While a strong case can be made that other superstars had themselves a great year in 2021, Bianca Belair stands out from the pack. Firstly, Belair beat out 29 other superstars at the Royal Rumble to head to WrestleMania. Secondly, the EST of WWE faced The Boss, Sasha Banks, at WrestleMania 37 on April 10, 2021, in Tampa, Florida. The match was for Banks’ SmackDown Women’s Title on Night One of the two-day pay-per-view.
Belair and Her Historic Night
After a valiant match, Belair came out victorious, winning her first-ever championship in WWE that night over Banks. At the same time, both women made history as being the first black women to be in the main event of WrestleMania.
Without a doubt, this signified just how good Belair is and that her trajectory was on a path to success in the company. In July of this year, Belair, along with Banks, won an ESPY for best WWE moment for their historic match.
Belair Facing Two of the Four Horsewomen
Following Belair’s win at WrestleMania, she went to feud with another great superstar in Bayley. Belair defended her SmackDown Women’s Title twice against Bayley, retaining both times at the Hell in a Cell and WrestleMania Backlash.
At this point, her next pay-per-view title match was to be against Banks at SummerSlam in August. However, Belair was informed that Banks was unable to compete and former SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella was named as a replacement.
Before the match could begin, the music of The Man, Becky Lynch, hit, a thunderous roar came over from the crowd. In short, a match happened between Lynch and Belair. Lynch won the title in 26 seconds, ending Belair’s 132-day reign. In the final analysis, it was a terrible way to lose the title but it should not damper Belair’s year.
By and large, Belair proved that she belonged not just on the main roster but as a headliner. According to Twitter, she was the fifth-most-tweeted female athlete. She proved that she is the bEST and on her way to being one of the greatEST superstars of all time.
Beyond Women’s Sports covers the WWE, WNBA, NWSL and anything else in the world of women’s sports.
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