Bayley Suggests She Should Fight Michael Cole at WrestleMania

During the pandemic/Thunderdome era, Bayley was one of the stars who most ably adapted to the empty arena format. Frequently speaking to camera, and insulting announcer Michael Cole as an “idiot,” she stepped up in a challenging situation to become a more compelling presence even without an audience to react to. Now she’s suggesting she might bring one aspect of that back.

On a recent episode of WWE Now Raw Recap with Sam Roberts and Megan Morant, she showed that her animosity towards Cole could return, and maybe even pay off on the grandest stage.

Speaking of her match with AJ Lee, Roberts noted, “There was a moment…where you were on the outside of the ring, and you crawled up that commentary table and you looked up, and Michael Cole was talking about what you’re fighting for in WrestleMania and everything. With this history that you have with Michael Cole, I couldn’t tell if this was another bit of that tension or if maybe, just for a moment, you were motivated by Michael Cole?”

Bayley didn’t miss a beat with her reply. “You know what? Speaking of cup being full, I wish he had a full cup of coffee in his hand that I can spill in his face. But, like, obviously I know what’s going on, Michael Cole. The WrestleMania sign is right in front of me, AJ Lee is right behind me, and the title is right to the side of me. I know what’s going on, that’s why we’re here right now; it’s WrestleMania season. You don’t have to say it to my face. I know you’re doing your job, but maybe you could wait till I turn back around to, like, say that.”

Then she gave Cole a backhanded compliment, in character: “But maybe I did need that, you know? Michael Cole, he really did push me in the pandemic era. He really did push me to the edge and kind of made me irritated. And maybe that’s why I was a double champ. Who knows? Maybe he’s the secret weapon. Maybe that’s something I can use, but we’re not gonna let him know, okay? He cannot, you know, be any more cocky, all right? Let’s just leave that between us.”

Morant wondered aloud why Bayley didn’t call him an idiot again, to which Bayley replied, “He is. Well, I don’t need to call him. He is. Like, it just says it on his head, right, you know? That’s just his name.”

She then brought up Cole’s sole WrestleMania match, from 2011, in which, as a heel, he defeated Jerry Lawler by disqualification. “Michael Cole also thinks he’s, he talks a big game when it comes to WrestleMania because he’s ‘undefeated.'” she said. “So you know what, Michael Cole, if you wanna go to WrestleMania, this has been built for six years now. He keeps trying to say, ‘Let’s go to WrestleMania. I’m undefeated. I’m undefeated.’ Well, I don’t have a match. So, you know, there it is. Maybe I found my ticket. Let’s go!”

“Put the streak on the line. Let’s get to 1-1!” replied Roberts, in a comment aimed at Cole. The interview wrapped up with Bayley chanting, “Coward, coward, coward!”

A more likely path, as she suggested earlier in the show, would be Bayley and Lyra Valkyrie versus the Kabuki Warriors. Cole will probably be more useful on commentary.