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Bayley: Nobody Knew WWE Women's United States Championship Was Coming

WWE will soon crown the first Women's United States Championship. A title that Bayley says no one officially knew was in the works.
Rick Ucchino|
Bayley was complete surprised by Women's U.S. Title announcement
Bayley was complete surprised by Women's U.S. Title announcement | wwe.com

Bayley finds herself just two wins away from becoming the first ever WWE Women's United States Champion.

She defeated Candice LeRae and B-Fab in an opening round triple threat match this past Friday on SmackDown, to advance in the 12 woman tournament that will crown the inaugural champion. She'll meet the winner of Friday's match featuring Bianca Belair, Chelsea Green & Blair Davenport in the semi-finals.

The tournament finals will take place at Saturday Night's Main Event on December 14 at the Nassau Coliseum in New York.

While promoting ticket sales for the 2025 Royal Rumble in Indianapolis, Bayley told Headliner Chicago that she was genuinely surprised to hear the news that the main roster women's division was getting it's first non-World Title singles Championship.

"Nobody knew that that was happening," she said. "It was really cool to be surprised and I was just happy that I was in front of a monitor when it was happening. I was in the middle of a meeting with one of my bosses and it had just popped up. I heard Nick Aldis talk about the women. And I was like, 'Whoa. Hold on, please. Can we just watch this real quick?' I'm so happy that I caught it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been around a monitor, because there's so much going on. - h/t Fightful"

When it was first announced SmackDown commentator Michael Cole indicated that women from both main roster brands would be eligible to compete for the Women's United States Championship, but when the bracket was unveiled, Raw Superstars were excluded from the tournament.

That has now fueled the belief that a Women's Intercontinental Championship will soon be on the way for the ladies on the Red Brand, but word of it's creation is little more than speculative at this point in time.

Regardless, Bayley is thrilled for what the United States Championship will mean for WWE's ever growing women's roster.

"This is a huge deal... A lot of guys' dreams growing up was to be the Intercontinental Champion. It wasn't always to be the World Heavyweight Champion. It was to be the Intercontinental Champion because of the men that held it and the prestige that it holds. I believe this could be that title [for women]. So, it's just exciting. It's an exciting time all around and I truly believe that we deserve it."

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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