8. Bayley
Coming in at No. 8 on our countdown is the first woman ever to become a grand-slam champion in the WWE, having served in the past as NXT, Raw, Women’s Tag Team and as the reigning SmackDown Women’s Championship after winning and cashing in her Money in the Bank briefcase on the same night. Break out the wacky waving inflatable tube men, it’s Bayley!
Bayley’s character has evolved quite a bit since we saw her for the first time in the black and gold brand. A lot of people might not actually even remember this, but when Bayley was first introduced to the audience in NXT she was handled more like a female version of Eugene than the Bayley we all know and love from the pinnacle of her NXT run. Luckily they decided to go in another direction early, or it might have derailed her entire WWE career.
When she eventually found her groove in NXT she found herself in a feud with “The Boss” Sasha Banks, a feud people still remember fondly to this day. From their incredible match at NXT TakeOver Brooklyn to the first-ever women’s Iron Man Match a few months later, 9t can’t be overstated how much that feud impacted both women’s careers going forward inside the WWE, as well as how women’s wrestling was viewed by the WWE front office and fans.
Unfortunately, when WWE brought Bayley up the main roster she kind of lost herself again. Not that it was anything to do with her; it was more about how she had been booked creatively. While she did hold championships, there were points in the last year where Bayley was getting booed by the audience instead of being cheered, something mind-boggling to think about given how much fan support she had just a few years prior in NXT. A start-stop rivalry with Banks, with whom she had become close friends, also didn’t help matters.
With the Superstar Shake-Up moving her to SmackDown Live the Bayley character has seemingly been given new life. Winning the SmackDown Women’s Championship at Money in the Bank should be the start of rebuilding the credibility of her character all over again. Bayley is a cornerstone of the WWE women’s division and they need to do everything they can to build her back up and keep her happy so she’s part of their company for years to come.