PRO WRESTLING: WWE NXT fan favorite Bayley hugs, loves what she does

WWE NXT diva Bayley is always hugging and smiling, even when she’s hard at work training.

“When I first started training, my trainer told me to stop smiling so much,” said Bayley, who first learned the art of wrestling from Jason Styles (Rogers) of Big Time Wrestling in Northern California. “It was just fun to me. I couldn’t help it.”

Styles said: “It’s actually a good feeling as a teacher, when you’re teaching people something that they’re that passionate about wanting to learn. From the get-go, she always talked about how she was a wrestling fan since she was a kid, and that really came through, when she started training.”

She is genuine.

Her enthusiasm, her passion resonates with NXT fans as one of their favorites, and she really enjoys meeting them, participating in meet-n-greets before NXT shows.

“It comes kind of natural being Bayley,” she said. “Watching wrestling already made me excited. When I was younger, going to live events, I was so into it and just felt something inside me that made me feel driven to do it; so when I go out to the ring, it’s a natural fire for me. I can’t help but smile.”

It’s not work, if it’s something you love, and Bayley truly loves it.

“Bayley is a dream chaser,” she said. “She’s grown up watching the product, wrestling, WWE, everything. She knows everyone, from top to bottom, all the history. She’s been motivated since she was 10-years-old and is finally here, trying to pursue the dream, live the dream to the fullest.”

Bayley’s ability, appeal, look, mannerisms stand out from the other divas, which is important. That extends to her colorful ring attire -- another Bayley distinction -- inspired by one of her favorites.

“I’m a huge Macho Man [Randy Savage] fan,” she said. “Him being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year is so cool, and it’s in my hometown [San Jose].

And...

“His ring gear is actually what stood out to me when I first saw him,” she added. “He was the first guy I saw ever in wrestling; so that’s what hooked me to him and what got me into wrestling.”

Bayley continued: “I kind of base my gear to being very colorful, different shapes and a little bit of randomness, basing it off him.”

“The ponytail and the headband are from me, from when I was younger,” she added, “because my hair is so thick, and it’s always in my way; so I always had it up.

“My mom [Ann] used to try to make it all nice and comb it and put it in cute little things, but as soon as I got to school, I took it all out and just put it up in a ponytail.”

That did not please mom, but it led to now.

“Now I made the ponytail bigger,” Bayley said, “and put it to the side and made it my own trademark.”

Bayley, 25, also designs her ring gear, selecting the colors.

“Sarath Ton does my gear, and he knows me very well. He’s a huge wrestling fan, too; so he knows where I’m coming from,” Bayley said. “He’s amazing. I can give him the colors and kind of the idea, and he puts his own [twist] on it. It’s a team effort. He does a few other people’s gear here [NXT], too. He’s great.”

Big hug for Sarath.

In a Q&A in 2013 with now SmackDown commentator Byron Saxton, Bayley discussed her obsession with hugging.

“You know when you first meet someone and they shake your hand? Hugging is how I shake hands,” she answered. “I live hug life. So there isn’t anyone I wouldn’t hug.”

Don’t mistake her kindness for weakness. Bayley can go toe-to-toe with the best of them in the ring.

“I think being [physical, tough] comes from my past playing sports growing up,” she said. “I’m very competitive. When I’m out there [in the ring], it’s a dream that I want to fulfill, and I’m so excited to be out there, but I want to prove that I have a lot to bring. I just don’t want to be there. I want to make history, too.”

Growing up a tomboy in San Jose, Calif., Bayley made some history excelling in sports, especially basketball for the 76ers at Independence High School.

“I played everything,” she said. “I played volleyball, did track, cross-country, but basketball was my main sport, my main focus. My basketball coach had me do the other sports to keep me in shape, keep me noticed.”

Bayley, a shooting guard, was noticed, playing four years varsity high school basketball and becoming team captain her senior year.

“That was a big deal for me,” she said.

Take the Polar Plunge

Another big deal for her is captaining another team, the NXT Polar Plunge Team.

The Polar Plunge, a Special Olympics Florida fundraiser, is 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 7 at Aquatica, 5800 Water Play Way, Orlando.

Bayley will lead a group of NXT superstars and divas in raising funds for Special Olympics Florida. WWE NXT is very active with Special Olympics Florida.

“Being captain of the [NXT] team, I’m really excited about that,” she said. “We’ve worked with Special Olympics Florida before, and I had so much fun doing that. It was really inspiring to meet all the athletes. So now that I’m a captain of a team that gets to participate with Special Olympics is nice, a cool acknowledgment. I’m excited.”

