In recent years, as many women have grown into rap stars—with Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, and Megan Thee Stallion as heavyweights, and talents like Latto and Ice Spice leading the new generation—WWE is experiencing the same. similar golden age. Superstar athletes like Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley lead the way with their winning performances and pedigree championships.
For the former, she hopes to live up to her moniker “The EST” — as in “the fastest, the strongest, the fastest, the roughest and the toughest” — during her six-woman Elimination Chamber match this Saturday (Feb. 24) in Perth, Australia, for a crack at a title shot at Wrestlemania 40.
“We have a lot more women shining, just like in female rap,” says Belair Advertising sign ahead of her race in Perth. “There is room for more than one or a few and everyone can showcase their talents. We've got a video game cover featuring two females — the first time there's ever been a cover exclusively for a video game and it's two! So it shows you how big our roster is and how competitive it is.”
Belair's resume speaks for itself: she is a two-time WWE Champion, a one-time WWE Smackdown Champion and a Royal Rumble winner. She also headlined Wrestlemania 37 with Sasha Banks, as the two became the first black women to headline “The Show of All Shows” in its 40-year run. With Belair and Ripley gracing its new installment WWE2K24 With Cody Rhodes, “The EST” is looking to regain his charm, enter Wrestlemania 40 and remind viewers why he is the ultimate pin in the Women's Division.
“My goal this year is to have more fun. I feel like I just grinded last year, I was so serious and stressed,” says Belair. “This year, I want to have fun, but accomplish things and enjoy those things when I accomplish them.”
Advertising sign spoke to Belair about her road to Wrestlemania, the similarities between the women's division and women's rap, her love for J. Cole and why she thinks Megan Thee Stallion is bound for WWE.
Your path to Wrestlemania has been paved over the last few years. This year, that path is not so definitive. How was that an adjustment for you?
Last year, I was going to Wrestlemania as the champion. So it was more like I had a guaranteed fight — I just didn't know who my opponent was. This year, it's a little bit different, but I think most people would like to have the comfort of knowing that they're going to have a Wrestlemania match and — maybe it's easier for me to say this because I've already had the opportunity to have three years of a guaranteed match — kind of I like. I kind of like this year I don't know why it keeps me on my toes. It makes me uncomfortable and not go into autopilot like, “Okay. I'm just waiting for my 'Mania match. I know I have one.”
It makes me go back to that hungry phase of, “Let me figure out how to get this done. Let me understand what my journey will be.' Now, I have to figure out the Royal Rumble. Okay, now it's Elimination Chamber. It's kind of parallel to what [my husband WWE Superstar Montez Ford] it was passing last year, but it keeps you hungry. It's hard to get to the top, but it's harder to stay at the top, and it's also very easy to get comfortable and complacent there. It's interesting this year, I'm changing things up and I'm just excited.
Do you see any similarities with women in rap in terms of that competitive nature?
Yeah, I think there's a lot of comparisons between women's rap and women's wrestling right now. If you look back, there was Nickis from my high school days and now there is [multiple] artists. Of course, there were many [artists] before Nicki and same with WWE.
You had the Four Horsemen and now you're starting to see new people come in. And because of them, they were able to open those doors and they were able to have all these fantastic matches and show that women can put people in the seats and sell tickets. They set their sights on women's wrestling. Now more women are coming. I feel like Rhea Ripley and I are at the forefront of a new generation of women's wrestling and there is more to come with the NIL program and WWE. They are recruiting more athletes and these girls are learning so fast.
Our roster is so competitive. I think this is one of the first years, especially for me, where anybody can go to Wrestlemania, anybody can main event, anybody can go for a title match and we're like, “Who's it going to be?” Because there are no guarantees. I think it's amazing.
You and Jade Cargill shared a viral moment at the Royal Rumble. Everyone's trying for a tag team match, but on the other hand, I'd love to see you guys as a tag team. What was your reaction at the time and the odds?
When she first appeared on the scene, everyone was saying, “Dream Match. Jade Vs. Bianca,” and I was kind of fueling it. Then, I started thinking, “Wait a minute. We might as well tag along.” If you put us together, will we hold the titles forever? Who will stop us?
I think it's just amazing that the possibilities are endless. I think that's what makes it so exciting and I don't want to be the only one. There is room for more than one [superstar]. I think it's cool that Jade comes in and makes this huge splash before even having a match. So to be able to come into the Royal Rumble and the two of us to be able to come face to face in the ring and have the crowd go crazy just knowing the potential of what that could be is crazy. Being in the ring with her and us having that moment, highlighting black women and representation, but also being strong women and being unapologetically us and bringing our culture to the table is really cool.
I've been very intentional since coming to WWE, from my NXT days, and I've brought my culture to the table and I've made no apologies for it. From having an HBCU band at Wrestlemania to now having Jade here, she can bring even more to the table. It's nice that we can do this separately and have this big moment with us competing against each other or we can do it together. I think it's just amazing that either one can be just as big.
I love J. Cole mostly for his storytelling and lyrics. He's so relatable and I love the stuff he raps about. Even with him saying he feels like he is “The Middle Child”, and it's stuck between two generations, I feel like I'm the middle child in wrestling. I feel like you have the Four Horsemen, these legends in the making [that] they have done amazing things. Then you have the new girls coming from the NIL program and NXT, and I'm right in the middle between them. I got to learn from the OGs, the Four Horsewomen, I know the culture and how to do things and then new people come along. It also evolves, things change and they do things a little differently. I'm right in the middle.
i just love [Cole]. He raps about real things, he raps about real situations, he raps about trends that are happening and I just feel like I can relate so much to his music. Every song, I feel like it hits me in the soul.
I remember talking to Liv and Raquel and they said if they could pick anyone in the music industry to match with, it would be Cardi B and Megan The Stallion. Who would you like to see in a singles match?
Against whom?
Anyone. They can run a Bad Bunny kind of thing.
I'm waiting for a female to come and hit the ground running, like Bad Bunny or Logan Paul. Where is our female? Rapper? I think Meg could come in and do some damage. He has the size, the height, and he did it in an interview recently where he said he could fight in real life, and I think [laughs]. I believe he can get in the ring and throw some hands. I met her personally and talked to her for a while, and she is a stud in real life. She is currently tall, fit and with her fitness. He's at the gym. I think she's ready.
You, Meg and Jade.
Can you imagine? And he has the Nike deal where he already has basically wrestling gear. So she and I enter [together]. All you need to do is throw in some WWE theme music and it's her entrance.
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