WWE doesn't see the aura in 35-year-old Royal Rumble winner, says veteran Bill Apter (Exclusive)
Wrestling veteran and long-time journalist Bill Apter commented on the state of a certain 35-year-old superstar, who just so happens to be an ex-Royal Rumble winner. He said that WWE doesn't see the "aura" in her.
On the latest episode of The Wrestling Time Machine, host Mac Davis asked Bill Apter and WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long about 35-year-old RAW star Bayley, who recently commented that she isn't on the same level as Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch.
Bill Apter admitted that WWE doesn't present the 2024 Women's Royal Rumble winner with the same type of aura as they do for Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair:
"There's a superstar aura, the way they [WWE] play Becky and Charlotte. They don't play that aura around Bayley. She's one of the girls, one of the best in the world, but she's one of the girl wrestlers. They never put her in that elite position that she would like to be in, doing talk shows, TV commercials, and movies." (0:46-1:21)
He elaborated that while there's nothing wrong with Bayley, WWE doesn't view the ex-Royal Rumble winner in the same light:
"She's said herself on social media that she'd like to do that. You'll see Becky doing commercials, Charlotte doing talk shows, but not her. And I think it bothered her. She's got a great personality, she's a great kid, so WWE just doesn't see that aura around her like they do with the other two. (1:22-1:48)
You can watch the full video below:
How did Bayley fare following her 2024 Royal Rumble win?
On paper, the Road to WrestleMania 40 and after couldn't have been better for Bayley following her 2024 Royal Rumble win. It marked another major milestone in her already highly accomplished career. In retrospect, how did things turn out?
After winning the Rumble, Bayley found herself on the receiving end of a betrayal from Damage CTRL before setting up a Women's World Title clash against Iyo Sky. The two co-headlined WrestleMania 40 Night 2 and had what many considered the most underrated match on the entire card over two nights.
Bayley walked out with the WWE Women's Championship and enjoyed a four-month reign before getting dethroned by Nia Jax at SummerSlam 2024. The argument around Bayley's recent comments seems to revolve around the impact she had during her most recent World Title reign.
The most impactful reign Bayley has arguably had to date is her year-long run as SmackDown Women's Champion between 2019 and 2020. She proved to be one of the MVPs of WWE during the pandemic era, and her run ended fittingly at the hands of her best friend and biggest rival, Sasha Banks.
In that regard, not too much came her way following her WWE Women's Title reign in 2024.
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