Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Bayley On WrestleMania, Damage CTRL, Life After Wrestling, Mercedes Moné

Episode Date: April 22, 2025

Bayley (@itsBayleyWWE) is a professional wrestler currently signed to WWE. She sits down with Chris Van Vliet in Las Vegas to discuss getting started with WWE and developing her Hugger persona, destroying the Bayley Buddies as part of her heel turn and if they might return, the injury that happened during the pandemic, the original plan for Damage CTRL, fans not liking her finisher, being left off the WrestleMania 40 press conference, her relationship with Michael Cole, life after wrestling and more!Quote I'm thinking about: "You can't change the weather but you can dress for it."Please support our sponsors!   PURE PLANK: The future of core fitness! Use the code CVV to save 10% on Pure Plank designed by Adam Copeland & Christian: https://gopureplank.com/?ref=tibcloux  SEAT GEEK: Get 10% off your next SeatGeek order*: https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/CVV Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discount   TIMELINE: Go to https://timeline.com/insightto get 10% off your order of Mitopure!  STASH: Go to https://get.stash.com/INSIGHTto see how you can receive $25 towards your first stock purchase and to view important disclosures   MAGIC SPOON: Get $5 off your next order at https://magicspoon.com/cvv   VUORI: Get 20% off your first purchase! Get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the planet at https://vuori.com/cvv  FABRIC: Join the thousands of parents who trust Fabric to help protect their family. Apply today in just minutes at https://meetfabric.com/CVV   ROCKET MONEY: Join Rocket Money today and experience financial freedom: https://rocketmoney.com/cvv  HUEL: Get 15% off plus a FREE Gift for NEW customers with the code INSIGHT at https://huel.comMIRACLE MADE: Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made! Go to https://trymiracle.com/CVV and use the code CVV to claim your FREE 3 PIECE TOWEL SET and SAVE over 40% OFF   ZOCDOC: Instantly book a top-rated doctor today at https://zocdoc.com/insight   BONCHARGE: Use the code CVV to save 15% off your infrared sauna blanket at https://boncharge.com/cvv   BLUECHEW: Get your first month of BlueChew for free with the code CVV at https://bluechew.com   PLUNGE: Get $150 off your Plunge with the coupon code CVV150 at https://plunge.com   For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://podcast.chrisvanvliet.com If you have ever enjoyed any of these episodes, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast or Spotify? It takes less than a minute and makes a huge difference in helping to spread the word about the show and also to convince some hard-to-get guests.    Follow CVV on social media:  Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet TikTok: tiktok.com/@Chris.VanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van Fleet. Welcome back to another one here on Inside. I'm CVV, Chris Van Fleet. Thank you for being with us on this one. And thank you for making Insight the number one wrestling podcast on the planet. Hit a crossbody on that follow button on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. And don't forget to leave a big five-star frog splash. of a rating if you are listening on Spotify. What a

WrestleMania weekend. Wow. Night one, night two, we will talk about the good and the not so good and everything in between on Fridays Ask CVV episodes. So if you've got a question for the Jerry Rice edition, number 80 on Friday, leave a comment on Spotify or send it in using the hashtag Ask CVV on social media. We've got a conversation that has been in the making for a long time. Bailey is on the show for the first time ever. And when you look at her career in WWE, she's done it all. The first ever women's Grand Slam champion, Royal Rumble winner, Money in the Bank winner, the longest reigning Smackdown women's champion of all time. She's a first ballot hall of famer. There's no question about that. And it was great to dive into her story and also to see how her approach. to wrestling and just the business as a whole has changed since she debuted. To snap a screenshot, tag us, let us know that you're listening.

She is at It's Me Bailey on Instagram. She's at It's Bailey, WWE on Twitter slash X. Tag me. I'm at Chris Van Vleet, and here we go. Let's dive into this one. Please welcome Bailey. We're kind of matching. Yeah, we are kind of matching.

I've got like the, this is like the black Canadian tuxedo. Yeah. Gennem on denim. Yeah. You got all, is the dice because we're in Vegas? Yeah. Look at them all. Look at this.

Look at all this. There's a whole body suit to it. And I think I'm going to try to do it for like Hall of Fame. We'll see. Like a bodysuit made of dye? Body suit like jewelry. Oh, man. Yeah, I don't.

I don't know. I'm not that girly. So we'll see if I can figure it out. But I just want to sprinkle a little fun in there since I was just plain colors, you know. You should roll up to a car. craps table and be like, I already got one. Here it is. Yeah, four. Whatever. I don't know. I don't know what play. I think there's four might be a good role. Okay. I don't know. I'm just saying that because I watch friends and that was like their number. Do you have a Vegas game you would play if we went down

with a casino? Ding, ding, ding, ding, just the slots. Just the slots. That's all I can do. You know, I feel like I learned how to play a blackjack. Okay. I've, I learned. I learned. how to play when I first started coming in. Like we, I used to do shows in Reno. And so we, I was like a little bit younger. So I would just watch all the guys play and stuff. I feel like I learned a little bit there. But, um, and then my first time in Vegas, which was when my sister got married. And then that was it. But I never like, followed up. So like, if we went down there, maybe it's just like, it's just some slots. Yeah. Just my luck, you know. Maybe went a little bit. Yeah. Yeah. Are you a morning person? Because this is rather early. This is so early. I'm so sorry.

No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. No, I'm not a morning person at all. And I'm so happy that I woke up on time today because the shades in the hotel close on their own. There's buttons to do it. And I like to leave. There's like the drapes, it says. And then there's the shears.

Yeah. So like I like to leave the drapes open and then the shears. So I could see the sun come in and that helps me wake up. But it was, the drapes closed on their own. And so I woke up probably like 20 minutes later than I wanted. wanted to wake up. I was like, why is it so dark in here? I'm running late. I had a text makeup. Like, I'm so sorry. I'm running late. And they're like, you're good, dude. Oh, but you look great. Thank you. Excellent hair. Look at this.

Fluffy. Purple. Does it look purple? It looks very purple. Okay, cool. Yeah, I wanted a little bit brighter, but it's cool. But you're mixing up the colors with the hair. Since Mania last year, I did purple because EO and I had both had red hair. And so, like, I was like, well, we're not a team anymore. So I can. kind of need to, you know, change it up. And then I wanted to do full purple like this, but it was so last minute, like we were on Sunday, I think. And then I had appearances Saturday. And I was like, well, I can't just show off my hair at an appearance. It has to show off at mania, you know. So like my hair lady came to my Airbnb. I had for my friends and stuff at like four

in the morning and just fixed all my red hair and put purple in. She's like, I can't do the whole thing. Like, we don't have time for that. It's like, okay. So now I finally got it. your hair has become so much a part of your gimmick, right? Like, if you go back to the start, like, your hair was part of your gimmick. Yeah. Your hair not being like that was then also part of your gimmick. That's true. Your hair being short was like, ooh, why is her hair short?

