Bayley

Bayley (birth name: Pamela Rose Martinez) is one of the most popular wrestlers in WWE and performing on SmackDown as of October 2024. She joined the wrestling behemoth back in 2012, developing her ‘The Hugger’ persona in WWE’s developmental brand NXT. The persona was a happy-go-lucky girl who always stayed positive and motivated herself and those around her by hugging them. The gimmick helped Bayley gain a lot of popularity among the NXT fanbase and that coupled with her exceptional in-ring skills led to Bayley becoming the face of the Black and Gold brand by winning the NXT Women’s Championship. The Huggable One was also hailed as the John Cena of the women’s division, given how well she was able to connect with the younger section of the WWE Universe and her never-give-up attitude.

However, Bayley’s momentum fizzled out once she made the move up to the main roster due to no fault of her own. WWE’s 50-50 booking of the Women’s division and scripting of not-so-good segments like ‘Bayley, this is your life’ did more harm to Bayley’s presentation than good. However, Bayley reached a new level of stardom when she turned heel in 2019, shedding off everything that resembled her previous gimmick: the ponytail, the inflatable Bayley buddies, and the attire. She has since then won the WWE Women’s Grand Slam, being the first woman in WWE history to do so, and has also taken part in historic matches like the first Women’s Championship match to have taken place in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Also Read: Bayley Contract

Bayley Early life

Bayley was born on June 15, 1989, in Newark, California. She was introduced to wrestling at a young age and grew up in a family of wrestlers. Bayley's father was a high school wrestling coach, and she would frequently join him in sessions and matches. She also watched wrestling on television and grew to admire performers such as Shawn Michaels, Eddie Guerrero, and Lita.

Bayley participated in a variety of sports as a child, including basketball and track & field. She was a standout athlete in high school, earning numerous awards and breaking records. Her enthusiasm for wrestling, though, remained strong, and she began training at a local wrestling school when she was 18 years old.

Also Read: Bayley Family

Bayley Professional Wrestling Career

Pre-WWE Career (2008-2012)

Bayley began her wrestling career in 2008 when she enrolled in the Big Time Wrestling (BTW) training facility in California. During that year, she made her ring debut under the ring name Davina Rose. She continued to wrestle for BTW and other indie promoters in California, establishing a reputation as a talented wrestler with a distinctive style.

Shimmer Women Athletes, a Chicago-based women's wrestling brand, signed Bayley in 2011. She made her promotion debut at Shimmer Volume 41, teaming up with Mia Yim to defeat Kellie Skater and Jessie McKay. Bayley kept working for Shimmer, eventually becoming a regular performer for the company. Bayley also competed for other independent wrestling outfits, such as Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), and Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW).

WWE Career:

NXT (2012-2016)

Bayley signed with WWE in 2012 and debuted for their developmental territory NXT in 2013 as a masked Luchadora. She later adopted the name Bayley and had several matches, starting with a loss to Paige in March 2013. In August 2015, she defeated Charlotte and Becky Lynch to become the #1 contender for the NXT Women's Championship, which she won at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn in August by defeating Sasha Banks. She retained the title in a rematch with Banks in October in the first-ever women's 30-minute Iron Man match in WWE history. However, Bayley lost the championship to Asuka at NXT TakeOver: Dallas in April 2016. She asked for a rematch at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II in July 2016 but failed to regain the title, which was her last match in NXT.

Also Read: Bayley Theme Song And Finisher

Road to becoming RAW Women’s Champion

Bayley made her main roster debut on July 24, 2016, at WWE's Battleground pay-per-view, being revealed as Sasha Bank's mystery partner. The duo defeated Charlotte and Dana Brooke. She officially joined Raw on August 22, as confirmed by General Manager Mick Foley. Despite multiple efforts, Bayley was unable to capture the RAW Women's Title until she defeated Charlotte with the assistance of Banks in the main event of the February 13, 2017 edition of RAW. She successfully defended her championship against Charlotte at Fastlane with Banks' interference, resulting in Charlotte's first pay-per-view loss. Bayley's title run, however, came to an end on April 30 when she was defeated by Alexa Bliss at Payback.

