WWE RAW Superstar Bayley has recalled feeling disappointed at getting injured mere weeks before the return of fans in 2021.
On the July 9, 2021 edition of WWE SmackDown, Bayley would disclose her ACL injury that would force the Role Model to miss over a year of action.
Just one week later, WWE hosted its first show with a full crowd since March 2020, as WrestleMania 37 in April 2021 had been a partially filled event.
Speaking in an interview with Ariel Helwani of BT Sport, Bayley reflected on missing out on competing in front of live fans. She said,
“That was super — that was so disappointing. There was a part of me after they had me come to SmackDown and just kind of do a backstage [segment] and say that I was injured, and I just couldn’t believe it was happening. Because it was the end of me and Bianca’s story at the time, and I was mad that I let her down, that I couldn’t finish that story. And I was mad that I wouldn’t get to be in front of those fans again because I did all that stuff during the pandemic and everything was going really well. But I never really got bummed about it until the Royal Rumble. Which is crazy, like — I think it was because everybody’s there, you know? And I’m like, ‘Damn, I’m like the only person that’s not there.’ So I felt a little left out. That was probably the hardest one.
“And then WrestleMania [38] was, not even WrestleMania was too hard for me. And I flew myself out there and went to the show myself. because I wanted to be there for a lot of the girls in having these big matches. And then Dakota [Kai] texted me. She was asking how I was feeling and she’s like, ‘Hey, I know these big weekends are really hard when you’re injured and you can’t be a part of it, just wanted to see how you’re doing.’ Then it hit me and I’m like, ‘Oh, this does kind of suck but uh, I’m okay.’ Just, I was just happy to be around it again.”
Bayley would make her long-awaited return to WWE TV at SummerSlam 2022 last July, alongside Kai and IYO SKY.