We're not supposed to like her? Yeah. That's a good point. When I first did like the side ponytail, I did it because it was easy for me. Like I can do my hair. I could do my hair at any live event. I can do my hair at any TV and all the girls. even now, you know, had like extensions and all and colored hair.

So I'm like, okay, how can I be different? I just won't color my hair. Like, that's different. I'll just use my natural hair color. And then, like, no girls are going to do the side ponytail because it's dorky as hell, you know? Like, no one's going to wear their hair like this. So that was my initial thought.

And then the fact that I can, like, do it myself because I couldn't curl my hair. Then, you know, I didn't know, like, I didn't know anything about getting myself ready or, like, being presentable, you know, for especially for a large audience on TV. But yeah, that became like a really big thing. And I've said this before, but like my first match that I had the side ponytail, I took it out like before the match started because to me, WW wouldn't like it, you know, so I'm like, oh, they're not going to like that I'm wearing a side pony, but I'll wear it for my entrance and then I'll take it out and, you know, let my hair flow. And then I remember coming back and dusty was like, don't, don't take your hair out. Leave the hair

up. That's your thing. That's the ponytail is your thing. And I was like, really? Like, are they going to like that? Yeah. It's like, that's, that's it. And I was like, okay. And I continue to wear it. And then, like, you start seeing little girls in their ponytail and all that stuff, you know. But yeah, like, that's a good point. When I, when I was turning, I had to do like a complete 180. All right, what am I going to do first? Chop my hair. You know, change the hairstyle. And then this kind of just came like, okay, well, no girls really shave their head or put designs in it. And just kind of started something as like social media, you know, where it was like a little Easter egg. Like, oh, look what I shaved in the back of my head.

It's Michael Cole's freaking name, you know? Just funny stuff like that. But yeah, I'm kind of trying to grow it out now. We'll see what happens. Where are you and Michael Cole at now? Oh, God, I'm an idiot. He's always like, we'll be like putting stuff together, you know, before the show. he'll be like, hey, Bailey, hey Bailey.

And so I guess I got to cheer for you tonight because you're wrestling live. And I'm like, you don't have to cheer for me, Michael. Like, I don't care what you do. Oh, well, well, screw you then. And he just like flips me off from the chair and I'm in the ring like trying to do my work. Like, he's just so funny, dude. He's like, for real, like a mentor to me, you know. He's somebody that I can go to that he's been here for so long.

And he's always available. Like, you can't always get in hunters. here. Michael, like Michael Hayes is always available. Um, and he has a very different mindset, but like Cole is there watching everything, watching every girl's match, watching all the guys matches and he's been doing it and calling matches forever. So like getting his mindset on things is always super helpful. And he's just like always rooting for us, you know, and he has a different insight on stuff. So as much as like I give him crap on TV, you know, uh, he's somebody that like even just up until just Monday.

What's today? Thursday? Monday, I went on Pat's bus with him. I was like, as I was getting ready, I was texting him. Like, hey, were you at? I just have some notes for, I was wrestling live. And I just have some notes to give you. And he's like, hey, I'm on Pat's bus. Come on, come on over.

I'm like, okay. So went and sat with him and Pat and just like kind of gave him some notes. But like, he also asked, so what's going on with this and what's going on with that? Like, how can we make this better, you know? because he kind of has an idea of the direction I want to go as a character. So he really is the best and he really wants the best for everybody. But not everyone uses him as like an outlet, you know, but he's so knowledgeable and I've learned a lot from him.

Well, if you think about it, he's seen everything. Like he has been there, right there, best seat in the house for everything. Idiot. At least it wasn't on the white. Good point. Would you like a napkin? No, that's okay. I think we can arrange that.

What are you drinking? It's right off. This is a black Americano. That's it? That's it. Is it a grande Americano? It's an El Grande, an Americano, yes. Is that your go-to coffee? This is one of them. Or is just like, this is hotel coffee? This, yeah, well, my first drink of the day, or my first, not my first drink, my first drink is water. My first coffee of the day always has to just, first I have some water, a little bit of vodka, bloody merry, some milk, and then coffee. I always have to have like a black coffee. And then when I was getting ready, they were like, can I get a coffee order? Like makeup was getting it. And I was like, oh, I need something strong because it's early. I'm not a morning person.

I'm six, 15 maybe. Oh, okay. Five. I woke up at five. Five. Because I wanted to eat. I wanted to make sure that we ate that early. And we're also.

Did you work out too? Not yet. We're staying in another hotel. Oh. So like we're not staying here. Also, it's like 15 minutes from where we parked the car. this hotel to like go up an escalator, walk across another thing, up an elevator. Yeah. When I came here yesterday, I was like, they were telling me where the green room is.

And I was like, okay, well, I just went in seven different elevators. And there's no fourth floor. They're like, no, you have to go here. Then you got to go there. Then you got to go. It's like, oh my God. And by the time I came in, I'd like, literally, I wear the aura ring. I don't know if you. Yeah. My wife wears it. Okay. These are best. And I have it like tracking my step. So I literally went into my aura ring app. And I'm like, how long was that walk? It was like, 16 minute walk, you know. Like, shouldn't take me that long to get here. But I'm so lazy.

That's stupid. That's not true. This is a beautiful hotel, though. This smells so nice. It's so new. That's why. Yeah. Or you saw all that cigarette smoke in Vegas hotels.

They piped in their scent. Oh, yeah. That's what the high end hotels do. Oh, I really like it. Except everything closes early. The pool closes at five. What? And the gym closes at seven.

Like, why? That's ridiculous. Weird. 24 hours. Come on. It's Vegas, baby. Yeah. Come on.

It's never closed. Vegas, baby. I heard you say in another interview that you feel like you're in chapter four of your career. You still feel like you're there. So it was NXT, pandemic, injury, and then the return. Yeah. Where are we at now? Oh, man.

So maybe now if this, I don't know how many chapters there's going to be. But maybe this is chapter five. because chapter four to me was like damage control. And like I'm in a completely different space now where like I have an idea of like where I want to go. And I think that would continue my chapter five and where like, you know, character wise and career wise and however long, much longer I'm going to be doing this. But like damage control to me is its own chapter.

You know, like that was super special to me. So man, I wonder how many chapters there's going to be. maybe six, maybe seven. Do you have a number in your mind of like how long you want to do this? When I was younger, because women didn't wrestle as long as we're doing it now. You know, like Trish and Lita, if you think about it, they were, you know, everyone's heroes. They were my heroes. And they only did it like six, seven years, you know, with WWE.

