Bayley Returns on Raw, Resumes Hugger Persona to Aid Lyra Valkyria

Bayley made a surprise return to WWE Raw on Monday, rushing the ring to rescue Lyra Valkyria after Valkyria defeated Roxanne Perez and was immediately set upon by Perez and Raquel Rodriguez. The appearance marked Bayley’s first live-ring save in weeks and an apparent reversion to her long-familiar Hugger persona on the Brooklyn event.

Valkyria had just scored the victory when Perez and Rodriguez launched a two-on-one postmatch attack. Bayley sprinted to the ring and cleared the heels, then paused and locked eyes with Valkyria in a tense moment that suggested unresolved issues between the two. After a brief hesitation, Bayley exited the ring and began hugging members of the broadcast team, ring crew and fans, an on-screen return to the affable Hugger character she cultivated in NXT and early on the main roster. WWE posted celebratory social posts during the broadcast declaring her return.

The segment capped weeks of vignettes in which Bayley appeared to wrestle with two competing identities, calling herself both the Hugger and the Role Model. She has not had a televised match since July, when she and Valkyria lost a challenge for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship, and she...