Bayley recently appeared on Insight with Chris Van Vliet and provided a personal and honest update on her WWE contract status and future ambitions. During the interview, the former Women’s Champion revealed she has approximately a year and a half left on her current deal with WWE.

Reflecting on her past expectations, Bayley admitted she once believed that 35 would be the age she'd walk away from the ring. Now that she has reached that milestone, her perspective has shifted significantly.

“When I was younger, because women did not wrestle as long as we are doing it now. Like Trish and Lita, if you think about it, they were everyone’s heroes, they were my heroes, and they only did it like, six, seven years with WWE and were only on top for three years or something. So to me, that was always in my head,” Bayley shared candidly.

She went on to speak about the lasting impact of veteran performers like Natalya, and how witnessing their continued success has inspired her to reconsider her own timeline.

“But now you look at Nattie, who’s been here forever. I just wrestled her [on April 11], and just incredible in the ring. Just one of one, and everything that she brings to it, not just in the ring, but her experience, and we really need that in [the] locker room. So I always think that even if I’m not wrestling every week, there’s something that I have that can help the locker room just like she does, just like Naomi does, just like Tamina does,” she explained.

Bayley then revisited a common thought from earlier in her career, stating, “When I was younger I always said all right, 35 would be my cut off, because, in my opinion, ‘Guys can go forever, but it’s not that cute when you’re a woman and you’re 35.’ But now that I’m 35 I’m just like, ‘Oh we’re all way past that, and we’re still main eventing, we’re still, doing red carpets, we’re still doing all this stuff. People still care about us.’ They still care about us. So that’s kind of changed my mindset.”

Looking toward the future, Bayley expressed a desire to one day open her own wrestling school—an ambition she wants to pursue while still competing. She emphasized that when the time comes to step away, she is confident WWE will be in great hands.

“I have a year and a half left on this current contract, so we’ll see what happens then,” she said. “And then what? Man, I do not know. I think I have done everything I really want to do, not everything. There is still a lot I want to get done, but done so much with WWE and I have been here for already 12 years. And there is like a huge wave of women coming in that I think are ready to take over and ready to be in those spots.”

Bayley named several younger stars she sees as the future of the division, saying, “When I think about, ‘Ok, I might be done in a couple of years or, you know, who knows’ I know that it is going to be in good hands. So that makes me really happy. Where like before John Cena always says he could not leave, because who was going to do what he does? Who is going to take his place? Who is going to be the one to freaking put asses in seats? Who is going to be the one that the kids want to see, that the kids idolize to the level that he does? Cody’s doing that. And not saying I am John Cena of course, but that’s kind of the same mindset. As long as it’s in good hands, the goal was to just leave it in a better place than you found it.”

Bayley had been slated to team with Lyra Valkyria at WrestleMania 41 in a Women’s Tag Team Championship match against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. However, in a twist leading up to the event, WWE ran an angle where Bayley was attacked backstage. This forced Valkyria to find a replacement partner, and the returning Becky Lynch stepped in. The duo went on to capture the titles at WrestleMania, though their reign was short-lived. On the following episode of Raw, Lynch shockingly turned on Valkyria and dropped the titles back to Morgan and Rodriguez.

Despite the change of plans and her removal from the WrestleMania card, Bayley received high praise from WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque during the post-show press conference. He called her a “true pro” and affirmed his confidence in her future, regardless of the setback.

Van Vliet’s conversation with Bayley was recorded prior to the WrestleMania 41 developments.