SI

Bianca Belair Embraces Role as WWE's Emerging Star

Bianca Belair, 30, is one of the brightest young stars in pro wrestling. Before Sunday's NXT TakeOver: Portland show, she spoke with SI about her battle with depression, Black History Month and making her own place in wrestling.

Justin Barrasso

Bianca Belair Embraces Role as WWE's Emerging Star
Bianca Belair Embraces Role as WWE's Emerging Star /
Bianca Belair_courtesy WWE
Courtesy of WWE

Sunday’s NXT TakeOver: Portland show features a six-match card, including women’s champ Rhea Ripley defending the title against Bianca Belair. Adding to the significance of that match is the possibility that, with a compelling enough encounter at TakeOver, Belair is added to the Charlotte Flair-Rhea Ripley program at WrestleMania.

Belair is a four-year NXT veteran. The 30-year-old from Knoxville, Tennessee, whose real name is Bianca Blair, is one of WWE’s emerging stars. Her athleticism and charisma have long been on display in NXT, but the chance to present her work to a national audience every week on the USA Network has helped raise her profile. The biggest opportunity thus far of her career came at last month’s Royal Rumble, where she lasted for over 30 minutes and made eight different eliminations.

Sports Illustrated spoke with Belair before her NXT title match against Ripley, and she discussed the match as well as shared details about who she is outside of the ring, including her battle with depression, her ability to intertwine her personality into her character and working with her husband Montez Ford of the Street Profits.

Justin Barrasso: What do you aim to prove in a standalone TakeOver weekend against Rhea Ripley?

Bianca Belair: I want to prove I can be the champion. I’ve been chasing this title for four years. I’m excited for this. Rhea is strong, she’s brutal, she’s dominant. But I’m here to become the next NXT Women’s Champion.

Barrasso: With or without the belt, this match is a great opportunity to further embed yourself into the Ripley-Charlotte Flair program that is headed toward a clash at WrestleMania. That would be a tremendous moment for you, especially after standing out in the manner you did at the Royal Rumble.

Speaking of the Rumble, no woman had ever presented herself in the fashion you did this past January when you had eight eliminations and lasted over 30 minutes. Were you able to enjoy that moment as it was unfolding?

Belair: The easy part is being in the ring. The hard part is the part no one gets to see, and that’s behind the scenes when we’re getting to the stadium hours before the show. The building looks huge with all those empty seats, but it becomes easy once my music hits. That’s when Belair takes over.

When my music hit at the Rumble, my walk to the ring was so long that I was actually able to be in the moment and enjoy it. Then being in the ring, that’s my happy place.

I was very happy once my music hit. Before that was tough. I had anxiety and it was super stressful. But it was fun being in the ring and having all those eliminations. My favorite was probably the Alexa Bliss elimination, and I had a lot of fun being in the ring with legends like Molly Holly and Beth Phoenix, and then being able to share the ring with Charlotte Flair, who was one of the first people I started watching when I got to NXT.

A lot of times, I’ll have these great moments but it happens so fast that I want to go back and do it again. But the Rumble did not happen fast for me. I felt like I was in the ring for an hour, but it ended up being a little over 30 minutes. I enjoyed every single aspect of it.

Barrasso: Wrestling is storyline-driven and a lot of the plans are manufactured, but your moment at the Rumble felt so organic. That is why Sunday’s march with Rhea Ripley is so important, considering you have the chance to show why you belong in the Ripley-Flair match at WrestleMania. Is that a focus of yours this weekend?

Belair: My main thing is to focus on what I can control. There are so many things here that are out of our hands, so my motto is, ‘Stay ready so I don’t have to get ready.’ I’m always ready for whatever the opportunity is, whether it’s finding out the night before I’m in the Royal Rumble, or taking the title from Rhea Ripley, or if I’m going to be the one at WrestleMania with Charlotte. I’m always ready so I don’t have to get ready.

My goal is to show up, show out and put on a great show. Hopefully I’m able to come out of TakeOver as NXT champion and have that spotlight to shine at WrestleMania just like I shined at the Rumble.

Barrasso: Who stands out to you as the prototypical NXT champion? To me, it’s Sasha Banks, but there are many worthy choices.

Belair: That’s a hard question. Every champion in NXT has held their own. NXT women’s division is amazing, and it’s always been amazing. We produce so much talent that we don’t even have enough spots to highlight everyone. Like War Games [this past November], we only had eight spots but we had so many people that could have been in that match.

