Report: Bayley's WWE Contract Expected To Expire By The End Of 2026

Whether Bayley will still be a part of WWE in 2027 is currently up in the air, with Fightful Select reporting the former SmackDown Women's Champion's contract is expected to be up by the end of 2026 unless injury time is added to the deal.

As of now, Bayley hasn't put pen to paper on a new contract with the organisation, although the expectation is WWE will want to re-sign her. Bayley will have options, though, as her contract status has been a point of discussion within both WWE and AEW for some time, and the belief is AEW would be "heavily interested" in Bayley and would look to sign her should she become available.

Bayley is close friends with AEW's Mercedes Moné and the WWE wrestler has been backstage at AEW events in the past, although AEW CEO Tony Khan avoids having conversations with contracted WWE talents who are at AEW shows. The possibility of Bayley joining AEW is said to have been discussed for almost a year.

What WWE and AEW could each offer Bayley has attracted interest within the industry, with it likely that both promotions would offer the 37-year-old a multi-year, multi-million-dollar contract.

An agent believes Bayley's contract negotiations may improve the industry for talent as a whole, though, as they think she could be the individual to set the precedent and secure guaranteed years or a no-cut clause in a WWE contract. WWE have often released wrestlers in recent years amidst their deals, with the company also asking several wrestlers in 2026 to accept pay cuts.

Bayley's short-term future with WWE is also up in the air after she appeared to be written off at the July 18 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event following her match with Lyra Valkyria. Nobody in WWE could confirm to Fightful that Bayley will be off TV for the time being, however.

Bayley - real name Pamela Martinez - joined WWE in December 2012 after spending four years on the independent circuit as Davina Rose. Bayley has cemented herself as one of the top women's wrestlers in WWE history as part of the Four Horsewomen, and she is a one-time NXT Women's Champion, one-time Raw Women's Champion, two-time SmackDown Women's Champion, one-time WWE Women's Champion, and two-time WWE Women's Tag Team Champion with Sasha Banks (Mercedes Moné).