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At just 20 years old, Brad Baylor is juggling college, coast-to-coast flights, championship matches, and TV appearances—and somehow still finding time to throw a few drinks back with his tag partner, Ricky Smokes.
“It’s busy, yeah—but we find the loopholes,” Baylor laughs. “Different city every day, maybe link up with a girl, have a couple ones with Ricky, and just live it up. We’re having fun and running the scene.”
Make no mistake—Baylor isn’t just riding the wave. He is the wave. A standout in WWE Evolve, a key name in the WWE ID prospect program, and one half of Wrestling Open’s Tag Team Champions, Baylor is carving out a reputation as a prodigy with a purpose.
Before WrestleMania week kicks off in Vegas, Baylor headlines Wrestling Open’s Rhode Island debut tonight on IndependentWrestling.TV, challenging Fancy Ryan Clancy for the Wrestling Open Championship with a chance to become a double champ.
“I’m going into Monday with one goal—walk out with both belts,” he says flatly. “Ryan Clancy has never defended that title against me. He beat Brad Hollister, cool. But he’s never been in the ring with the evolved Brad Baylor. I’ve grown. He hasn’t.”
Baylor’s not one to mince words. “I watched our old matches back—he’s the same guy. I’m not. I’ve learned too much, I’ve leveled up too far. He’s gonna be looking for a plan B… C… D… E. I’m not walking out of Cranston without that title.”
Baylor made WWE history earlier this month, main eventing the premiere episode of WWE Evolve—a defining moment that cemented him as one of the initial faces of the series.
“When they told me I was in the main event, I smiled,” he says. “Because five years from now, when people look back and say, ‘Who set the tone for Evolve?’ the answer’s gonna be me. And by then, I’ll be the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.”
He knows it sounds bold. He doesn't care. “People say I'm cocky. Nah—I'm just real about it. If you had what I have, you'd be saying the same thing.”
Baylor began training at 16 under Mario Mancini and Paul Roma at Paradise Alley Pro Wrestling. From day one, he felt at home.
“I stepped in the ring and it just clicked,” he recalls. “I was already bigger than the other guys. Moved better. Talked better. I looked around and said, ‘Okay—this is what I’m doing for a living.’”
He credits Roma for shaping his showmanship. “Paul taught me how to look cool while wrestling. Not just wrestle—but make people watch. That’s a big part of who I am now.”
Was there ever a skill he had to work on? “Honestly, no. It sounds crazy, but I had the mic work, the footwork, the look. I picked everything up fast. I’ve been an athlete my whole life—football, lacrosse—I already had the engine. I just had to apply it.”
Swipe Right, his team with Ricky Smokes, wasn’t something built over time—it was lightning in a bottle.
“We weren’t even a team at first,” Baylor explains. “[Wrestling Open's] Paul Crockett saw something in us. Said, ‘Put ‘em together.’ And from our first match, it just clicked. Our chemistry wasn’t built—it existed. That’s rare.”
Now they’re not only holding gold at Wrestling Open, but they’re also front and center in WWE Evolve.
“They’re building a brand around us—and it makes sense,” Baylor says. “When we walk through the curtain, we look like stars. When the bell rings, we wrestle like stars. And on the mic? Come on. We’re unmatched.”
Despite the spotlight, Baylor says pressure isn’t even in his vocabulary.
“I’m not overwhelmed. This is exactly where I’m supposed to be,” he says. “Every opportunity I’ve gotten has come right when I was ready for it. I don’t chase pressure—I chase the next thing. Give me the mic. Give me the main event. Give me the title.”
He adds, “Two years ago, maybe I’d have felt nerves. But now? Now, I’m built for this.”
WrestleMania Week will see Baylor compete twice: a rematch of the EVOLVE debut six-man tag on April 16 for GCW, and a WWE ID Championship Tournament match against Ice Williams on April 18 at FSW in Las Vegas.
“I’ve wrestled Ice before. He pinned me in Houston,” Baylor admits. “But that was then. I evolve every match. These guys don’t. Ice is gonna think it’s the same Brad—he’s in for a shock.”
And the six-man? Baylor’s confidence is nuclear. “We’re gonna run through them in under a minute. I’m calling it now. We’ve been leveling up. They haven’t.”
Baylor vividly remembers the moment he got the call to join WWE ID.
“I had just finished a college lecture—philosophy class,” he says, grinning. “This brunette from the class came back to my place. Right then, I got the call. I looked at her and said, ‘Hey, go downstairs a sec.’ Took the call in my room. Changed my life.”
Did she ever know what that moment was?
“I didn’t tell her. I didn’t care. That was my moment.”
Baylor credits Wrestling Open’s weekly format for preparing him for WWE’s structure.
“Wrestling Open gave me TV reps,” Baylor says. “Real camera angles, real pacing, real pressure. That’s rare on the indies. Every Thursday was a step closer to Evolve, to WWE ID. It’s the best place for young talent to grow—period.”
He says the transition to the WWE Performance Center has been seamless. “Both places are organized. Both have structure. That might sound small—but it’s huge. Wrestling Open prepped me for this world.”
His message to the fans of this world?
“Buy your tickets now,” Baylor says. “I’m begging you. Because soon, you’re gonna be paying 500 bucks to watch me from the rafters. Come see me now. Get the picture, get the autograph. Because I’m gonna be the guy real soon. You will see me on WWE NXT. You will see me on the main roster. Say it again. Say it twice. Say it five times. I’m coming—and I’m not slowing down.”
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