Following the conclusion of the July 25th, 2025 edition of WWE SmackDown, fans in Cleveland were treated to a surprise dark match between Bayley and Lyra Valkyria—and things got personal before the bell even rang.
Before the match officially started, Bayley grabbed a microphone and cut a heated promo aimed at the first-ever WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion, airing frustrations over recent events on Monday Night Raw that left her without a match at SummerSlam.
“Before this match gets started, I have a bone to pick with the first ever Women’s IC Champion, Lyra Valkyria, okay? Now, I know this is SmackDown, but if you guys watch Monday Night RAW, I tried to do something out of the good of my heart—put us in a tag team title match. Why? To get us to SummerSlam, because I am out of a match at SummerSlam, thanks to you! Explain yourself!”
The crowd responded with a mix of cheers and laughter as Bayley mockingly demanded answers. However, she quickly shifted gears. “Look, it doesn’t matter. It’s water under the bridge. It’s water under the bridge. Look, all I care about is giving Cleveland a show tonight—and I’m gonna beat your ass!”
Despite Bayley’s bold proclamation, the dark match ended with Lyra Valkyria scoring a clean victory, continuing her momentum as one of Raw’s rising stars.
Bayley’s frustration with being left off SummerSlam 2025 is notable, as the former Grand Slam Champion has been a fixture of WWE’s biggest events for years. Whether this is setting up a bigger storyline post-SummerSlam or furthering tensions between Bayley and Valkyria remains to be seen.
