Bayley is currently out with a kayfabe injury as she was attacked ahead of her WrestleMania tag team match and was removed. She would go on to be replaced by Becky Lynch in that match on Sunday.
The Grand Slam Champion spoke recently with Chris Van Vliet and discussed her real life injury from the height of the pandemic. She suffered an ACL injury which took h er out of action for well over a year. But according to Bayley, it was so much more than just an ACL injury.
“This will be a story for another day, because I’m not ready to share it yet, but my injury ended up being more than what everybody knows. It was a bigger injury than anybody knows. There’s a few people that are aware of it, and obviously the office and stuff. But that’s the reason, wasn’t just an ACL thing, it was a bigger injury, and that’s the reason why it kept me out longer. It still bugs me to this day, I can’t do certain things, it’s hard for me to run, it’s hard for me to do leg curls. There’s a lot of things that I can’t do because of that injury. So there was a time, maybe in PT doing stuff where I was like I can’t even walk, I can’t jump. How am I supposed to wrestle in like three months or something? So there was that little doubt which I’m sure everybody goes through with injuries, but I always knew that I was going to come back. Because, I mean, it wasn’t that crazy of an injury. It was just like where am I going to fit in kind of thing. My whole idea behind Damage CTRL was like alright, I’ve won my championships. I’ve had my Mania moments. Now as a character and as a bad guy, I could be like I don’t even want anything for myself, I want it for them. They’re gonna reap all the benefits of my experience, and they’re gonna get all the championships, and they’re gonna get everything. Then when the time is right, I’m gonna steal it right from them, I’m gonna take the spotlight right back when I’m ready. But while I’m still recovering and finding my ways, they’re gonna do all the work for me. That was my idea behind it.” (Fightful)
Bayley also stated that she has a year, and a half left on her current contract with WWE.
“I have so many other things I want to make it into. I have a year and a half left on this current contract, so we’ll see what happens then. [And then what?] Man, I don’t know. I think I’ve done everything I really want to do, not everything. There’s still a lot I want to get done, but done so much with WWE and I’ve been here for already 12 years and there’s a huge wave of women coming in that I think are ready to take over, ready to be in those spots. Teaming with Lyra right now has been super eye-opening to what the whole division has to offer. I’ve got to work with Roxanne. I got to work with Cora. But even like last night, hanging out with Lyra, we went out to dinner, and we hung out with Michin for her birthday. But being able to hang out with her outside of wrestling, hearing her mindset and why she does this, why she wants to make it better, what she wants to make better, how she wants to help even me. Things that we’re doing going into WrestleMania, how she wants to be better for me makes me so happy that there’s people like that and women like that that want to be better for the division. So when I think about okay, I might be done in a couple of years, who knows? I know that it’s going to be in good hands. So that makes me really happy.
“Where before John Cena always says he couldn’t leave, because who was going to do what he does? Who’s going to take his place? Who’s going to be the one to freaking put asses in seats? Who’s going to be the one that the kids want to see, that the kids idolize to the level that he does? Cody’s doing that. I’m not saying I’m John Cena, but that’s kind of the same mindset. As long as it’s in good hands, the goal was to just leave it in a better place than you found it.” (Fightful)
