Bayley details how she got her first in-ring name while working at a pet store.
Former WWE Women’s Champion Bayley used to work at An-Jan Feed & Pet Supply, a pet store in her hometown of San Jose, California, while she was training to become a wrestler.
Speaking to The Undertaker and Michelle McCool on the Six Feet Under podcast, Bayley reminisced on her early days. She revealed that her first in-ring name, Davina Rose, was a combination of her middle name and the names of her co-worker’s mother and her trainer’s first girlfriend.
“The same co-worker (the one she worked with at the pet store), he was talking about his mom, and for some reason, he said, ‘Oh, my mom’s name is Davina,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s beautiful.’
“So, my trainer, Jason Styles, hated every name I was throwing out there,” Bayley continued, “and he was like, ‘No, that’s not it,’ and I knew I wanted Rose, because Rose is my middle name, so I wanted it somewhere in there. He hated everything, and I texted him when my co-worker said his mom’s name, and I said, ‘Hey, what about Davina Rose?’ And Jason texted me back like, ‘Oh, that’s it!’
“The first woman he was ever with, that was her name. So, he’s like, ‘I love that name, that sounds beautiful,’ so that’s how I got his permission. It flowed really well together. I was super happy with my first name.
“The pet store gave me a lot, I guess. Shout out to An-Jan, they sadly shut down a year ago. But, you know what? It gave me a lot of good memories,” Bayley said.
The pet store has shut down, as Bayley mentioned, but she did go back there to film a WWE feature back in 2018
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If you use the quotes from this article, please credit Six Feet Under and give an H/T to WrestleZone for the transcription.