The Inaugural WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions with Sasha Banks

After weeks of tension, which included Bayley abandoning Banks during their matches, Bayley and Sasha Banks engaged in a physical brawl backstage on the March 26, 2018, edition of Raw. They continued to dispute into mid-2018, and they were ordered to attend counseling sessions to save their friendship. They finally reconciled and established a tag team named The Boss 'n' Hug Connection in July of that year. They won the first-ever WWE Women's Tag Team Championships at the Elimination Chamber on February 17, 2019, defeating Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville in a six-team Elimination Chamber match. On March 10, they successfully defended their title against Nia Jax and Tamina at Fastlane. The Boss 'n' Hug Connection would, however, lose the Tag Team Championships in a Fatal Fourway match at WrestleMania 35 to The IIconics.

Move to SmackDown and Heel-turn

In April 2019, Bayley was drafted to the SmackDown brand as part of the Superstar Shake-up, breaking up her alliance with Sasha Banks. She won the Money in the Bank ladder match in May of that year, earning her a women's championship match at any time. She cashed in her briefcase on the same night and defeated Charlotte Flair to become the SmackDown Women's Champion, marking her the first Women's Grand Slam winner in WWE history. Bayley lost the title to Charlotte Flair at Hell in a Cell on October 6, 2019, ending her reign after 140 days. Bayley unveiled a new look and attacked her inflatable tube men during her entrance on the following edition of SmackDown, indicating a heel turn. She regained the championship from Flair on October 11, 2019, completing her transformation into a villainous character.

Bayley won the first-ever women's championship match in Saudi Arabia at the Super ShowDown Premium Live Event on February 27, 2020, defeating Naomi to retain the title. She also won the Women's Tag Team Championship alongside Sasha Banks on June 5, 2020, by defeating Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, becoming a double champion in the process. However, they lost the belts to Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler at Payback on August 30, 2020. On the September 4, 2020, episode of SmackDown, Bayley turned on Banks once again by attacking her and disbanding their team.

Bayley lost the SmackDown Women's Title to Sasha Banks on October 25, 2020, at the Hell in a Cell Premium Live Event, bringing her reign to a conclusion after 380 days. She was supposed to face Bianca Belair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship in an "I Quit" match at Money in the Bank on July 18, 2021, however on July 9, WWE reported that Bayley had ruptured her ACL while practicing at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, which would keep her out of action for almost nine months.

Read More: Bayley Parents

Return from injury and Damage CTRL

Bayley made her return on July 30, 2022, at SummerSlam, after being missing in action for a year. She joined forces with Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai to confront Bianca Belair following her Raw Women's Championship battle against Becky Lynch, reigniting her feud with the EST of WWE. Bayley's return also meant her move back to the Raw brand. Bayley's group Damage CTRL competed in a WarGames match at Survivor Series WarGames on November 26, 2022. They competed alongside Nikki Cross and Rhea Ripley against Belair, Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Mia Yim, and Becky Lynch. They were defeated after Lynch pinned Kai following a diving leg drop from Lynch from the top of the cage through a table.

Following the match, Bayley and Damage Control turned their attention to Becky Lynch, leading to a 6-Women Tag Team Match at WrestleMania 39. In what is expected to be a spectacular match, Bayley and her stablemates battled out Lynch and WWE Hall of Famers Lita and Trish Stratus in a losing effort. At the annual draft, Bayley was drafted to SmackDown alongside Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky. A few weeks later, Bayley defeated "Michin" Mia Yim to get her spot in the Women's Money in the Bank ladder match. At the event, while she failed to grab the briefcase, her stablemate Iyo Sky succeeded in doing so. Sky used the briefcase to win the WWE Women's Championship at SummerSlam. She defended it at Fastlane in a triple threat match and at Crown Jewel against Bianca Belair, all while Bayley assisted her from ringside. In November 2023, Bayley officially admitted Kairi Sane and Asuka into Damage CTRL. At Survivor Series, the Damage CTRL were beaten by Becky Lynch, Shotzi, Charlotte Flair, and Bianca Belair where Bayley was the wrestler pinned.