And we're only on top for, you know, three years or something. So to me that was like always in my head. And then, but now you look at like Natty who's been here forever and still like I just wrestled her on Friday and just incredible in the ring. Just one and one, you know, one of one and everything that she brings to it, not just in the ring, but like her experience. And we really need that in locker rooms. I always think that like, all right, even if I'm not wrestling every week, there's something that I have that can help the locker room, you know, just like she does. like Naomi does, just like Tamina does, you know. But when I was younger, I always said, like, all right, 35 would be my cutoff because, in my

opinion, like, oh, guys can go forever, but, like, it's not that cute when you're a woman and, like, you know, you're 35, but now that I'm 35, I'm just like, oh, we're all, you know, we're all way past that and we're still, like, have main eventing, we're still, you know, doing red carpets, we're still doing all this stuff. People still care about us. So that's kind of like, I have a little something on my. What have you eaten here? I've eaten some hair. Yeah, they still care about us.

So that's kind of like changed my mindset. Also when you're younger, like when you're 12, a 35 year old feels like ancient. Yeah, yeah, that's true. That's so true. But I also like always dreamed of opening my own school. And so that's something I would love to do while I'm still active in WWW. because I think that's going to get like the better traction and make people want to really come, like at least for the first start to get my school going.

Yeah. And there's a, there's a hard to say. It's hard to say. Like Seth has his school while he's still doing it. Sean Spears, Tyrevee's, like they've got flatbacks. Yeah. It makes a lot of sense. Yeah.

Who wouldn't want to train with the person who you can watch every Monday or Friday? Exactly. Yeah. And that just seems like, oh, well, if they're already there, like, you know, I'm just thinking how I would think, like, that's my, that's my foot in the door, you know. Obviously, it ain't that easy, but, you know, that's how I would think about it. Yeah, so that's like my end all, and I have, like, a whole, you know, idea behind it. It's not just a wrestling school.

Like, I have so many other things I want to, you know, make it into. But, yeah, I have, like, have a year and a half left on this current contract. So we'll see what happens then, you know. And then what? And then what? Man, I don't know. I don't know. I think I've done, you know, everything I really want to do.

Not everything. There's still a lot I want to get done, but I've done so much with WWE. And I've been here for already 12 years, you know? And there's so many, there's like a huge wave of women coming in that I think are ready to take over and, like, ready to be in those spots. Like, teaming with Lyra right now has been super eye-opening to, like, 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 hearing, like we went out to dinner and, you know,

we hung out with Meechun for her birthday, but like being able to hang out with her outside of wrestling and hearing her mindset and why she does this and why she wants to make it better and what she wants to make better and how she wants to help. Even me, you know, like things that we're doing going into WrestleMania, how she wants to be better for me is like just like makes me so happy that there's people like that and women like that that want to be better for the division you know so um when i think about like okay i might be done in a couple years or what you know who knows i know that it's going to be in good hands so that makes me really happy where like before it might have like john sina always says you know he couldn't

leave because who was going to do what he does, you know? Who's going to take his place? Who's going to, like, be the one to freaking put asses and seats? Who's going to be the one that the kids want to see that the kids idolize, like, to the level that he does and, like, Cody's doing that, you know? So, like, I feel like. It took Cody coming back. Yeah.

And I'm not saying I'm John Sina, of course, but I'm just saying like, it's, you've heard that. Yeah, a long time ago. But I'm just saying, like, that's kind of the. Oh my gosh. I hope everyone's okay. Yeah. Are you guys okay?

But that's kind of the same mindset, you know, as long as like it's in good hands, you always want to, like the goal was to just leave it in a better place than you found it, you know? The story with Lyra is so interesting because it's full circle, right? And she put this tweet out, a screenshot of this tweet from 2017, and I'm going to read it because it's so interesting. She says, imagine one day being able to make someone feel how I felt meeting Bailey. Now, that would be amazing.

And now you guys are wrestling together at WrestleMania. Yeah, that's crazy. Yeah. That's what I, you know, and that's kind of like the feeling I'm talking about. Like, because I've heard that from, and I'm just like Indy Hartwell, Roxanne, Kora, her. Those are like the first four ones that really come to my mind that I can't believe I'm, like, if I were to start in NXT and. Trish and Lido were still in WWE.

Like, of course, I got to Restration Lita at WrestleMania. But that was like them coming back to do that for us, you know? But like, if I were to start training and they were still active, that would blow my mind to be like, oh, they're coming to the PC and training with us or they're coming to the PC to rehab or I'm going to team with them at WrestleMania. And it's just like a normal thing, you know, like that would blow my mind. And so when they, the way that they respect us right now and talk about like, like, again, hanging out with Lyra last night, talking about my match with Mercedes and Brooklyn, you know,

things like that is like, man, just thinking of the impact that we really did have is really cool. And like she's going to have that moment where she gets to, she's going to be here one day talking about someone that started wrestling because of her, you know, because she's the first ever. women's intercontinental champion because of her first ever WrestleMania performance like whatever we end up doing on Sunday you know like someone's going to want to start wrestling because of her someone from Ireland's going to want to start wrestling because of her and it's cool to just kind of see how that like

trickles down like that's what this is all about you know who was that for you um I mean there is a bunch of them I was a huge I loved everybody um ivory was the first one I would say because she was the first female wrestler I met and I was 12 years old and she just like looked at me. I was wearing like a, what is it called? It was like the seven dwarves and it was a sleepy. His name is Sleepy? Yeah, yeah.

I don't know why I had this hoodie, but it was just like a blue hoodie with freaking sleepy on it. And I don't know why I wasn't wearing a wrestling shirt or anything. But Ivory was the first woman's wrestler I met and she just was like, shaking my hand and looking at me. She's like, I'm going to see you in the ring one day, aren't I? And I didn't say that I wanted to be a wrestler. Like, I already did at that point, but I didn't say anything.

She was just looking at me. And I was like, yeah. She's like, okay, I'll see you in the ring. Like she, and that just, that to me was like, well, I have to do it now because ivory, I can't let ivory down, you know? So like, that stuck with me for so long. And then Lita was the one really to like, just because the way she dressed, the way she wrestled. Like, I thought, you know, I dressed different than all the girls. I was such a tomboy

and, like, her baggy jeans and she was just so cool hanging with the guys. And when all their, like, DVDs and stuff came out, like, dude, she's, like, one of us, you know? And she's, like, living the dream. So I would say, Ivory and Lita really, like, changed my dream to make it seem really possible. There's something in that story and also in the Lyra story with that tweet of, it's like self-belief. It's the idea of, like, you set a goal. and you believe that you can make it happen. Yeah. And then you don't even look elsewhere.

You're like, well, this thing's going to happen. It's just going to be a matter of time. Yeah. That's really, like, how I felt too. And I didn't know how to explain it. Like, I didn't know how I was going to get here or it's a little different nowadays. You know, you can, okay, you see NXT or you see WWIID. Like, you see different avenues and routes that you can take to get here.

