Backstage Update on WWE Status of Bayley

Bayley’s WWE future has been a huge topic of discussion over the past few days. It all started when F4WOnline reported earlier this week that her contract is expected to expire during the fourth quarter of 2026.

Fightful Select subsequently reported that Bayley’s deal will indeed come up by the end of this year, and as of today, she is not signed to a new deal. The report further added that there is interest within AEW regarding the former WWE Women’s Champion, and the Tony Khan-led company would make a play if Bayley decided to enter free agency.

On the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio [WOR], Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez discussed Bayley’s WWE future, with Meltzer claiming that he has been told that The Role Model has a “big decision to make.” Bayley lost to Lyra Valkyria via submission at Saturday Night’s Main Event last weekend and was brutalized by her former ally in a post-match attack. Meltzer felt it was a “blowoff” angle, and her return would depend on her signing a new contract.

Meltzer and Alvarez compared Bayley’s ongoing situation with Ricochet’s from two years ago, when the high-flyer opted against signing a new deal with the company and was written off via a backstage attack by Bron Breakker. Meltzer believes should Bayley opt to re-sign with WWE, she’d go after Lyra in a return angle.

Below is their conversation [via F4WOnline]:

Meltzer: “The only thing that I was told is that she has a big decision to make.”

Alvarez: “Well, that tells you everything you need to know then. Her deal’s coming up.”

Meltzer: “Well, it’s not coming up for months, but I mean, again, I watched that show on Saturday and watching that show, I thought it was a blowoff. The stuff that Lyra Valkyria has said since makes it sound like a blowoff. Maybe she’s gonna come back in two weeks and attack Lyra and keep the thing going.”

Meltzer: “With Ricochet, he had not signed his new deal, and when he kept not signing his deal, they started assuming he was gone. There were even stories out that he was gone before he decided he was gone. But he was leaning toward being gone, and in the end he was gone. But if you remember that last angle that they did with him, it was done in a way where, if he signed his contract, it was gonna lead to a return based on that angle.”

Alvarez: “I think this is the exact same thing. If (Bayley) ends up re-signing, then there’s a built-in angle with Lyra. And if she doesn’t re-sign, Lyra destroyed her and sent her out of the company. So I think that’s exactly what’s going on.”