Bayley feels like she’s ‘stealing money’ in WWE sometimes
In her WWE career, it’s sometimes hard for Bayley to feel like she has a purpose.
Bayley recently spoke with No-Contest Wrestling at WWE 2K26 Creator Fest and opened up about how great of an experience her first Lodestone Wrestling seminar was. As much as it benefitted the attendees, Bayley also got a ton out of the weekend. There’s still so much more that she’s hoping to accomplish in WWE, but Bayley feels like she’s “stealing money” and not being useful sometimes. This seminar allowed her to help out and give back to other wrestlers.
“I’ve been in WWE for 13 years now and I’ve done so much, but I feel like I still have so much more to do, more things I want to accomplish,” Bayley said. “And I still have so much passion for this. But I don’t always have control over that, you know? I don’t write the shows. I don’t put myself in these matches. Sometimes it’s hard to feel, like, purposeful. It’s hard to feel like I’m being useful, you know? I kind of feel like I’m just here stealing money. Like, I want it, so I needed to feel like I was doing something.
“And Lodestone kind of helped me in that, where I’m still so passionate and want to help. And this kind of fed my — I talked to Chad Gable about this — but fed my child-like wonder. Where it’s like, that’s kid Bayley in me that’s just like, ‘I want to wrestle and I want to be around people who love it and that feel the same way.’ Because when you’re at a certain level, it’s business, you know? But when you come to a place like Lodestone, it felt very much like just hanging out with your friends and doing something that you love and everybody getting better.”
The seminar took place in Orlando in December 2025 and was open to indie wrestlers who already have experience competing in the ring. Bayley paid for all expenses aside from travel, and WWE stars John Cena, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley, Natalya, and Lyra Valkyria stopped by to spend some time with the attendees.
Bayley told No-Contest Wrestling that the first Lodestone weekend was bigger than she ever could have imagined. She’s already putting plans in place for a second seminar in Las Vegas.
“What I really wanted was to help these indie girls out. Didn’t want them to pay anything aside from coming out, because I know on the independents there’s not a lot of money there. It’s a lot of doing stuff for yourself and paying for things yourself just to get your name out there,” Bayley said. “So I wanted to help them out in that way. But mainly just building a community and having girls that, like, on the indies it’s hard to meet girls or mentors that really have the best interest at heart for you. And seeing their bond is just so beautiful. We have a group chat and they message each other all the time. All the girls are sending matches or promos. Like, ‘Hey, can you guys let me know what you think of this?’ It’s a beautiful little community that, you know, there’s 23 of us together. And I’m so excited to see it grow.”
Working behind the scenes in WWE is a role that Bayley could be interested in whenever her days in the ring are over. She’s part of a tag team with Lyra Valkyria at the moment but does not have a WrestleMania 42 direction locked in yet.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.