Bayley will challenge AJ Lee for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship on Monday night’s edition of WWE Raw, airing live from San Antonio. The match, slated for March 16, 2026, comes after Bayley earned the opportunity by winning a Gauntlet Match the previous week.
The upcoming contest is being framed as a significant moment for women’s wrestling, connecting its past, present, and future. Bayley herself acknowledged the significance, stating in a recent interview that the match felt different than any she’d experienced in her 20-year career. “That seems like a sentence that could have never been said, even two years ago,” she confessed to Uncrowned.
The women’s division, Bayley noted, “is definitely the strongest it’s ever been.” She cited the influence of wrestlers from the Attitude Era, such as Trish Stratus, Lita, Gail Kim, Victoria, and Molly Holly, as foundational to her own aspirations. Bayley is a member of The Four Horsewomen – alongside Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks (now Mercedes Moné) – a group credited with ushering in a new era for the sport in the mid-2010s.
Beyond the championship match, Monday’s Raw is also set to feature the return of Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns. The event also coincides with a celebration of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s 3:16 Day, adding another layer of anticipation for wrestling fans.
The match between Lee and Bayley is not their first encounter. They have previously faced each other, but this contest carries the added weight of the Women’s Intercontinental Championship. WWE has been promoting the match heavily, with a dedicated page on WWE.com highlighting the event.
