Bianca Belair: Main-eventing WrestleMania was a ‘dream I never knew I had’

In an interview with FanSided, Bianca Belair spoke about main-eventing WrestleMania 37 last year alongside Sasha Banks.

The biggest days on the wrestling calendar are upon us. WrestleMania 38 takes place in AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, on Apr. 2 and 3. One of the big matches on the card is Bianca Belair, who is challenging Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship. Belair will look to have another WrestleMania moment, much like the historic one she had last year.

I spoke with Belair in a FanSided interview, and asked about her WrestleMania 37 main event with Sasha Banks for the SmackDown Women’s Championship.

“The moment was surreal. You know whenever someone asks what’s your goals in WWE, you always say to go to WrestleMania right? To main event WrestleMania,” said Belair. “But it’s something you say, because that’s what you’re supposed to say. That’s like the pinnacle of being in WWE. So to actually be there in that moment, it was very surreal. There’s so much anticipation that led up to it.

“And them for me, it could have been anybody in this moment, and it’s me. I understood the magnitude of the situation, I understood how important that was, but not to just be in the main event, but to make history as the first two Black females to ever main event WrestleMania and then to walk out SmackDown Women’s Champion and to win an ESPY off of that match, it was just very surreal. To go through a whole year of a pandemic and perform in front of no fans, as amazing as the Thunderdome was, it just wasn’t the same as having the fans and being back in front of the fans, having my family there, it felt like my wedding day, like all this anticipation building up until now, it’s finally here and finally happening and that’s really the best thing that I can compare it to.”

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Bianca Belair on her WrestleMania main event with Sasha Banks

I followed up with Belair, asking if she ever envisioned herself having this moment when beginning her professional wrestling career.

“No I could have never imagined and that’s why it felt so surreal,” said Belair. “When I first started in WWE, I had no idea what I was doing. I was taking a leap of faith of just following my heart and following a dream that I never knew that I had until it was presented to me. So to go from all the way from there, to making it to the main event of WrestleMania and that’s just the whole story and journey is just so special and surreal.”

Belair was called up to the Raw brand from NXT in Apr. 2020 right after WrestleMania 36. After being drafted to SmackDown later that year, Belair rose to the top of the women’s roster. At the 2021 Royal Rumble, Belair won the Women’s Royal Rumble match by last eliminating Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley, earning herself a main event title match at WrestleMania. Belair announced shortly afterwards that she would be challenging Banks, the then-SmackDown Women’s Champion, at WrestleMania.

As Belair mentions in the quote above, she and Banks were the first two black women to main event a WrestleMania. It was a historic moment as soon as the bell rang, as Belair and Banks were both overcome with emotion. Then, the match began, and the two tore the house down in a thrilling match. In the end, it was Belair who rose the SmackDown Women’s Championship after she hit Banks with her K.O.D. finishing move.

Bianca Belair on her WrestleMania 38 match against Becky Lynch

On Saturday, Belair is challenging Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship. The two have feuded since SummerSlam 2021, when Lynch defeated her for the title. Belair got her one-on-one rematch on the “Grandest Stage of Them All” after winning a No. 1 Contender’s Elimination Chamber match at WWE’s premium live event in February.

I asked Belair what she has in store for a match that could very well steal the entire show on Night One of WrestleMania.

“This has been going on ever since SummerSlam since August. It’s been a wild ride and to have my title taken away from me in 26 seconds and to now be going up against the person who took my title from me. This is a story of revenge and redemption for me,” said Belair. “It’s way more personal this year. We’re still making history, but it’s way more personal.”

“Becky Lynch, she’s pulled every trick out of the book to try to break me down and even take me out of WrestleMania. Tried to break my throat, she tried to cut my hair but it backfired on her and I got to cut her hair, just send her a message like ‘hey, let’s stop these antics, let’s get to WrestleMania.’

“So with that being said, I’m fully expecting Becky to just continue to try to pull more tricks out of her sleeve for WrestleMania. She’s very unpredictable, so I’m just going to have to adapt, the only way I’m going to be able to take down Becky Lynch is not just to depend on all my EST’s and being the strongest and fastest and the roughest and the toughest and the quickest and the greatest and the best, but I’m going to have to be able to adapt to whatever she throws my way. I’m going to have to be adaptable and just be able to overcome whatever trick she throws my way and that’s the only way I’m going to be able to take her down at WrestleMania.”

WrestleMania 38 will take place on Saturday and Sunday, Apr. 2-3, and begin each night at 8:00 p.m. ET.

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For the seventh consecutive year, SNICKERS will return to WWE’s WrestleMania, this year joining forces with WWE 2K22 as presenting partners. SNICKERS and the WWE once again created some hilarious videos featuring some of Bianca’s fellow WWE Superstars, Otis and Chad Gable, Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss and Sheamus, which will bring more fun and smiles to WWE fans ahead of WrestleMania. The videos show each of the superstars either feeling ‘confused’, ‘oblivious’ or ‘unfiltered’ providing a satisfying SNICKERS as a solution in each situation. Fans can check out the videos on the WWE YouTube page as well as on TV screens during WrestleMania