The Polar Plunge is a statewide fundraiser where brave individuals and teams, alongside Special Olympics athletes, raise funds and awareness by plunging into Aquatica’s chilled down wave pool. All net proceeds benefit Special Olympics Florida programs and athletes.

“We had Special Olympians at the [WWE] Performance Center in the spring, and we all went through this circuit inside the gym. It’s stuff that we do on a daily basis, workouts that we do, and we all did it together. We did a few sets, and they kept up. The athletes were amazing. It was a lot of fun.”

Aquatica is usually warm and tropical, but once each year they chill their wave pool so you can experience the “thrill of the chill” all while supporting a great cause. Plungers enjoy all of Aquatica’s heated rides the rest of the day.

PolarPlunge

Bayley’s Backyard WrestleMania Week

WWE WrestleMania 31 is at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on Sunday, March 29 live on WWE Network and pay-per-view.

The WWE Hall of Fame ceremony is Saturday, March 28 at the SAP Center in in San Jose, Calif., as a part of the WrestleMania 31 Week activities.

“When I found out WrestleMania was going to be there [her hometown], I felt like a fan. I have to go. It’s like the Super Bowl being there,” she said. “If I were back home as a fan, I would be the first person in line, getting front row tickets.

“With it being there, my whole family is going to go and be a part of it. That my city where I grew up gets to experience it and the biggest show of the year is going to be there, it’s a really cool feeling.”

Even better.

“And then watching on Raw that the Macho Man is going into the Hall of Fame in my hometown, I was like, ‘Woe, it’s in San Jose, my hometown.’ What are the odds of that? It’s just so weird. All of that coming together. It’s pretty awesome.”

Last year Bayley participated in WrestleMania Axxess during WrestleMania 30 Week in New Orleans.

“I’m hoping that I’ll be there this year,” she said. “It would mean so much more to me because I know my friends and family will come out and watch me and see how far I’ve come. For them to experience WWE live is so different than anything for anybody; so for my friends, it will be great.”

Bayley can’t wait.

“There’s always butterflies, but I think I’ll be even more emotional, more nervous and excited than normal, when I’m back home.”

Big Time Talent

Bayley’s love for pro wrestling birthed at a young age, and by age 13, she attended Big Time Wrestling indie shows nearby in Newark, Calif. -- enjoying, watching the journey of newcomers and veterans. After graduating high school, she decided to begin her own wrestling path.

“One college in particular was interested in me [playing basketball for them], but I already knew at that point I wanted to start wrestling. My mom was pushing me to join the college team, but I didn’t want to put all my focus into basketball because I knew wrestling is where I wanted to start going, and I needed to start then.”

Bayley attended a local pro wrestling school in her area, the one she watched many times as a fan, Big Time Wrestling.

Visit www.btwrestling.com Call 510-494-9648.

“Wrestling was very time consuming for me. It was all I could ever think about,” Bayley said. “Everybody was supportive, but my mom was the one who was not so sure about it.”

Big Time Wrestling. Bayley knew them. They knew her. Respected indie wrestling talent Jason Styles (Rogers), who has been wrestling professionally for more than 16 years throughout the United States and Mexico, trained her.

Bayley recalled: “As soon as I started training, my first day, I was 18 [in 2007], and the promoter [Kirk White] knew my family. So he called my mom and asked her, ‘Are you sure this is what you want her to do? This is what she wants to do?’ My mom answered, ‘Well, she’s there in front of you, and she’s going to give it a shot; so now I have to give her my full support.

“Now [mom’s] just the hugest fan. She calls me all the time about every single match, and she was at my [NXT] Takeover match. She loves it.”

Special moments shared by Bayley and her mom.

“[Mom] knows now that it wasn’t just a little dream that I had.”

Styles, 45, does, too. He recalls this shy, young girl -- with braces and a bobby pin in her hair -- excited to climb into the ring.

“She came up to us at a [Big Time Wrestling] fanfest. She was 18 and said how she was interested in training,” he said. “Most 18-year-olds...I was 18 once; I don’t think I’d ever taken anything that serious, when I was 18.

“She seemed very determined. When she said she was going to show up, she showed up. She was there every single time we had training. She didn’t call in sick. Some people are like, ‘I got to do this, or I got to do that.’ She was very dedicated to becoming a wrestler.

“I never knew she would make it as far WWE or NXT, but sometimes things happen in life, and through hard work and determination, things like that are possible to achieve.”

Big Time Wrestling began the journey.

Styles said: “She can chain wrestle. She can take bumps. She moves well in the ring. She’s an athlete. She’s a very solid, fundamentally sound wrestler.”

WWE NXT took her persona to the next level, combining with her to develop the Bayley character.

“She was a very shy person,” Styles said. “To take it over the top and be like this superfan wrestler, I think that was something outside her comfort zone, but I’m sure she’s doing a great job with it, something she’s learned through the fine tuning of World Wrestling Entertainment or NXT.”

Sara Amato, formerly stellar indie wrestler Sara Del Rey, is fine tuning, training the up-n-coming WWE divas, like Bayley, at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. Amato is WWE’s first female trainer/agent.

“Sara is very good at knowing everyone’s different levels [training],” Bayley said. “She’s very good at taking her time to teach, and she’s very patient. She’s like no other. She’s the greatest female wrestler in the world, and she knows what she’s doing.”

That guidance helped the fun-loving, crowd-pleasing Bayley step up her game in the ring, wrestling the very athletic NXT divas champ Charlotte last year during an NXT live special on WWE Network.

“[Charlotte’s] amazing,” Bayley said. “Sometimes we’ll do stuff training, little warm-ups, and of course, she ups the ante on everything, and it turns out amazing.

“What she’s done in her past matches...You guys have no idea...She’s going to keep bringing it, and you’ll continue to be surprised and in awe of her. She’s great.”

Bayley is also bringing it. So watch out.

NXT TakeOver Live on WWE Network

Bayley competes in a Fatal-Fourway for the NXT divas’ title against Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and NXT divas’ champ Charlotte during WWE NXT TakeOver: Rival live on Wednesday, Feb. 11 on WWE Network from Full Sail University in Winter Park, near Orlando.

NXT moves to Wednesdays on WWE Network to avoid conflict with SmackDown on Thursdays on Syfy.

This fourth NXT TakeOver special is headlined by NXT champ Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens for the NXT title.

Also, Finn Balor vs. former champ Adrian Neville to determine the No.1 contender for the belt.

NXT tag champs The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara) vs. Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy.

No DQ: Baron Corbin vs. Bull Dempsey.

Via WWE Network and social media and meet-n-greets, the NXT fan base continues to grow.

“It’s always a lot of fun to get to interact with people and meet different fans,” Bayley said, “and now with WWE Network, the fan base and the [NXT] shows, they just keep growing larger and larger, more fans, and they love it. So it’s really cool to see how excited they are to see us. We feed off them.”

NXTTakeOverRival

NXT in Fort Pierce

WWE NXT is 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13 at the Havert L. Fenn Center in Fort Pierce.

http://www.stlucieco.gov/parks/fenncenter.htm

See the rising talent of NXT, the future superstars and divas of WWE.

“It was a big show last time we were there, the largest crowd we ever had in Fort Pierce, and everyone had a great time,” Bayley said. “Our live events keep getting better and better. So when we come back to Fort Pierce on Feb. 13, it won’t be like the experience they had last time. It will be even better, a lot of surprises.

“NXT, right now, is something you want to be a part of. You don’t want to miss anything that’s going on in NXT.”

There will be a meet-n-greet before the show, which is included in the ticket price.

“We have autograph signings before every show, and I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of [some of] them,” Bayley said. “Fans come with pictures. People give me headbands, and girls have bracelets. It’s really cool to get to meet them.”

Fans bring homemade artwork of NXT superstars and divas like Bayley.

“People have fun doing artwork of us,” she said. “All of us look so different in different colors and gear with the masks and headbands and everything. People have a lot of fun drawing, and they’ll have us sign it, or they’ll give us copies. It’s really cool. I have a bunch of fan art. I love it.”

And fans love Bayley.

http://nxttickets.ticketforce.com/ordertickets.asp?p=123

http://nxttickets.ticketforce.com/venuelisting.asp

http://nxttickets.ticketforce.com/default.asp

NXT takes Polar Plunge for Special Olympics

The Polar Plunge, a Special Olympics Florida fundraiser, is 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 7 at Aquatica, 5800 Water Play Way, Orlando.

Bayley will lead a group of NXT superstars and divas at the event.

The Polar Plunge is a statewide fundraiser where brave individuals and teams, alongside Special Olympics athletes, raise funds and awareness by plunging into Aquatica’s chilled down wave pool. All net proceeds benefit Special Olympics Florida programs and athletes.

Aquatica is usually warm and tropical, but once each year they chill down their wave pool so you can experience the “thrill of the chill” all while supporting a great cause. Plungers enjoy all of Aquatica’s heated rides the rest of the day.

Donate on behalf of the NXT team or an NXT individual at

http://www.firstgiving.com/team/283360

For more information, visit

FirstGiving

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This story was originally published February 6, 2015 at 1:49 AM with the headline "PRO WRESTLING: WWE NXT fan favorite Bayley hugs, loves what she does."