On the November 1 episode of SmackDown, Bayley successfully defended her title against Nikki Cross, after interference from Banks.
At the event, Bayley retained the title after lastly pinning Evans.
For the first month as a villain, she was depicted as a hypocrite, acting as nothing had changed with her entrance music and in-ring gear remaining intact, despite developing villainous traits and underhanded tactics.
Towards the end of the year, Bayley, alongside and , started a with , and that led to various singles and tag team matches, mostly won by Absolution.