AEW was confident it could make a play for Bayley ahead of her return on Monday’s RAW.
Shortly after Monday’s RAW, Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp said there were people in WWE who believed Bayley had already re-signed, though he had not been able to confirm it himself.
“PWInsider reported that there’s a belief that Bayley is staying with WWE. I spoke to a wrestler two weeks ago that believes she re-signed with WWE, but none of that was confirmed yet.”
Sapp added that AEW hadn’t received confirmation that Bayley had re-signed and still held out hope of making an offer if she became available, which affected any negotiations.
“I can tell you AEW doesn’t necessarily have that information yet, and they definitely had high hopes that they would at least be able to make a play for Bayley.”
AEW’s interest is not new. On July 21, Fightful reported that signing Bayley had been discussed within AEW for nearly a year and that the company reportedly had strong interest if the former WWE Women’s Champion hit free agency.
That changed on Tuesday. Dave Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio that Bayley has signed a new deal with WWE.
“Yep, signed a new deal.”
Bayley returned during the Triple Threat Match between Valkyria, Sol Ruca and Maxxine Dupri on Monday’s RAW, a qualifier for the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match.
The return ended an absence that began after the July 18 Saturday Night’s Main Event. Valkyria defeated Bayley on that episode and attacked her after the match, writing her off TV.