Steve Austin had Bayley as a guest on The Steve Austin Show. During the conversation, the two talked about how Bayley’s current position in the WWE could use some improvement to get her back to the state she was during NXT and WrestleMania 33. Austin went on to talk about how he persuaded Vince McMahon to turn heel at WrestleMania 17, and McMahon approved of it although he was very reluctant. Although he does not think the turn was very successful in the long run, because people did not want him to be a heel, he still is happy that he decided to make some kind of change in his character to prevent it from getting stale.
Austin and Bayley then discussed how The Undertaker went from The Deadman to the American Bada**, and how it was done to refresh his character, as he eventually went back to the Deadman but with a fresh feel. Bayley then discussed some ideas that could turn freshen up her character.
“It’s not necessarily turning from a good guy to a bad guy, or anything, but even if it was as simple as taking my ponytail out and just having my hair down, or cutting my hair, or having different gear. Just something a little different I think I need. That’s, just change my look. Just evolve a little bit. Maybe change a little bit of things in the ring.”
Bayley then shared how she picked Seth Rollins’ brain regarding how he was able to quickly become a good babyface after being one of the top heels for a long period of time. She said that Rollins told her that he just “tried to be like Stone Cold” in being more aggressive in the ring, but still being a good guy. Bayley added that if she decided to make that kind of change, she would feel the most comfortable going to Vince McMahon himself to discuss the details of it. She said that she would ask Triple H things, but he would say “You’re better off asking Vince” and building a relationship with him.
Austin brought an extremely good point about how a top talent stays relevant. He stated that while a top name should always be just an opportunity away from getting a title shot, he stays relevant when there is someone that sidetracks him while pursuing the championship, starting a feud between the two. This causes the two opponents to be happy “working their angle because they’re wrestling for something that matters.” Bayley added that she “would be worried if she was not on TV for weeks,” but she is fine with still appearing on weekly television, even if it is not for the title.
Bayley did admit that she wanted to pitch turning heel recently.
“There was one day when I was like, ‘I’m gonna pitch this. I’m gonna do it. I wanna be a heel.’ And then I went out for our match that night, and there was just, I saw maybe five or six girls dressed up like me, and we had met girls before the show who were in tears just meeting us. And I was like, ‘Ok, no. I can’t do it. If I turn my back on them, I don’t know what would happen.'”
If any portion of this transcription is used, please H/T the Steve Austin Show via WrestleZone.
