Born Pamela Rose Martinez, Bayley is the current NXT Women’s Champion. As we head into NXT TakeOver: Dallas, the lesser talked about WWE event, where she will defend her title against Asuka, there’s a lot of speculation that Bayley might get elevated to the main WWE roster soon, and deservedly so.
Bayley is one of the most talented and likeable wrestlers we have ever seen. She is the ultimate babyface and you just can’t hate her. She is the pioneer of a new breed of wrestlers. Ones that rely on talent and persona more than looks.
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She’s one of the biggest reasons why people have started taking women’s wrestling seriously and are starting to give it the respect it deserves. Bayley has won fans all over because of her talent. The best part about her is that her gimmick looks completely natural, something that’s extremely rare these days.
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Bayley has excellent in ring skills where she can showcase a very wide range of maneuvers and aerial abilities. It won’t be long before she makes her way to the main roster and wins the hearts of the entire WWE Universe.
Here are 5 things you didn’t know about the current NXT Women’s Champion:
5) She’s fun and delightful in real life too
Most wrestlers have to adapt in order to play their gimmicks properly. Not all babyfaces are amiable in real life and a lot of heels are actually quite friendly in real life. One of the reasons why she essays her gimmick so well is because it comes naturally to her, so much so that she actually smiles too much.
When Bayley began her training, her trainer told her she should stop smiling so much.
The Doctor of Huganomics is also a big fan of comic books and action movies. Her ring gear at NXT TakeOver: Respect was decked out in red and gold, as a reference to the match she was taking part in (the main event: a thirty-minute Iron Man match), and, of course, to Iron Man.
She also likes pogo-sticking a lot and has been doing it since she was a kid.
4) She’s been a fan of pro wrestling since she was a kid
A lot of us grew up watching pro-wrestling and Bayley was no different. At the tender age of eight, she’d made up her mind to become a pro wrestler. She started watching every show she could and bought a lot of merchandise as well. She soon became known around as the girl who loves pro wrestling.
Speaking to David Falcon, Bayley had this to say about her love of wrestling: “Everyone at school knew me as the girl who loved wrestling. I went to all the WWF shows and made my Dad drive me out to all the autograph sessions in our area. My younger brother and I would even make our own wrestling shows in our living room, it was called WFK- Wrestling For Kids.”
3) An early career in wrestling
Bayley started training at the age of 18 under Jason Styles of Big Time Wrestling. Jason Styles admired her passion and dedication for pro wrestling and believed that she had what it takes to make it.
After just five months of training, she made her debut inside a Big Time Wrestling ring, where she was billed as Davina Rose. After making a name for herself in BTW, wrestling with the big names there, she signed a developmental contract with WWE in 2012.
2) Four Horsewomen
One of the best things about NXT is that it gives wrestlers opportunities to experiment with gimmicks and prepare themselves for the main stage. Pamela Rose Martinez made her NXT debut wearing a mask and dark coloured tights, sporting a luchadora look, which is poles apart from her current look.
She along with Charlotte, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks call themselves the Four Horsewomen, sounds cocky but they do have the talent and substance to back that claim.
1) Her influences and what she thinks of the word “Diva”
Most pro-wrestlers today have their childhood heroes. Wrestlers that inspired them to take up the profession. And we can see the inspiration in their style, gimmicks and the way they wrestle in the ring.
Does Bayley’s outfit remind you of someone else’s? A WWE legend’s? As Bayley confirmed, the inspiration behind her outfit was none other than the Macho Man Randy Savage. Her other influences include The Rock, The Hardy Boyz, Lita, Ivory, Victoria and Triple H.
Here’s what she thinks about the word ‘Diva’- “I think nowadays ‘diva’ could be meant in so many different ways. The way the roster is right now, with the Divas Revolution, you don’t necessarily see divas that are stuck up and who only care about their looks. It is what you make it. I grew up on the women’s division and the women’s championship. That name is more special to me. I’m the NXT women’s champion. But when it comes time and I’m part of the divas division, the title really doesn’t bug me anymore like it used to when I was a kid.”
Fun Fact- She had an admirer in the great Dusty Rhodes who told her never to get rid of her ponytail.