But, like, I never saw how to get here. And I didn't even know, like, when I ended up training at my wrestling school, like, I didn't know they had a school and I didn't know what I was going to do. But there was just something that I believed in, something I felt that was just pulling me like, okay, you're going to be there one day. So I wasn't ever, like, worried that I wasn't going to make it. I was just like, how will I get there? But I always knew I was. It's just a weird feeling and not like a cocky thing or not like a, like I have no business being here. You know, I'm not athletic.

I'm not a model. Like, I don't have anything that, like, stands. I don't know a crazy bodybuilder. I just had that feeling, you know. But that's real. But that's why you're here. Yeah. Yeah.

That's real. I mean, yeah. My, my, my. Yeah. It's crazy. Yeah. And I try to, like, I tell people that all the time, like, oh, what, what advice would you give to anyone, you know, who has a dream or anyone who wants to be a wrestler?

And it sounds like such, like the lamest answer. but it's so true. Like, you can do literally anything you want. Like, I'm sure you've, you know, your dreams and look at what you've been doing for so many years, you know. And the people think that it's too out of reach, like whatever they want. Because I think on social media, they just see the finished product. Yeah. And they don't see the stumbles along the way.

They don't see all the times when it didn't work. Right. They just see you holding up the championship at WrestleMania. Yeah. they just see the person holding the Oscar or the Super Bowl winner or whatever it happens to be. They don't see all of the stuff that didn't work and all the times when you wanted to give up and you didn't. Yeah. And that's what's important. Yeah. And that, yeah, that's the stuff that you normally don't share unless you get the chance to. Like, I thought I was going to, I thought I was going to get

fired like my first month because I wasn't girly enough because I didn't dress the part. And like, I just told Lyra the story last night of A.J. A. A.J. Lee was there with, golf. Like they were working together at the time, but they were at a FCW show. And one of the guys, like one of my bosses, I guess, asked AJ to talk to me because I was like not dressed appropriately as in like I didn't look presentable enough. You know, I wasn't working the show. I was just, it was my first month. And he was just like, can you talk like, can you talk, like, can you talk to her, like look at her type thing, you know, like she needs help. And so she looked, she looked at me like she, because she's the same, you know, we're the same.

And like, she's not the super, super girly girl. And she started the same way I did. And she looked at him, like, kind of annoyed at him. And it was like, I got it. And then grabbed my arm and talk to me for like an hour. And basically, I've said this story before. So, like, long story short, but, like basically told me, you don't have to change yourself to get to where you want to be.

But you do work for this company, so you need to meet them halfway. So I'm not saying, like, dress like a diva. I'm not saying dress like Tori Wilson. I'm not saying that. I'm saying like, be you, but also like listen to their needs from you because you have a contract with them. You work for them.

But like meet them halfway and don't lose yourself in the process. Like it was like the short version of that. And that again, like changed everything for me. And that was when I started like figuring out the hugger stuff. Because I was like, oh, I could still be myself.

I could still be a dork. I could still be goofy. I could still be a mark. And like, you know, and I could still like connect and wrestle and all that stuff. So like she changed that for me. me immediately. Yeah, like there were, even on that day, because I can tell, like, I would show up

and, you know, the office would be like, oh, what is she wearing? Like, sometimes I would dress like too over the top because I was trying to be too sexy. And it was like, oh, I didn't know what I was doing, you know? I was wearing these crazy heels. I had a short dress and my hair was all wild. My makeup was all over the place because I was just, I didn't know how to fit in, you know? And they would give me weird looks. I'm like, damn it. I thought it was like, like, like, I thought this is what you guys wanted, you know. And then I've, I've even, like, been sent home from shows being like, you need to go change because that's too much. What the hell?

I thought, you know, I'm just trying to be one of the divas, you know? So there's so many, there's so many moments where I was just like, I'm not, it's not going to work here. And I thought I was going to like TNA or something, you know. But yeah, AJ, I would say change my whole career at that point. How did I'm a hugger become your gimmick? Um, the fans, the fans made that happen. So like when I came up with the, the character, my character came from Superstar, Molly Shannon. Molly Shannon?

Yeah, that's her name. Superstar, the movie. Yeah. That's like where I stemmed it from. I was like, okay, I can have all like the nervous antics like her. And then I could just be a super fan and Dusty loved it. And when we started doing like promo class, everybody was like looking forward to like who I was going to, who I was going to be a fan of that day. or what I was going to do, and I just had so much fun.

And then when we finally did it on TV, I wrestled Alicia Fox. Oh, it wasn't even that match. It was actually my match with AJ. We were doing something where, like, I literally went to hug. And I was just going to hug her as a fan, you know? And then, like, that got a good, just me hugging her, got a crazy reaction at full sale. And then I was like, all right, I'm just going to run into the corner. So I ran her to the corner.

So, like, it came off like an offensive. of move and they went freaking crazy. And then she told me like, do it again. So then I grabbed her and ran her to the corner. She's like, one more time. And I did again. And they were like getting louder and louder each time. And then I think the next match was like, they just started chanting like,

Bailey's going to hug you. And like that was never my thought of being like, oh, I'm going to be a hugger. And never like merch ideas, nothing. But it was from that match and her just saying like, do it again. All right, one more time. Like just her hearing that reaction. It'd be hilarious if you hated hugging people. You were forced to do it because you were giving.

Which happened a lot of meet and greets where I was just like, oh, God, I have the hug. How many people? Every single person in that line. And it still happens to this day, too. It's just like, I'm a hugger too. I'm like, cool. You know, like some days I'm sweaty and I'm stinky, you know? It's not you guys.

It's me. That's very kind of you. Very kind. And then the wacky waving inflatable arm, floating tube men become part of the, the entrance? That's the family guy reference there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Al Harrington's wacky waving, playable, unfilling, tube man. That's how they said on commentary, too.

