For years the WWE referred to its Women's Division as the Divas Division, and for the most part, the division was filled with women who were hired because of their looks, because at that time, appearance mattered more than actual wrestling talent. Since 2015 though, the Raw and SmackDown Women's Divisions have become stacked with talented women who have trained for years and who are genuinely talented performers, with women like Bayley and Sasha Banks leading the way.

Sasha and Bayley may have debuted on the main roster at different times, but their wrestling backgrounds are quite similar, as they both spent quite a bit of time honing their skills in the Indies before signing with the WWE. They may be the pillars of the division, but both women had lives before joining WWE, and this article will utilize several photos from the past to illustrate who they were before becoming "The Boss" and "The Role Model."

16 Young Bayley At An Indie Event

Bayley started wrestling when she was 18, but she decided to become a wrestler when she was much younger, and when she was 11, she spent a lot of time at Big Time Wrestling shows. The promotion was based in Northern California, which is where Bayley grew up, and she would often step into the ring after the shows just for fun.

15 Bayley The Little Superfan

Bayley has not hidden the fact that she has been a lifelong WWE fan, and like many young wrestling fans in the 90s and early 2000s, she filled her room with superstar posters and pictures. As a fan, Bayley also tried to get as many WWE autographs as possible, and she was definitely successful as far as Bret Hart is concerned.

14 Sasha With Her Cousin

Now that she works for the WWE, Sasha has become a real celebrity, but she is not the only member of her family to achieve global fame. As most wrestling fans already know, Sasha and Snoop Dogg are cousins, and he helped her to create "The Boss" character, as well as her entrance music.

13 Sasha With Her Little Brother

It is true that there are many people who grow up as an only child, but Sasha is not one of them. While they were growing up, Sasha and her younger brother moved around a lot, and this happened because their mom was constantly looking for better schools and healthcare facilities for her son, who was diagnosed with autism.

RELATED: 14 Photos Of Bayley Without Her Usual Wrestling Gear

12 Bayley The Basketball player

Many of the superstars on the current WWE roster participated in other sports when they were younger, and Bayley is no different. When she was in high school, Bayley played on her school's basketball team, and she was a very important part of that team, as she served as one of the captains.

11 Bayley With Mia Yim

It is true that Bayley spent several years in the Indies before signing with the WWE, but many of the other women who are currently in the company did the same thing, including Mia Yim. When both women were still teenagers, they found themselves competing in Shimmer, an all female promotion, and they both looked quite different back then.

10 Sasha As Mercedes KV

In wrestling, your name is an important part of your character, and for the most part, WWE superstars almost never get to use the name they had when they were in the Indies. Before she was in WWE, Sasha Banks was known as Mercedes KV, and she used that name until her NXT TV debut in 2012.

9 The Chaotic Champion

From 2010 to 2012, Sasha called Chaotic Wrestling her home, mainly because it was based in her home state of Massachusetts. She ended up becoming the Chaotic Wrestling Women's Champion, and she held the title for 259 days until she was forced to give it up when she signed her WWE contract.

RELATED: 16 Photos Of Becky Lynch And Charlotte Flair Before They Signed With WWE

8 Bayley As Davina Rose

Much like her dear friend Sasha Banks, Bayley used to go by a different name when she was in the Indies, and that name was Davina Rose. She used this name from 2008 to 2012, which was pretty much her entire Indie career, and she did not take the name "Bayley" until her NXT TV debut.

7 Bayley & The Iron Sheik

Young wrestling fans will attend any convention that invites famous wrestlers to their events, and it usually does not matter if that wrestler is a bad guy or a good guy. The Iron Sheik was immensely popular in the 1980s, and he is considered to be one of the WWE's top Golden Era heels, and a young Bayley seemed to enjoy his company.

6 Sasha & Her Husband In The Same Match

Sasha has been married to WWE costume designer Sarath Ton since 2016, but they have known each other since her Indy days. Sarath used to be a professional wrestler, and he went by the name "Kid Mikaze," and the couple ended up competing against each other at times when they were both part of Beyond Wrestling.

5 Sasha At An Outdoor Indie Event

Like Bayley, Sasha ended up crossing paths with several Indy wrestlers who would eventually find themselves in the WWE as well. Indy promotions like to hold shows outside, and during one of these shows, Sasha took a group photo with other wrestlers, and one of those wrestlers was Hanson, who is one half of The Viking Raiders.

RELATED: 15 Little Known Facts About Sasha Banks And Bayley’s Relationship

4 Bayley Meeting John Cena

Love him or hate him, John Cena is one of the greatest superstars in WWE history, and he has been a part of the WWE family since 2000. In the early years of Cena's career, Bayley was a young teenager, and prior to meeting the 16-time World Champion as a co-worker backstage, she met him as a fan at an autograph signing.

3 Bayley & Her Indie Inspiration

Bayley was a huge Randy Savage fan growing up, and she used to incorporate him into her entrance, but he was not the only wrestler who inspired her. Cheerleader Melissa is a legend in the Indies, and Bayley watched her perform in various promotions, and at 37, she is still competing in Shimmer.

2 Sasha As An NWA Talent

The National Wrestling Alliance was once a highly regarded promotion, and although its doors are still open, it has lost most of its prestige. Before signing with WWE, Sasha spent some time with NWA, where she wrestled as "Miss Mercedes", but she did not really accomplish anything while with the company.

1 Baby Boss

Every single person who is reading this was once a baby, and every WWE superstar started out that way too. Parents love taking pictures of their kids, especially when they are babies, and many of these pictures end up being embarrassing, but it is hard to believe that Sasha hates this candid photo of herself.

Sources: childhoodbiography.com, wwe.com, thesportster.com

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