Bianca Belair had a WrestleMania moment earlier this month when she defeated Becky Lynch to win the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 38. However, the WWE Superstar’s most memorable moment is when she defeated Sasha Banks to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 37 last year, which was the first time in WWE history two Black women main evented the biggest show of the year. In an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com, Belair explained why she has only watched the match twice.
“Every time that I think about it again, it just hits me even more and more,” Belair exclusively told PopCulture. “I’ve only watched the match back twice, just because I’m so emotionally drained after I watch it. But no, it’s a historic moment and it’s going to continue to inspire people, not just now, but in generations to come, so… We won an ESPY off of that match, so it was a great moment.”
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As Belair mentioned, the match won an ESPY award for Best WWE Moment. Belair and Banks attended the awards ceremony which featured some of the biggest names in sports. “It was amazing,” Belair revealed. “I’ve been an athlete my whole life, so being at the ESPYs was a dream come true, just to be recognized in the world of sports, and present WWE, then represent WWE. It was really cool. The red carpet was great. The food was great. Getting to meet all the other athletes that I watch on TV, and my husband was there with me. It was just really cool to be amongst other athletes who recognized as an athlete.”
Before Belair defeated Banks at WrestleMania 37, she won the Royal Rumble match, making her the second Black Superstar in WWE history to win the match with the first being Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. In her two years on the main roster, Belair is putting together a Hall of Fame career and shows no signs of slowing down.
“You’re supposed to always have confidence in yourself, but I’ve had an amazing year to two years and I’m just super blessed,” Belair said. “My thing is I want to capitalize on every opportunity and I’m very big on you don’t start working hard once you get the opportunity. I see that a lot sometimes. I work hard year-round in all aspects so that whenever opportunity presents itself, I can capitalize on it. I think that’s contributed a lot to my success here, but I’ve just been super blessed. And I’m just looking to keep riding on that wave and continue that momentum.”