I think that was supposed to be Adam Roses. Yeah, I don't know what exactly happened or why it didn't work for him or why maybe he didn't want it or something. Oh, yeah. But I literally showed up at TV that day and they're like, hey, we want to go through your entrance real quick. I was like, okay, they never do that. You know, like at that point, I was like, they never do that.

that to me. I'm just freaking loser, you know. I walk out. Yeah. I just walk out and I wave to people, you know, like I already had the character, but I think that I was maybe a month into the character, maybe. And then I, and like they surprised me with it. Came out and they popped up, this is awesome, you know, and like everybody watching, like, you know, everyone, talent and stuff, we're like, dude, that looks so cool. And, yeah, it became a thing. I think it was supposed to be for Adam Rose, though, because he had a whole, you know, a whole crazy, crazy character. stuff, but I was so happy that even having that, like, I remember sometimes at entrances for big matches whenever they would pop up, like, it would get like a second pop, you know? Like, I would get a good

reaction, but then the two men got like a big pop, you know, it was like, oh shit, they're here. Are they ever coming back? I cut them up, dude. And they then they sold them. They sold the cut up ones? They sold the cut ones. Yeah. They sliced them into pieces and then they sold them. And I think it's like a picture of me slicing them or something like that. I don't know. I don't know. Tops is turning everything into a trading card now. That's true. You can bring them back. I don't know. That could be a nice nostalgic entrance one day. Maybe, you know, I only got a year and a half left. That's not true. You're not even wearing a

watch. I could tell time. Yeah, on my wrist. Yeah. I don't know. We'll see. If wrestling's been so much a part of your life, like since you were a kid, you wanted to do this, now it's been so much a part of your career, did you feel like it wasn't going to come back after your injury? Was there a moment when you question, where does this go? Maybe. So my, yeah, so like I had a, and 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 like what we, we, what everybody knows. you know, 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, like, wasn't just an ACL thing. It was a bigger injury. And that's the reason why it kept me out longer. And the reason that's really, like, it still bugs me to this day, you know, like, I can't do certain things or I can't, it's hard for me to run. It's hard for me to do leg curls. Like, there's a lot of things that I can't do because of that injury.

And so there was a time maybe in PT, like doing stuff where I was like, man, I can't even like walk. I can't jump. How am I supposed to wrestle in like three months or something, you know? 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 a where am I going to fit in kind of thing. And like my whole idea behind damage control was like, all right, I've won my championships. I've had my mania moments.

And 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. Like they're going to like, they're going to reap all the benefits of my experience and they're going to get all the championships and they're going to get everything. And then when the time is right, I'm going to steal it right from. I'm going to take the spotlight right back, you know, like when I'm ready. But while I'm still recovering and finding my ways, they're going to do all the work for me. And that was like my idea behind it.

And like I had a whole, you know, there's five of us, like my pitch for damage controllers. I also had Raquel in it. I also had Alba fire in it. And I had so many other girls in mine, too. I had Tony Storm. I wanted Tony Storm in it. But like when I actually sat at the PC and shot stuff, it was with Raquel and Alba. And like all five of us, I had reasons why I wanted them.

I had a reason, like Raquel was obviously the, she was our muscle, you know, but she was teaming with Dakota at the time, I believe. So they worked out perfectly. Alba and Eio, I think, were teaming a little bit there. So they worked out perfectly. But like in my mind, it was, there's tag team. There's two tag teams and then EO was my champion, you know, like she was going to be the champion. So I didn't really like, I just wanted, I just want to do everything in wrestling.

That's how I always thought. Like, I want to be able to, I want to be a bad guy, I want to be a good guy, I want to be in a faction. I want to be in a tag team. I want to be a singles wrestler. I want to be in a romantic love angle someday, you know, like I want to be able to do everything because there's so many different things that we can do in this crazy world, you know, to not like try different avenues and work with as many. people as possible. Like, I just want to do it all. You've done pretty much everything.

Is there really anything you haven't done? You haven't won the icy title. I haven't won the U.S. Women's Championship. There's only been one person that's won each of those. Yeah, yeah. And I need to be one of them too. Okay, fair enough. Yeah, then we have to change how we define a Grand Slam champion. Exactly. I know. It sucks. Oh, are you still a Grand Slam champion? No, because there's new titles. It's so annoying. Good. So what are you? I mean, what are you then? I'm a loser now. I am nothing. I am nothing. I have nothing.

You've only won two of the titles. I know. Damn it. Man. Well, I am really proud of the tag titles, although we can be better at displaying the division. And, like, some weeks it's really good. Some weeks it's not. And, like, even just this going into Mania, I feel like Liv and Raquel have worked so hard to, like, you know, they've been on everything and killing it.

even before they were tag champions, you know, Liv is, she's the it girl right now, you know? And then for them to not just have like a super highlighted story. And, yeah, I just wish it was a little bit better. But I am still grateful for the opportunities that it gives women because people are always like, you know, man, the tag division is nothing right now or you guys aren't doing enough with the tag division.

But it's like, but if the tag division didn't exist, then it would be even less, you know? Like we just had a gauntlet match. the other last Friday or whatever. And like a bunch of those girls wouldn't be on TV if we didn't have the tag division, although it was a short three minutes or it was a short two minutes. But like it would be nothing if we didn't have the tag division, you know? So there are, you know, positives to it.

But yeah, we always want more. Do you have so much more fun when you're a heel? Yeah. Yeah. I'm trying to find myself, I'm trying to still having a hard time finding myself as a baby face right now, you know? In this iteration of me? Yeah, yeah.

I feel like I'm just so much of me as a person, like me, Pam, right? And it doesn't translate well in wrestling. So I'm trying to find how that works. Like in my mind when they, when I was like, okay, I'm going to, you know, me and damage control are breaking up win the title. I thought it was like, oh, I'm going to have the most fun. Like now I have the experience of a good guy and a bad guy. I'm going to be like stone cold Steve Austin and I'm going to have the most fun ever.

And it just wasn't that, you know, and it just wasn't fun. Like, it was just kind of like more, like I wasn't having fun and I felt like the rain wasn't what I thought it was going to be. So that obviously translated, you know, in the ring and it just, nothing was there. So I feel like I'm still trying to find where that is. But like as a heel, it's so fun to, like, I can just turn up my annoying shit easily, you know, like how I am with my friends or how I am with my family or my mom. Like, I'm so annoying to my mom. I can just, like, turn all that up. And people can relate to that, I think, because they all know somebody like that. That's just, like, too much. Like, dude, shut out. You're too much. And that's really fun. I feel like Liv is in that spot right now.

We're like, she's the sweetest ever. But she also has this, like, side of her of she's super, like, talkative and social and loud. And now she can, like, bring all that into a character and turn it up a million and do it with like Dom who is like you know everyone loves to hate right now so I think it's more fun and I know everybody says that but um well not everybody can do it I think I guess it's because you don't have to care right if you're a heel and people are cheering you're like oh that's fine yeah you're a baby face and people are booing you you're like that's and I've been in that position you know I still get booed sometimes you know and I get it um I like when I got when I was the the moment I knew I needed to change some point soon was when I literally separated my shoulder

and I had to, I was in Toronto and I was supposed to have a match at SummerSlam with Alexa. And I had to pull out of the match because I separated my shoulders. So they wanted me to go out and cut a promo and say like, I can't do SummerSlam. And I got booed. So like, they were like, I don't know why. They were booing me because they were like, you're phony. We hate this character or like we don't care about you. or they thought the injury wasn't legit or something.

I don't know what happened, but I was getting booed so bad, and I was, like, almost in tears. And I remember, like, Mercedes came out because she was taking my spot at SummerSlam. And she just, like, looked at each other. And she's like, man, fuck these people. And I was like, yeah.

