A Look Back at Layla's 2013 Heel Turn (and What Could Have Been)

One thing I've noticed as a wrestling fan is that for the last decade-plus, August has been the month for the women of wrestling to go from good to evil. A lot of female heel turns seem to take place in the eighth month--including, but not limited to, Beth Phoenix and Natalya banding together to form the villainous Divas of Doom duo in August 2011, as well as Nikki Bella turning against twin sister Brie Bella at SummerSlam in 2014. One such moment that has stayed in my memory even now, 10 years to the day later, was Layla's heel turn in 2013.

I remember that night's SmackDown was taped a week prior to the airdate, so entering that day, I had known that Layla turned heel that night. I was so excited to see this, and for a very good reason: this was supposed to happen months ago.

2012

At the Extreme Rules event in 2012, Layla returned from injury to actually capture the Divas Championship from Nikki Bella, and afterwards, she spent a few months feuding with former champion Beth Phoenix. It was after that feud that Layla started aligning with Kaitlyn, who was coming off winning the all-female season of NXT, and had been on the main shows a lot. The alignment took place during most of the latter half of 2012, and it saw them with a common enemy in the form of Eve Torres, who managed to scheme her way to the Divas Championship at Night of Champions by having Kaitlyn (the original #1 Contender) attacked. The duo remained tight even after they actually fought in a Triple Threat contest against Eve in October.

Both women were out of the picture after November, but Kaitlyn was back in a month later due to Eve planning leave WWE. Kaitlyn would go on to capture the Divas Championship on January 14, 2013, the 20th Anniversary episode of Raw in Kaitlyn's hometown of Houston.

January & February 2013

So Kaitlyn was the new champion, and Eve was out of WWE. As we often see in wrestling, when one villainess is gone, it's time to create a new one. A big example occurred in the AWA decades ago; the top villainess there was Sherri Martel, who was their champion, and she engaged in a feud with Madusa, which actually saw Madusa dethrone Sherri as champion. Sherri was off to the World Wrestling Federation, and after her departure from AWA, Madusa turned heel and replaced Sherri as the lead villainess. In the case of Kaitlyn, a new lead villainess had to be created to plague her, and during the early months of 2013, the villainess was none other than Layla.

Four days after her title win, Kaitlyn celebrated her moment with Alicia Fox and Layla, with the latter of the two actually hold the title and gazing at it like it was "the precious." That was a sign right there, but I didn't think they would do much there. Then a month later, we see Kaitlyn and Layla paired up in defeating Aksana and Tamina, and there's a brief moment where Layla holds the title and gazes at it before giving it back to Kaitlyn. So yeah, Layla wants that title back.

March 2013

By March, the plan was clear: Layla was on the verge of turning heel against Kaitlyn, and the most glaring moment occurred on March 8 of that year. In an exclusive segment, Layla approached Kaitlyn and basically manipulated her into being at ringside during her contest against Tamina, saying (in her own way) that Kaitlyn needed Layla's veteran expertise to help her. To ease things, Layla thanked Kaitlyn for helping her deal with Eve, and Kaitlyn ended up accepting Layla's offer. The bout saw Tamina shove Layla away at ringside, but afterwards, Layla attempted to enter the ring at the same time as Kaitlyn, and that slight blip allowed Tamina to defeat Kaitlyn.

It was after that week that the plan was officially announced. WWE was planning to have Layla turn heel and challenge Kaitlyn for the title, with blind ambition serving as Layla's motive for becoming a villainess. Thinking back, March 8 was my favorite part of this angle, because it was Layla at her most scheming. She chose that exact moment to enter the ring and "accidentally" distract Kaitlyn. It was clear that Layla was trying to sabotage Kaitlyn in an effort to look better than her, and we saw it again on the following week when Layla tagged herself in to get the victory over Aksana and Tamina.

Unfortunately, the angle came to an abrupt end after March 15--three days before my birthday. I was so disappointed. I still say they should have finished that angle, because I wanted to see Layla's heel turn. I felt that Layla would have been a more evil character than she was during her Laycool days; more ruthless, nasty, and venomous. At first, I never figured out how this could be done, but I did think of an idea for how Layla's heel turn could have played out.

