WWE star Bayley opens up about long-awaited match against AJ Lee: 'Universe works in mysterious ways'

WWE star Bayley talks to Fox News Digital about going up against AJ Lee for the Women's Intercontinental Championship.

WWE star Bayley earned the opportunity to challenge AJ Lee for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship earlier this week when she won a gauntlet match on "Monday Night Raw."

The match, which will take place on Monday, is nearly 13 years in the making. The last time the two professional wrestlers competed against each other was on Aug. 21, 2013, for the Divas Championship. Lee, a veteran at that point, got the better of Bayley, who was still a newcomer.

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Bayley celebrates her win with Lyra Valkyria after the Woman's Gauntlet Match during Monday Night RAW at Climate Pledge Arena on March 9, 2026, in Seattle, Washington.  (Meg Oliphant/WWE via Getty Images)

A lot has changed since then. Lee departed the company in 2015 while Bayley went on to become a four-time women’s champion and two-time women’s tag team champion. Bayley helped shape the WWE women’s division into what it is today. The Women’s Intercontinental Championship wasn’t even a glimmer in anyone’s eye five years ago, let alone 13 years ago.

Lee returned to WWE in September, potentially putting the two wrestling greats on a collision course with each other at some point. With Lee winning the title against Becky Lynch, Bayley was able to solidify her path toward a chance at championship gold.

"Man, it’s so weird. So weird to think, it’s just like the universe works in mysterious ways," Bayley told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. "I remember 13 years ago, getting that text that I would be wrestling AJ Lee for the divas title and I had just started my character stuff on NXT. I remember