I was out because she could see that I felt so terrible about myself. I'm like, man, I'm trying to, like, pour my heart out, and these guys do not care. So there was, you know, it's hard when you are a good guy and you're not getting that reaction. but the easy thing is like, okay, we'll just turn to a bad guy. But like sometimes you want to prove them wrong or sometimes you want to prove to yourself, like, no, I can make this work.

Even though it's so much easier to just turn and then they end up liking you. So it's a, it's great. Wrestling's so hard. And then nobody really realizes it. Like, it's so hard for us too. But if I can choose right now, I wish I could just be a good, good guy. I'm still going to figure it out. I mean, you're a good guy.

Yeah. I want to be a great good guy. A great good guy. Yeah. Yeah. I'm just going to start drinking beer on TV. That's never been done before. I'll do tequila on TV.

Oh, the rock does. You have to pick another thing. Cody has vodka, cheese. What are you going to do? What am I going to do? espresso shots. Just be all super hyped up. I mean, C4 Energy is one of the sponsors.

That's true. That's true. There it is. Was turning heel while you changed your finisher? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, everyone hates my finish, huh? Sorry, guys. It was a finish that I did on the Indies. Why do they hate it?

I don't know. The setup is really hard. It is like, sometimes I'm like trying to figure out where to put it or like how to get into it. I'm like, man, this is annoying. This move sucks, you know? But I think it's just like, it's hard to get into sometimes. But when I get smooth ways to do it, it comes out really good. But yeah, that is why I changed it. And because I thought the belly to belly was a very gimmicky, you know. Sure.

You're a hugger, belly to belly. Yeah. How do you not let that get to you if you know the audience doesn't like your finish? I think I stopped like worrying a long time ago because that will kill you. That'll like if you start, not that we don't listen to them. Obviously we care that they're the reason we do this, you know. But when it comes to that, it's like it's more of a like what I'm. I'm saying like with a good guy. It's more of a challenge, I guess. And I'm like, I just have to think of

smoother ways to get into it or I have to make sure the impact is, you know, really forceful. But I have had, I have had like Michael Hayes, you know, be like, hey, why don't you think about using the elbow? Because like, you know, you think about using the elbow for a finish sometimes. And I'm like, yeah, I can. It just really hurts, you know. I try my hardest and not hurt the person. and it's all on my hip. Sometimes my back goes into place. Sometimes it goes out of place. You never really know what you're going to get with the elbow.

And with this one, it's very safe and everybody could take it. And no one's really afraid of it. Yeah, I think, yeah, you kind of just have to, like, block it out because that's fine. As a heel, it was cool because no one, you know, I'm a bad guy. I don't matter if they hate my finish. But now I'm just like, it's not as exciting. I could see that, you know, so I have to figure out. Are you thinking of another.

finish or are you just thinking of ways to make this one look smoother? I think I'm thinking of ways to make it smoother and thinking of like possible submissions, things like that that are, you know, with age. We want to have everything. You want to be able to do everything and submissions are much easier to either get into, like my knees are terrible, you know, so like even just that landing on your knees after so long is a little bit brutal. So, yeah, I'm kind of like playing with a few different things, but I just want to get this right.

Like there are times where it looks really good, you know? Like Alba, I just gave one to Alba the other day or Friday. And I thought it came off really cool, you know? And I was like, all right. Or gave one to BFAB and it came off really cool. So there's times where it's like, that looks like a finish. Are knees the thing that hurt the most? Like when you get out of bed, what hurts?

Oh, God. Yeah. You're like, what doesn't? It really does, like, it fluctuates depending. On how recently you wrestled? Yeah, like this week I've been rough because I had the match with Lyra. And then we had the gauntlet tag match. And then I wrestled live.

And, like, what was today, Thursday? So Tuesday, I woke up just like, holy crap. And, like, I hadn't wrestled for maybe like a month or something, you know, besides just training. My neck was so sore. But it's mostly, like I said, my injury. I get a lot of pain in the, like my, what's called like my hamstring tendon, which is weird. I get a lot of pain there. So like that's something that I deal with every day.

And then there was a time where like I was getting super, my diet was on point. My training was, like I started training with a new, I guess a new trainer. Mad Cat Moss. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So him and his brother started their own like training regimen. And I started training with them. Yeah, because Mike's like a former football player.

And like the way I would always see the way he trains. And I'm like, dude, I want to be like that. Like a real athlete, you know? I was like killing it with their workouts. And then I did something and pulled my back so bad. And it was like a disc issue where all the people I got like my chiropractor, my dry needler, my PT, they were like, oh, yeah. Like I would sneeze and I would be crying in pain, legit.

like a month and a half. So that like put me back. But like it's all better now. So those things, it just comes and goes. But the leg, I would say, is always there. I feel like you're at this point in your career where you've accomplished so much. And there's still a section of the audience that doesn't give you the respect that you deserve. Yeah. What the heck, guys? But seriously, you know, that doesn't make sense when you look at the resume that you've had, when you look at the people you've worked with, when you look at the moments that you've been part of. I don't. don't understand it. Yeah.

Yeah. I guess it, and that sucks because, like I said, like I don't let, I don't let things get to me and I stopped reading tweets or comments and all that stuff a long time ago. But I do feel that and I see that. And I'm just like, what am I missing? You know? And so that's the one thing that still gets to me. And maybe that's like ego or pride or whatever.

But I'm just like, what do you, like, what am I missing that, you? you don't understand what I've done for this industry or what, you know, it's hard to explain. And especially now because I feel like, okay, well, I've been doing this for now. I've been wrestling for like 16 years altogether. Yeah. So I'm like, okay, well, obviously, like, I'm going to slow down at some point, but now when I see shit like that, like, oh, she's not this or not this. like, like, now I have to. Like, now I got to prove them wrong.

But there's also a part of me that feels and agrees with them. Like I, and I was just telling Lyra this the other day, we've been doing a lot of bonding. I don't feel that I'm at a level of a Charlotte or a Becky. And like, but we came up together. And like, I gave Charlotte, I wrestled Charlotte in her first match ever. Like, I was signed to WWW. Becky. So like when I see like to me they're up here and I'm just not there yet, you know. And maybe that's kind of like where people base it off or like where they judge it or whatever. But like I keep saying,

you know, I get my feedback and opinions from the right people to me. Like someone like Tyler Breeze who taught me so many things. I still talked to him about all my matches. Like he still gives me feedback. He still gives me ideas to this day. And if he enjoys something that I do, then I, I believe it and I respect it. But if he tells me like, you need to do this better, I'll do it. Someone like, T.J. I will, whatever he says, I respect it and I believe him. You know, so like, as many people, you know, think that I'm not at this level or whatever, part of me agrees with them because I don't think I'm there yet. After the Rumble last year, C.M. punk even so like put some respect on her name. Yeah. And I mean, he had a really good point. Yeah.