What Could Have Been

Who here remembers the "Blonde Wig Attacker"? That was the centerpiece of the angle where Kaitlyn was attacked back at Night of Champions, as the villainess was described as wearing a blonde wig during the attack. The attacker was revealed as Aksana back in October, and she tried this again at Survivor Series a month later. In my idea, which I thought up about 6-7 years ago, would bring back the Blonde Wig Attacker, with the villainess going after Kaitlyn again. As for Layla, she could be portrayed as a victim of that same culprit, and would claim to Kaitlyn that Aksana's back to her old tricks again. This would lead to Kaitlyn facing off against Aksana, which Kaitlyn would win of course, but afterwards, the hooded villainess enters the ring and attacks Kaitlyn. Following the attack, the villainess reveals herself as Layla, who could even strike Kaitlyn with the title for good measure.

After completing her weeks-long heel turn, the evil Layla could state that she, well, made Kaitlyn relevant. Layla could also put herself over Kaitlyn and claim that she would be a deserving champion, setting up the bout for WrestleMania. That would have been absolutely golden, as Layla would be portrayed as a very ruthless and arrogant villainess had WWE went through with this. Sadly, we would not get this. There was even a plan to have the two women as opposing captains in a multi-woman tag team bout, but that was kiboshed as well.

August 2, 2013

So Kaitlyn would hold on to the Divas Championship until June 16, 2013 at Payback, where she was defeated by AJ Lee (beginning AJ's 295-day run). We would see Layla come out and console Kaitlyn, as the feud was seen as a personal one that saw AJ out to ruin Kaitlyn's life. By July, Layla basically served as Kaitlyn's only on-screen friend after AJ caused the rest of the women to abandon her, and the resurrected alliance continued as Kaitlyn attempted to regain the title at the Money in the Bank event, but came up short. July 2013's last edition of Raw saw Kaitlyn defeat AJ in non-title action, earning her one more shot at the title.

That opportunity came ten years ago today--August 2, 2013, and prior to the bout, Layla appeared during Kaitlyn's interview and praised Kaitlyn's drive and determination before hugging her ally. As Layla continued to support Kaitlyn, the bout sees Kaitlyn dominate and send AJ outside the ring, and she was set on taking dowh the very woman who had been tormenting her for months.

And then...Layla stands right in front of Kaitlyn and protects AJ (see top photo).

So with that, Layla turned heel against Kaitlyn, and AJ went on to retain the title, and later left with Layla. If I have to do a brief "pros and cons" regarding this, the con was that it was a bit abrupt, and Layla didn't flat out attack Kaitlyn. However, the main pro regarding Layla's heel turn was her overall demeanor, as well as her look. Layla was very devious in that edition of SmackDown; she gushed over Kaitlyn so much in that interview, yet she would betray Kaitlyn at the most vital moment. I also loved her facial expressions; those evil smirks and smiles she gave as she watched Kaitlyn get decimated, and of course, she donned a black evening gown, flashy jewelry, and leather boots--the perfect look for a scheming villainess. As for her reasons for her actions, Layla's motive for her betrayal was attention.

Overall Thoughts

In the immortal words of the late, great Jerry Springer, "And now for my final thought." It's been ten years to the day since this finally played out, and even though I still say that Layla's heel turn should have happened months prior, I have to say I did love what I saw on the evening of August 2, 2013. Years prior to that point, Layla proved that she could be an amazing villainess, and we saw that even before Laycool began. I was looking to see that evil "killer" mentality from Layla, and I think I got a glimpse of that during Layla's rocky road to becoming a villainess in 2013.

Layla's alliance with AJ didn't last too long; she actually took time off beginning that fall, though we would see her back on WWE TV in 2014, later beginning a feud with Summer Rae before the pair became partners. Layla's WWE tenure ended in 2015 after nine years, and began with her winning the 2006 Diva Search before becoming WWE's last recognized Women's Champion (until Charlotte Flair) in 2010. For most of her nine year WWE career, Layla acted as a villainess, as she continued her heel persona for the remaining two years of her tenure. Overall, Layla's run was amazing, she's one of the best I've ever seen in the ring, and she played her managerial roles to perfection. Layla was also an amazing villainess, and this moment in 2013 was one of Layla's best villainous moments in WWE.

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