WrestleMania Backlash 2021: Bayley Women, Like Opponent Bianca Belair, Don’t Let Women Work

For 380 days, Bayley SmackDown was the women’s champion. It was a tremendous race that made her work as a heel character better. Many thought it was out of the 31st year when something shifted from NXT to the WWE “main list”. At WrestleMania Backlash on SundayBayley has a chance to become champion, almost seven months after losing the title.

“It was a little weird because I was going to look at my bag and freak out, because my title wasn’t there or I was going to try to leave my title or take it before I entered and I didn’t realize it,” Bayley told CBS Sports last October after losing the title in those early months. “So there were some sad moments.”

On Sunday, Bayley will face Bianca Belair, the rising star who grabbed her belt from Sasha Banks at WrestleMania’s 1st nightly event.

Belair is one of the leaders of the generation that came after the class of Bayley, Banks, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch. According to Bayley, Belair, along with women’s champion Rhea Ripley Raw, is constantly advancing the “idea” of what a female fighter can be in the WWE. However, the hyperathletic cultivation of young star talents presents new challenges for the stars as they try to hold on to the top spots.

“It’s amazing to see how much NXT has grown and how it continues,” Bayley said. “Some of us were hired only after we hired people, at the time they were looking for one type of girl, one type of woman or one type of fighter. Now, literally, everyone is welcome. Any size or NXT could become a star anyone could come to. Clearly , Rhea Ripley worked so hard before in Australia and is still very young, but to see her and Bianca coming and having a great way and look to be themselves is a tremendous piece of flip and find success.

“My challenge is to make sure people like Bianca and Rhea don’t pass me by. I’ve worked hard to push aside before I’m ready for Raw and Smackdown and NXT. For me, it’s my challenge. Yes, I want to see it do well and be successful. , but I still have a lot to do. “

After being at the center of the evolution of women’s WWE struggles and earning the title SmackDown for more time than any other woman in history, Bayley has seen milestones and gone. This includes watching Banks and Belair at the main WrestleMania event, where women have been the main event of the biggest show on the wrestling calendar for the second time.

Bayley said the goal of women in the WWE is to turn these important moments into less meaningful ones, as it continues to prove that the women’s locker room remains on an equal footing with men.

“I think it’s consistent equality, you know? Match consistency on TV, time on TV, stories on TV,” Bayley said. “That’s what we want. Not everyone should be a champion or have a major event at WrestleMania, but we all work hard to get to that next level and see the same eyes consistently, not just a single salary” -watch or match one for the first time. It’s just consistency. “