Asuka Responds To Bayley’s Comments Over Getting Pulled From WrestleMania 41, Tells Bayley To ‘Stop Playing Nice’

As previously reported, WWE Superstar and former WWE Women’s Champion Bayley recently commented on getting pulled from her WWE Women’s Tag Team Title bout at WrestleMania 41 earlier this year. Now, her former Damage CTRL stablemate, Asuka, has weighed in on the incident and Bayley’s comments.

WWE wrote Bayley out by having her get attacked backstage. She was replaced in the match by Becky Lynch, who was a surprise and unannounced participant in the match.

In a new video on her YouTube channel, Asuka advised Bayley to stop playing nice and stop swallowing her pride, noting their role in how they helped build the WWE women’s division into what it is today. Below are some highlights of Asuka’s comments:

Asuka on the Pain Bayley Felt Over Getting Removed From WrestleMania 41

“An interview with Bayley came up on my X feed. I just found out about her sadness, her struggle, and her pain. And it hit me. I remembered. The format of today’s women’s division… the value everyone treats as standard… that was built by the 4 Horsewomen and by me. We’ve got pride. Of course we do. But at the same time, we are caught in something complicated—torn between the pride of what we built… and the responsibility to what comes next. And right now? The ones who can understand Bayley’s pain the most are probably Charlotte, Becky… and me. Probably… Our era didn’t just raise the level. We flipped the entire idea of what a women’s division could be. We started a revolution. Walking a road is one thing. Carving that road out of stone? That’s a different kind of fight.”

On Her Feud With Bayley Over the NXT Women’s Championship

“Bayley! When you and I first met, you were the NXT Champion… and I was the challenger. And I took that title from you, and I carried NXT on my back. Then you went to the main roster、and you became one of the pillars there too. After that, I arrived. We fought at the top. We survived at the top. We became the standard of the company. We are not just wrestlers. We are an era. We changed this division. We created it. We held it up when nobody else could.”

Asuka on How Bayley Shouldn’t Swallow Her Pride and Needs To Stop Playing Nice

“You’re accepting treatment that doesn’t match what you are. Don’t swallow it. This isn’t only your problem. It’s an insult to our pride—the pride of everyone who fought beside you and against you. It’s an insult to the status we built with our own hands. As someone who shared that time with you… I can’t accept it. Bayley. Stop playing nice. Look at Kairi. Playing nice is boring. Playing safe is boring. Go off!!!!!!! Shout it, ‘Do you know who I am? I’m Bayley!’ Make them remember what you’ve done—what we’ve done. We changed this division. We made it. People are simple. People are simple! They mistake what they see right now for what has always existed—as if the whole story started yesterday. So remind them. Loudly. All of them. So get louder. Get sharper. Let that fire show in the ring. And make them feel it… The weight we built with our lives. The pain we paid to make this division what it is. Right now! Make them remember.”