Bayley is finding her voice, both in the ring and away from it.
The former WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion recently appeared on WWE After The Bell with Corey Graves, and she discussed how her growth as a performer has impacted her personal life. “The Role Model” explained how her promo skills have helped her become more comfortable with speaking, even in conversations with loved ones.
“[IN FCW,] I was the complete opposite of anything that you see on TV,” said Bayley. “I would get in front of Dusty [Rhodes], and I would get in front of you guys, and I would freak out and I would start shaking. All I wanted to do was wrestle and be in the ring.”
“It took me a long time to get comfortable, even as the Hugger character. It took a lot of confidence and the fans believing in me, and just with myself, like now I can’t believe that I can even do this interview without knowing what to say. And I think about the [Ding Dong, Hello] talk show. I’ve only done it twice, but that they’ve given me this time, and even my sit down promos after I turned on Sasha [Banks], to have a spotlight just on me and to have that time for me to talk and for me to feel okay with it, it’s really helped me in everyday life. It’s just helped me find my words and find my voice.”
As “The Role Model,” Bayley is often viewed as one of the standard-bearers in WWE’s women’s division. For this reason, Corey Graves asked Bayley for her thoughts on Peyton Royce‘s buzzworthy RAW Talk promo. Bayley compared the realism in Royce’s promo to the way she utilizes her genuine feelings, and she explained why she thinks it’s a recipe for success for Royce.
“I think for Peyton, she’s finding it because she’s not getting what she wants,” said Bayley. “And I think she’s finding her character by just genuinely being herself. Like everything she said on RAW Talk, I know is what she feels and what’s within her because we talk about it so much. For me, my character stuff came from being who I truly was when I was a big fan and I was a dork and so happy to be there, that’s how the Hugger came about.
“When I chopped off my hair and changed my attitude, it’s because I truly felt that I needed to change my direction in order to get the success that I wanted, and it’s worked. So, I feel like for Peyton specifically, this anger is only gonna help her and it’s gonna help her truly find herself. [She’s going to] find how she wants to carry herself and how she wants to perceived by the fans and by the company and it’s just gonna shine through.”
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Related: Peyton Royce Gets Emotional On RAW Talk: ‘Just Let Me Go And See What Happens’
The full episode is available here:
RELATED: Prior To Being A Role Model, Bayley Lost Her Confidence And Thought She’d Get Left Behind