You won the Royal Rumble and you're not even at the press conference. Yeah. Yeah. There's a lot of moments like that. I feel like I don't get on the press conference. I don't get on the posters. I don't, you know, get to do the talk shows. I don't. And I don't know what else to do, you know, and it's not like a, like there's no heat in the, you know, backstage or anything like that. Hunter and I have a really good relationship. Bruce and I have a really good relationship. All the T.R. Like, I have such a good relationship with them and I've always been professional. Even, like, you know, when I've gone to other shows to support my friends, like, we've had those conversations of, like, the do's and the don'ts and that was a little too much. Or, you know,

like, we've had those conversations. So I think we're at a real respect level. And Hunters has, like gone on press conference being like Bailey's this, Bailey's this, Bailey's this. She's everything that, you know, you could possibly want out of a superstar, which I, uh, appreciate. But it's like, all right. Well, like, what do I need to do to get me there? Yeah. And how do you not take that personally? You know, like you're being, you're being told you're going to win the Royal Rumble. Then you win the Royal Rumble. And then it's like, well, what now? Yeah. I know. It's, uh, by the time this comes out, there's going to be even, um, what does that mean? It's hard.

It's like, sometimes I think this is, it's my, um, that's what keeps me here is because I don't go freaking kick the door down and be like, I'm not doing that. Why would I do that? I'm fucking Bailey. Like, why would I do that? you know, but I don't do that. I've, whatever they give, and I've learned this from Sina, I've learned this from Ray, whatever they give you is like, make it work.

So that's always like what I've tried to do. And I'll come up with ideas, I'll come up with pitches. And I've learned that like sometimes if you get told whatever the creative is and you're not happy with it. And then I go and I say, hey, what if we do this instead? and then they say no, I feel worse after that than like, then I felt with the original creative. So I'm just like, okay, how bad do I want to feel today? Like, or should I just accept what they gave me and then make it as best as I can? And then they'll be like, damn, she made that work.

Like, let's go this way instead. And that does happen, especially with Hunter. Hunter, like really happened a lot with damage control. Like if you look at like EO, how big EO got, you know, or like, he's, you know, or like, He was basing it off of how the crowd is reacting to us and how, you know, he would be like, this is what we're thinking, but let's just see how they react with this, you know? And then, like, the story would kind of change depending on, or it went on way longer than he expected it to. Like, I don't think this was supposed to go to mania last year.

Yeah. Excuse me. Last year. So, yeah, and that's, like, a fun process. But I think I went a little off the rails. Um, one of the main, uh, things that I have learned in a book that I read was it's called the, um, damn, what is it called? Laws of Agreement or something. Four agreements?

Four agreements. I talk about the book all the time. I love it. Don't take anything personal. Don't take anything personally. That, that is like, and then there's impeccable with, with your word. What's the other ones? Always do your best.

Always do your best. And there's one other one. But the don't take anything personal is like literally what I love. live by. It's not personal. Don't make assumptions. Yeah, don't make assumptions. But don't, it's literally like, it's not personal because they're not putting me on the posters. They're not like, hey, take Bailey off. Like, let's just hurt her feelings a little bit. You know, like, it's not personal. Yeah. It's not. And I, and I am, and my ego will get over it, you know, like, who cares? It's not personal. They're doing it because the marketing team thinks it's best or because

the fan base or because of your merch set. Like, whatever it is. I don't care. I don't care. Yeah, it doesn't change. There's so much more to life that I've been learning this the last couple years. There's so much more to life. And life is so freaking short that I don't want to spend my time, especially my last few years here, like being upset or being like, man, I wish I was on the poster. I wish I had more TV time or I wish I didn't this. It's like, I'm going to look back and be like, dude, this is the coolest freaking thing ever. Yeah.

I can't believe I'm here. Since we're trading inspirational quotes here, I haven't. It was so powerful to me. It's when you trade your expectations for appreciation, it flips everything. Yeah. Right? Because if you're expecting something to happen and it doesn't happen, well, now you're upset. Yeah.

Instead, if you can appreciate what, you know, what the opportunity you're being given or whatever's in front of you, it's like, oh, wow, like, I have this thing that I can be thankful for, be grateful for. That's so true. It's so true. Yeah. Because when you set up an expectation and it doesn't get met, well, now you're bummed out. Yeah.

And that's hard for like our line of work, really. I think it's just hard for It's maybe it's not like our It's not our expectations of Them or like you know Okay I don't expect Hunter to put me in the main event But it's our expectations of ourselves You know it's like

All right what did you do wrong that you didn't You weren't good enough for that you know You're all high performers right Yeah everybody wants to be the best Yeah There's only one champion Right Because there's many multiple you know what I mean

Yeah yeah Champions but there's only many people that can be in that spot. Yeah. So I understand that. But you're over. Like, the crowd loves when, loves you when you go out there. I think we've just, like, built such a relationship over however many years that I've been doing this. And it's crazy because, especially when we started Netflix, but there's a whole new wave of fans, you know, where it's, they don't know my past or they don't know what I've been through or, you know, that all my other accolades or, you know, when I was a tag champion or anything, like, they don't know anything about

me. So I do, I'm like, if I get a reaction when I come out, yeah, there's some people who like me just as I am now, you know? Yeah. It's, it's so hard. And like, wrestling is ever changing, you know, like there's so much wrestling nowadays. And there's, like, other companies and there's other talent. Like, I'm such a fan of the other talent and, like, all these other freaking people that don't even work with us, you know? So I'm also looking at, like, okay, how do I keep up with them or how do I adapt or how do I girl or what do people want nowadays like i don't know what people what wrestling fans want now um so it's always trying to catch up i feel like but that's what makes wrestling fun too is because it's not stale never stays the same you know it's great to see that your relationship with mercedes is still

like great even though she's working yeah because i feel like there would have been a time where if you worked at w wcw you couldn't be seen it i saw you guys at a movie premiere together yeah yeah I'm like, are you sure that I can take a photo with both of you? Yeah. Yeah, of course. Yeah. Yeah. That didn't exist a while ago.

Yeah. And it may not have existed even like a few years ago. But like I said, like when I've gone to watch her wrestle, it was a thing where we had to have a conversation of, you know, with me in the office was like, is this okay, you know? And like they told me, like I said, the do's and the don'ts. And like on her side and with her, everything's fine. But, like, I don't ever want to disrespect WWE. I don't ever want to come off, you know, bad or, like, a traitor or anything like that. Like, I love wrestling.

