Online fan theories can get pretty ridiculous, especially when it comes to professional wrestling. But sometimes they can be just crazy enough for people to start believing them, and subsequently get them trending online. Such was the case on the Squared Circle subreddit over the weekend when Reddit user u/HeLL_BrYnger posted a theory pertaining to Bayley and why she never wears the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship around her waist. After losing her title to Charlotte Flair at Hell in a Cell back in early October, Bayley arrived for her rematch with Flair sporting a brand new look, which included new ring gear and a more age-appropriate haircut.
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The theory goes like this — “Bayley never wears her championship around her waist because the middle letters of her new gear plus the WWE logo on the belt would spell ‘AEW.’” It seems absurd, until you look at a photo of how the letters are arranged.
Theory: Bayley never wears her championchip around her waist because the middle letters of her new gear plus the WWE logo on the belt would spell “AEW” from r/SquaredCircle
Obviously there’s no information to actually back up this theory, but given how many stories we’ve seen over the years of Vince McMahon giving bizarre orders due to inexplicable hang-ups, it’s not completely out of the realm of possibility.
McMahon hasn’t said much publicly about the young promotion, though the comments he has made haven’t been flattering.
“We just haven’t come anywhere close, actually, to going to another level,” McMahon said during an investor’s conference call earlier this year when asked about returning to the Attitude Era. “There will be something we do in terms of a direction of content — more controversy, better storylines, etc. But at the same time, we’re not gonna go back to the quote ‘Attitude Era,’ and we’re not gonna do blood and guts and things of that nature, such as being done on perhaps a new potential competitor.”
AEW recently turned McMahon’s words against him by acquiring the trademark to “AEW Blood and Guts.”
Bayley will compete in a triple threat non-title match at Survivor Series on Sunday against Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch and NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler. Though the match is part of a battle for brand supremacy during the three shows, Lynch made it clear during a Raw promo this week that she couldn’t care less about that angle.
