Bianca Belair is more than ready to make history at WWE WrestleMania 37.
During a recent appearance on WWE After The Bell, Belair discussed the cultural significance of her WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship Match with Sasha Banks. “The EST” stated that when she’s standing in the ring, every woman who paved the way for her will be with her in spirit.
“There’s so many other women who came before me, and black women in this business that came before me that I have this feeling of like wow, I’m the person in this position that’s create this history, but it could have been them,” said Belair. “And sometimes I think, should it have been them?
“With that being in my mind, that they laid the foundation and broke the barriers so that I can be here and walk through the door and take advantage of the opportunity, that’s in my mind. So it’s not just about the SmackDown Women’s Championship. I’m going in there to stand there and represent for them. I’m physically in that ring, but by me being in that ring, I’m standing there, they’re in the ring with me.”
Belair also described how wrestling has become her second soulmate, even though she found her way to the business later in her life than many of her peers.
“It was a dream that I didn’t realize was my dream until it became my reality,” said Belair. ” I always say like, wrestling, I compare it to my husband. It’s like my other soul mate. I feel like wrestling found me and it’s something that, like when I met my husband, I was like, where have you been my whole life? Like now I have you, I never wanna let you go, and that’s how I feel about wrestling.
“And so it’s crazy to me to think that someone that never imagined themselves being a wrestler is now a wrestler, and I can’t imagine myself doing anything other than that. Now I’m going to WrestleMania. It’s crazy to me, and I feel like I have this opportunity that so many people have dreamed of since they were a kid, and I found it later in life.
“And now I feel like I’m in this space where I just wanna prove that like I love where I’m at, and I wanna take full advantage of this. And I also love that this moment isn’t just about me, it’s about creating history. It’s about representing for women, it’s about representing for women of color, and Black women. It’s a moment that’s about so much more than just me and going for a championship.”
Read more: Bianca Belair Wants To Main Event Night 1 Of WrestleMania: ‘We Represent Two Alpha-Females’
The full episode is available here:
