Bayley is scheduled to defend her SmackDown Women’s Championship against WWE veteran Tamina at the upcoming Money in the Bank pay-per-view event. She has held the title for over 200 days and counting. She is in her second reign and has held the title the longest since its introduction in 2016.
So far into the year, Bayley has successfully defended her title against Lacey Evans, Naomi, and Carmella. She had to defend her title against four women at WrestleMania just a few weeks ago in a Fatal Five-way, one of the women was Tamina.
Since then, Tamina has stated she has wanted a one-on-one match against the Role Model. It isn’t often that Tamina gets a one-on-one match for a title, so she is going to work as hard as she can to finally win her first main championship. Other than a 24/7 Championship moment, Tamina has never won a title in her 10-year career with the company.
Bayley spoke with Sports Illustrated on how she feels working with her upcoming opponent and what she means to her.
“We call her ‘Momma.’ She’s the momma of the locker room.”
Bayley continues, “When I had my first experience in WWE, I was still NXT Women’s Champion. I went on a tour of Europe, and it was actually me and Nattie against Team B.A.D. for the whole two-week tour. Tamina was so welcoming, and she really showed me, besides Sasha of course, showed me how to carry myself, how to be the last one in the locker room to clean up, and ask the top people if they needed anything, things like that. She also made me feel like one of them. She just has that quality about her.
Even if it’s been a while since she has been involved in a storyline, she’s never had one that’s just about her, especially in the title picture. But she’s literally always there. You don’t see her on TV, but she’s backstage watching all the matches and staying for the whole show and encourages everybody. She is very special and important to the locker room and the whole women’s roster. I’m definitely excited for this match, just because I think she deserves this moment.
I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved in a lot of special moments, so I hope that this is something that can be special for her. But I’m going to have to beat her, so it can’t be too special, but I hope she has fun.”
Tamina takes on Bayley on May 10 at the Money in the Bank event. Who do you think will walk away as the SmackDown Women’s Champion? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
You can view the full interview with Sports Illustrated by clicking here.
