler and lost their rematch which led to Bayley turning heel and assaulting Sasha. It was a prominent rivalry, and they should have had a marquee match against one another at WrestleMania 37. Ultimately, it culminated with Sasha ending Bayley's historic 380-day reign as SmackDown Women's Champion and winning the rematch which made the feud end abruptly which should have dragged on longer.