If there's one thing that the fans know or that WWE knows is, like, I love this. And I'm going to, like, support any type of wrestling or any company. But, like, wherever my best friend goes, you know, I have to, I want to be there for her. And she's been there for me. Like, there's been shows that she's come to and nobody knows, you know, big moments for me. And I'm not going to say when they were. But she's been in the crowd. There's been the photos of her in the crowd with like a hoodie on and glasses.

Oh, yeah. Like when we went to TNA to watch Tren, you know, we've done that. But like she's come to WWE shows and like nobody knows that she was there. Still? She's been there. Yeah. For my big moments. So like I feel like super appreciative that WWE has allowed me to go to those big moments for her and like vice versa that she still cares to come and support us.

And yeah, I think it's awesome. like as many moments as I have with Lyra and Roxanne and Cora hearing or indie hearing like that they started because of a lot of things that her and I did, she gets that on the other side now. You know, she wrestled a couple girls and she's like, dude, one of the renegade twins, like she just told me this or she just told me. So it's cool to there's a whole different side of women that I've never met that were influenced by like what we were doing. And I love that we're able to share our.

experience and share our journeys and our knowledge in the ring with different people like separately and be able to both be at a high level still. When was the first time you heard the Hey Bailey chant? Oh, and I think it was in London or like the tour we did. Oh man. Because I did a tour when I was a NXT champion with WWE before like our Brooklyn match. But I think it was the tour that we did with NXT before my last. London match with Naya.

So, like, we did a few shows before the London match. And I think they, the UK crowd started it then. And I didn't really get it to, like, maybe the second or third show. Were you like, what are they singing? Yeah, because it was our first time there, you know, but they were chanting for everybody. And then when they came up with that, I was like, that's really cool. But when we did it in London, man, they were like, that was the first time I felt that

the crowd really, like, brought me to. life. It's, man, I wish everybody could feel that feeling. I say that all the time. But it was like, I was like, she was killing me in the match. And I was, and I was just like, dead, you know, how am I going to survive kind of thing, like dead on the floor. And when they started singing, I felt like such a crazy energy. Like, they were really bringing me back to life. It was so, so wild. And I just love that it's come this far and that they still do it. You know, I feel like that's something I always have when I go over there. And I love it.

I love it. I feel like this tattoo on your hand, if you were to do this, it's like a little like, Hey, hey, me, way. Yeah, I got this on Puerto Rico. That's badass. Yeah, thanks. So good to be able to catch up with you and sit down with you. It's been six years.

That's wild. The last interview we did was 2019. It was you and at the time, Sasha. Yeah, that's crazy. And it was like a cricket, wireless live thing. Yeah. Good to be able to...

It was not a real, you know, sit down. Yeah. We played games. We had a birthday cake for Sasha. We did. But I'm glad that we can sit down and have a real conversation. Yeah, me too. Hopefully, like, I tried to...

I was thinking before this, I'm like, I need... Because I love your interviews, you know, and I always feel like they get to a different level that you don't normally get out of wrestlers. I'm like, what can I say that? Like, I haven't talked about or things, you know. Because I wanted to give you something good. So hopefully this, you know, came off well and hopefully they enjoy it. This was great.

You don't do a lot of interviews. I don't get asked. I don't. I'm telling you, people don't want to talk to me anymore. That's not true. Well, I will wrap this up with the question I ask everybody at the end because gratitude's so big for me. We actually already talked about it a little bit in this interview. I wake up every day, say out loud three things I'm grateful for.

And we do it before we go to bed too. What are three things you're grateful for, Bailey? Ooh, good question. my family, my health, and then I get to travel. I learn a lot from traveling. Just spend a couple of weeks out in Europe by myself, a little solo trip. And I learned a lot about myself. And I learned a lot about the weather taught me a lot in Norway.

It was gloomy. This is going to go longer than you wanted this answer to be. Okay, I'm going to share this real quick thing. In Norway, so I went to Amsterdam for like four days, beautiful weather, amazing place, high energy. I could live there. Then I went to Norway and it was gloomy. It was raining and I was sad. Like I felt sad because the weather made me feel like, oh man, like no one's out and it's not as fun as Amsterdam and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Who wants to go on vacation when it's cloudy? Right. But like that's a norm over there. So I went, um, my hikes, the hikes I had

scheduled got canceled. And so I went to the store and I said, and I was buying hiking boots and I'm like, I'm going on this hike by myself because my, my group canceled or the host canceled on me. And so I was like asking the guy that I was selling the boots to me. I said, do you guys still hike when it's like raining and stuff? Will people still be going up? And he was like, yeah, what do you expect us to do to like not hike when it's raining? And I was like, it changed my whole like, it just hit me differently than he even meant for it to be. And I was like, that's so true.

Like just because you're having a dark day, like what you're not going to go on about your life. you're not going to go on with your day. Like you're not going to, are you just going to, if you're having a bad day, you're just going to sit at home, you know? And like that changed everything. I went on rainy hikes. I went on, I couldn't see shit when I got to the mountain, but I was so happy. Yeah.

Like it just changed everything for me. That's powerful because like you're in control. Yeah. Like you're not being affected by the outside forces. Yeah. And after he said that, I realized how many people were still walking around, still going to, like, everybody who's walking around. They got their umbrella.

Like, yeah, we're fine, dude. We can still go have dinner. That's good. We can still go have a drink. We can still go hike. And there was so many people hiking when I went and it was raining. It's just like, dude. So I'm grateful for my family, my health.

And, you know, the fact that I get to travel for a living is life changing. The lessons learned while traveling. Yeah, crazy. Man, so good to see you. You too, dude. Thank you so much for making the time. We tried this for so long. No.

Thank you. This is the busiest week of the year for you. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you over there. Well, there we go. We recorded this on the Thursday before WrestleMania. So now we can understand her comment there about some stuff happening over the weekend that would make sense by the time this interview came out. Thank you to Bailey for being so awesome. Thank you for being so awesome and for listening all the way. Until the end here, I appreciate you. Snap a screenshot and let us know you're listening. Tag us.

online. She's at It's Me Bailey on Instagram. She's at It's Bailey, WWE on Twitter. I'm at Chris Vanfleet, and a good friend of mine told me this phrase the other day. I'm like, that is so good. I'm going to share that at the end of my podcast. You can't change the weather, but you can dress for it. How good is that? You can't change the weather, but you can dress for it. Be great. Be grateful. Have an amazing. day. We will see you on the next one for some more insight. We've got the Hertz Syndicate joining us on Thursday. We'll see you right back here for that one. The Hammer Alley podcast, an 80s flashback mockumentary. Back in the 80s, there were a thousand bands trying to make it in the world of rock, but there was one band that had

it all. Hammer Alley. Whatever happened to Hammer Alley? How did they go from top of the rock? I'm looking for a music video. They're a band from 1987. Hammer Alley. Ever heard of then? To Rock Bottom. Dude, I was born in 1987. I can't believe he's doing this. Hammer Alley.

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