It’s been almost 10 years since Bayley signed her contract with WWE.
Since then, she has held almost every WWE Women’s Championship belt, but will now challenge Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair in a Last Woman Standing match as part of Crown Jewel, taking place at Mrsool Park in Riyadh on Saturday. It’s the first time a women’s match with such a stipulation will take place in Saudi Arabia.
Bayley says she’s excited to return to the kingdom after remembering how well received her match against Naomi was at Super ShowDown in February 2020.
“The first time, I wasn't really sure how much the fans actually knew us or how much they watched the product,” she tells The National. “I was pleasantly surprised that they had signs with our names on and were super into the match. So I'm looking forward to that, to see how much it's grown since the last time I was here.”
The journey from the US to Saudi Arabia can often be challenging because of the time zone differences and long-haul flights, however, she says she’s learnt the key to overcoming jetlag is “sleeping a lot” on the way over. She also tries to adapt to the time zone of her whereabouts — something she’s adapted to having spent much of her career on the road.
And while things may feel fast-paced now, it'll surely be something Bayley is welcoming, having recently recovered from a torn ACL, which she sustained during training. The knee injury kept her from programming for almost a year, until she returned for Summerslam in late July.
But she says she is grateful for the downtime it allowed her, and that it helped her realise the need to be more protective of her body.
“It was a very humbling experience because I've never had surgery. I've never been away from wrestling aside for maybe a couple months for a shoulder injury. But it was super-humbling because my body wasn't as strong as I thought it would be,” she says.
“I really did enjoy the time off and because it's been almost nine or 10 years since I've had any time off with this WWE schedule as a performer. So I enjoyed it as much as I could with my family and my friends and just tried to see the plus side of it.”
Although now she’s back to being on television, teaming up with returning stars Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky at Summerslam to form a new villainous stable called Damage Ctrl. Kai and Sky compete as a tag team, while Bayley is the leader of the group. They’ve already won and lost the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship since returning.
“I feel like Dakota, Iyo and I haven't really been able to slow down at all. We’ve just kind of been thrown right into it. We've been on Raw and SmackDown and we've been on the pay-per-views and travelling everywhere and just non-stop, so it's been amazing, but it's also super-new to them because they're not used to this road life,” she says.
While NXT is filmed weekly in the same venue in Florida and helps to develop wrestlers for Raw and SmackDown, the last two take place in different cities each week, which can lead to a gruelling on-the-road schedule. "I've just been happy to travel again and be around all the people I love to work with," Bayley says. "It's like a new kind of company in a way just having Triple H as our boss and having Stephanie [McMahon] around, so it's a little bit of a new learning experience.”
In June, the WWE underwent a major leadership change after long-time chief executive and chairman Vince McMahon retired amid an internal investigation. His daughter, Stephanie, was promoted to chairwoman and co-chief executive while his son-in-law, Paul Levesque, formerly known as wrestler Triple H, took control of the creative side of the business as chief content officer.
Bayley doesn’t hold back her praise when it comes to being reunited with Levesque, whom she worked with during her days in NXT. Working with him “is the best”, she says, as he knows what people are capable of and what their goals are.
“He’s super-easy to talk to and to just have a conversation with whenever you feel the need to. You can always reach out to him or he's always around. It’s super-easy to see where you want to go with stories, careers or within the show or even within the next month.”
Bayley says she is excited by the growing women’s division, especially knowing that Levesque is there to help guide them, and commends him for bringing back female talent who “deserve a little bit more of a spotlight or deserve another chance.”
“It just shows me that we're going in the right direction. We're just going to keep growing bigger and bigger and just continue to be the best women's division in all of sport.”
Bayley's decade-long stint with WWE has been quite the journey, she says, but her ultimate goal is to one day headline WrestleMania, although she'd also love to help mentor the next generation of female wrestlers in NXT.
“I have a very strong interest in a lot of the girls in NXT and I would just want to see them keep getting opportunities and continuing to come up here and being able to contribute to what we already have as a stack division.”
She cites Indi Hartwell, Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez as some of the NXT wrestlers who have impressed her. But it’s former NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura whom she would love to have a dream match with, calling her “incredible” and “a legend.”
As she looks back on the first decade of her career, she says it’s been a whirlwind adventure, but one she’s been very happy with.
“It’s not what I expected it to be but in the best way," she says. "I can't believe I've been here this long. I remember my first month I thought I was not going to be able to handle it because it's just not what I expected. But now it's even better.
“I have life-long friendships. I can talk to people I meet on the streets about places I've travelled to because of wrestling and things that I've got to see and experience. For me personally, to continue to keep doing things that are brand-new to me, to be able to evolve and grow after being here for almost 10 years, I’m proud of myself for that.”
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Tuesday (UAE kick-off times)
Leicester City v Brighton (9pm)
Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United (11.15pm)
Wednesday
Manchester United v Sheffield United (9pm)
Newcastle United v Aston Villa (9pm)
Norwich City v Everton (9pm)
Wolves v Bournemouth (9pm)
Liverpool v Crystal Palace (11.15pm)
Thursday
Burnley v Watford (9pm)
Southampton v Arsenal (9pm)
Chelsea v Manchester City (11.15pm)
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
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Sreesanth's India bowling career
Tests 27, Wickets 87, Average 37.59, Best 5-40
ODIs 53, Wickets 75, Average 33.44, Best 6-55
T20Is 10, Wickets 7, Average 41.14, Best 2-12
Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
Manchester United v Liverpool
Premier League, kick off 7.30pm (UAE)
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
Mica
Director: Ismael Ferroukhi
Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani
3 stars
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)
Cagliari v AC Milan (6pm)
Lazio v Napoli (9pm)
Inter Milan v Atalanta (11.45pm)
Sunday
Udinese v Sassuolo (3.30pm)
Sampdoria v Brescia (6pm)
Fiorentina v SPAL (6pm)
Torino v Bologna (6pm)
Verona v Genoa (9pm)
Roma V Juventus (11.45pm)
Parma v Lecce (11.45pm)
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Teams
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
The Case For Trump
By Victor Davis Hanson
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
