The world of wrestling is full of oddball friendships. There are some more obvious ones between long-time tag team partners, stable mates, or even on-screen rivals who spent significant time working together in one capacity or another. There are other friendships fans might not guess at, rooted in real life bonds behind the scenes.
That’s especially so if the bond came before or after two wrestlers were in the limelight, in connections that might have flown under the radar on the indies or in relatively minor promotions. Such is the case for Bayley and Serena Deeb who’ve both been in the national spotlight in different capacities but never shared time on a major stage for more than cup of coffee.
Bayley And Serena Deeb Worked Together In SHIMMER
Long before WWE launched its Women’s Revolution, SHIMMER was a home base for serious women’s wrestling in the US. Indeed, quite a few of the top women’s wrestlers todays made their way through the promotion at one point or another, include Saraya, Becky Lynch, Mercedes Martinez, Asuka, Dakota Kai, Tessa Blanchard, and Ruby Soho.
Bayley makes the list too, as she appeared in SHIMMER under the moniker Davina Rose. There, she was the young tag team partner and protégé to veteran Serena Deeb, returning for a second run in SHIMMER after her brief tenure in WWE. Bayley spoke fondly of Deeb in an interview with metro.co.uk, including crediting Deeb with helping her get at spot on the SHIMMER roster, which led to much bigger things for her career.
Serena Deeb’s Career In Mainstream Wrestling
WWE-only fans best remember Serena Deeb for her stint with the company in 2010. At that time, CM Punk called her up from the crowd, shaved her head, and made her a key part of the underrated Straight Edge Society faction. She didn’t wrestle much, but nonetheless was a featured player for the cult-like group that helped elevate Punk’s standing before he really exploded a year later.
WWE released Deeb because she was caught drinking in public in the heat of this run. While some fans thought it was silly to hold her accountable for her gimmick in the modern era, Deeb expressed understanding in an interview with Right After Wrestling (h/t Wrestling INC). She stated, “They were big on that (living a straight edge lifestyle outside the ring) and understandably so. It was a really hot angle and an important stable in the company, so they definitely wanted that image to be maintained outside of the ring as well.” Deeb would work with the company again in 2017 as a featured participant in the Mae Young Classic tournament, after which she worked for a time as a coach at the Performance Center.
Deeb wound up finding another gear afterward, winning the NWA Women’s Championship and later being positioned as a serious threat to Thunder Rosa’s AEW Women’s Championship, including challenging her at All Out 2022.
Bayley’s Rise To The Top Of Women’s Wrestling
Bayley’s work in SHIMMER paved the road for her to sign with WWE at the end of 2012. She became one of the greatest performers in NXT history as an underdog babyface who worked her way up the ranks. She unseated Sasha Banks for the NXT Women’s Championship in a show-stealing instant classic at the original NXT Takeover:Brooklyn and the Iron Man rematch between the two became the first women’s contest to main event a TakeOver.
The black and gold run set up Bayley for a similarly successful tenure on the main roster, winning multiple championships as a babyface and heel alike. She is currently positioned as the top female heel on Raw, leading the Damage CTRL faction.
Bayley Called Serena Deeb A Dream Opponent
In her 2021 interview with metro.co.uk, Bayley spoke to the idea of having a match with Serena Deeb. “I have so much respect and some history with Serena Deeb,” Bayley said. “I would love, love, love to be able to have a match with her one day.”
There’s not a natural path to book these two together, given Bayley looks locked into the WWE roster for the foreseeable future and Deeb is signed to AEW. However, with Triple H now in charge of talent relations and creative for WWE, the climate might be a little more friendly to Deeb returning if she wanted to and when her contract is up. That’s particularly conceivable given The Game purportedly gave Bayley what she wanted in leading a heel faction after Vice McMahon had not been receptive to the idea.
Bayley and Serena Deeb are both among the most respected women working in mainstream wrestling today. It makes sense that they’d share a mutual respect between them, and their time spent working together on smaller stages has contributed to a real life bond.