Also Read: Bayley Summerslam Record

Leaving Damage CTRL and Women's Title Pursuit (2024)

At Royal Rumble 2024, Bayley last eliminated Liv Morgan to win the Women's Royal Rumble from the #3 spot. She also created the record for the longest time spent in the Women's Royal Rumble match. At the following SmackDown, she came out to announce her WrestleMania opponent. Bayley revealed that she knew how to speak Japanese and that she knew how her fellow teammates spoke of her behind her back. Bayley then chose Iyo Sky as her WrestleMania opponent for Sky's Women's World Championship.

At the 2024 Royal Rumble, Bayley won the women's Royal Rumble match as the third entrant. She set another record for the longest time spent in the match at 1:03:03. After being removed from her group by Asuka and Kairi Sane, Bayley turned face and challenged IYO Sky for the WWE Women's Title at WrestleMania XL. She came out on top for her second championship following her win over Kai. Bayley successfully defended her title against Naomi and Tiffany Stratton at Backlash France and Piper Niven at Clash at the Castle. However, she lost the title to Nia Jax at SummerSlam after interference from Stratton and failed to regain it at Bad Blood.

Bayley Championships and Achievements

Achievements:

1. Busted Open
   Tag Team of the Year (with Sasha Banks): 2020

2. CBS Sports
   Tag Team of the Year (with Sasha Banks): 2020

3. Inside The Ropes Magazine
   Female Wrestler of the Year: 2020

4. Pro Wrestling Illustrated
   Feud of the Year (vs. Sasha Banks): 2020
   Inspirational Wrestler of the Year: 2015 and 2016
   Match of the Year (vs. Sasha Banks at NXT TakeOver: Respect): 2015
   Tag Team of the Year (with Sasha Banks): 2020
   Ranked No. 1 of the top 100 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Women's 100: 2020
   Ranked No. 3 of the top 50 tag teams in the PWI Tag Team 50 (with Sasha Banks): 2020

5. Rolling Stone
   NXT Match of the Year (vs. Sasha Banks at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn): 2015
   Title Feud of the Year, NXT (vs. Sasha Banks for the NXT Women's Championship): 2015

6. Sports Illustrated
   Ranked No. 6 of the top 10 wrestlers: 2020
   Ranked No. 8 of the top 10 women's wrestlers (tied with Sasha Banks): 2019

7. Wrestling Observer Newsletter
   Most Improved: 2015
   Worst Feud of the Year (vs. Sasha Banks): 2018
   Women's Wrestling MVP: 2020

8. WWE
   NXT Year-End Award (2 times)
   Female Competitor of the Year: 2015
   Match of the Year (vs. Sasha Banks at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn): 2015
   Ranked No. 10 of the top 50 Greatest WWE Female Superstars of all time: 2021
   Slammy Award (2 times):
   Double-Cross of the Year (for attacking Sasha Banks on SmackDown September 4, 2020 edition): 2020
   Social Media Superstar of the Year: 2020
   Bumpy Award (2 times):
   Tag Team of the Half-Year (with Sasha Banks): 2020
   Social Superstar of the Half-Year: 2021

Championships:

Bayley Family

Bayley was raised in a household that was in the wrestling business. Her father, Thomas Martinez, was a professional wrestler who wrestled in independent promotions on the West Coast under the ring name "Speedy."

Annmarie Martinez, Bayley's mother, was also involved in the wrestling industry. She worked as a ticket salesperson and ring announcer for Big Time Wrestling, a promotion based in Hayward, California. Bayley has frequently credited her parents for exposing her to wrestling at a young age and developing in her a love for the sport.

Read More: Bayley Family

Bayley Husband/Partner

Bayley is known for keeping her personal life discreet. She hasn't revealed a lot about her family or connections. The former SmackDown Women's Champion was previously engaged to fellow professional wrestler Aaron Solo, whom she met in 2010. However, on February 21, 2021, the engagement was called off.