Anyone who becomes champion in NXT is the epitome of greatness. They’re the prototype. I have to give credit to Shayna Baszler. She had a great title run here. Asuka, too, and her undefeated streak. I had personal experiences with Shayna, and Asuka was such a dominant champion.

Barrasso: Looking at you and your body of work, you would also be perfect as NXT Women’s Champion. You are strong, vibrant, charismatic, athletic and overflowing with talent, but people forget that it took time to reach this point. You recently discussed your battle with bulimia and depression with Lilian Garcia on her “Chasing Glory” podcast. What words of wisdom can you share with those who are struggling to find themselves? How did you find yourself?

Belair: The best thing to do is keep moving, keep pushing forward and surrounding yourself with family, friends and loved ones that genuinely care for and love you. Life is hard, it just is. We’re going to have hard times and failures, so you need to keep pushing forward.

For me, the first thing I needed to be open, be honest and be vulnerable. If you’re not open, you can’t get the help. Don’t be afraid to get the help.

My journey was so different from a lot of people here. A lot of people grew up watching wrestling and wanted to be WWE superstars, but I didn’t have that dream as a child because I didn’t watch wrestling. My journey was different, but I love my journey. Now that I’m in sports entertainment, I love it and I’m passionate about it.

I can’t see myself doing anything other than this, and I feel that my journey really benefited me. I have been through hardships, depression and all these other things, but it’s made me who I am. I know how to cope with failure. I know how to cope with losses, how to get through them and make myself stronger.

Barrasso: Who are you outside of wrestling? What are you currently reading? And what inspired you to create your Black History Month project on Twitter?

Belair: I’m in the middle of a bunch of books right now. I’m currently reading Soledad Brother, an autobiography by Nelson Mandela, and I’m also reading Stamped from the Beginning.

I started doing the book suggestions for Black History Month because I’m really into books, and educating and re-educating myself. You’re never too old to educate yourself. Your last form of education should not be high school or college. Once you become a certain age, your education becomes your own responsibility, so I highly encourage everyone to re-educate themselves.

Reading is a hobby I love. With Black History Month, I wanted to do something other than just post pictures on Instagram. There have been people who have come before me and paved the way. They went through so many hardships and achieved so many accomplishments, and now I’m reaping the benefit of everything they’ve done. Suggesting these books is a way to contribute, and we can learn about these people and what they’ve done.

It’s an honor to be part of NXT TakeOver: Portland in February, which is Black History Month. I feel like I’m black history in the making, and they created this legacy so now I want to create a legacy, as well, for myself.

Barrasso: Getting to know more about you provides an even deeper appreciation and respect for what you are building with the Bianca Belair character. For those who may not be aware, you also make your own ring gear. To me, the reason you are so successful is you are not trying to be someone else—your character is an extension of who you are, and wearing your own gear is another element of that. Is that an accurate portrayal?

Belair: That’s spot-on. Nobody can do what I do, and nobody can do it better than I do. I do everything myself, from my hair to my makeup to my gear. Nobody made Bianca Belair but Bianca Belair. I show that I’m the best in every single aspect, and that comes from gear-making, what I do in the ring, what I say on the mic, and that everything about Bianca Belair is Bianca Belair. That’s a huge reason why I make my own gear.

I have special gear for WrestleMania, I had special gear for Survivor Series and the Royal Rumble, and they have all these special memories behind them. Then when stuff happens, like I get an action figure, it’s really a weird and crazy and exciting feeling to look at this action figure and see that the gear that the action figure has on was gear I actually made.

Barrasso: Just like yourself, your husband—Montez Ford of WWE’s Street Profits—is also extremely popular. I know your schedules are often conflicting, but did you have a chance to see him on Valentine’s Day?

Belair: Actually, we lucked out this year. We both had the day off on Valentine’s Day. With him being on Raw now and me in NXT, we’re not traveling or working together anymore, so we really take advantage of any time we have together. We’re really happy that we spent Valentine’s Day together this year.

Barrasso: The NXT women’s division is so competitive, and women across wrestling are competing at an extraordinarily high level. What do you have planned for TakeOver to set a new standard of excellence for the entire industry?

Belair: I’m going to show up and I’m going to show out. It’s going to be a great card, but I’m looking to steal the show. I want to become NXT Women’s Champion and show everyone that Bianca Belair is the strongest, the fastest, the toughest, the roughest, the quickest, the greatness, and the best. I’m going to shine, have a great match and steal the show.

Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.

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Justin Barrasso
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