8 Backstage Tales About Bianca Belair Fans Should Know

Few women have accomplished as much as Bianca Belair in the short time since her debut on the main roster. Belair was a blue chipper prospect that many important people in WWE management knew would be a star from day one. The reality matched the expectations with great matches, memorable title wins, and a WrestleMania main event spot.

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However, fans usually love the backstage side of the industry as much as the on-screen product. Bianca is a clear great wrestler, but there are plenty of interesting tales that provide a deeper look at her career. WWE made Belair the face of the Performance Center’s success and vision for good reason. The following backstage stories are worth learning for Bianca fans throughout her journey.

8 Mark Henry Felt WWE Didn't Properly Appreciate Him Recruiting Her

Bianca Getting Discovered By Hall Of Famer Allowed Her To Get Major Opportunity

• Henry Found Bianca & Many Other Top Stars For WWE
• Bianca Was Biggest Success Story Of Henry's Athletic Recruits
• Henry Left WWE Over Not Getting Job Title For Recruiting Efforts

WWE signed Bianca Belair after Mark Henry discovered her via other athletic fields. The natural athletic ability, great look and youthful upside of Belair made her a great prospect when Henry sent her information to WWE management.

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However, this also played into Henry feeling underappreciated by how WWE treated his recruiting. Belair was just one of many names like Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan and others that Henry suggested to WWE. Part of the reason Henry left WWE for AEW was due to WWE not giving him an official job for recruiting talents like Bianca.

7 Was Pranked Into Thinking The Usos Weren't Twins

Husband Montez Ford Came Up With Prank That Lasted Years

• Montez Ford Told Bianca That The Usos Were Not Twins
• Bianca Was Shocked But Believe His Prank
• Eventually Learned The Usos Were Indeed Twins Months Later

Bianca Belair and Montez Ford may be the most likable couple in wrestling since both have nothing but positive stories associated with them. However, their fun dynamic led to Belair getting fooled into thinking Jey and Jimmy Uso were not twins.

Ford started the joke early into Bianca’s main roster call-up when she was shocked at how in sync they were. Belair revealed she went months thinking the Usos were not twins and realized one day her husband was pulling her leg.

6 Lita Was Big Supporter At Performance Center

Legend Believed Bianca Would Become Major Star From Early

• Lita Took On More WWE Roles During 2010s Working With Company Again
• Noticed Bianca As Overall Top Standout At NXT & Performance Center
• Lita's Prediction About Bianca's Success Was Completely Right

Many important people loved the potential of Bianca Belair from her start in WWE, but one noteworthy name was Lita. WWE worked more with Lita in the 2010s with her presence in Tough Enough, commentating and being a short-lived backstage producer.

One of the names that Lita realized was special from her time working at the Performance Center was Bianca Belair. Most fans were not yet on the bandwagon when Lita declared that Bianca had “that intangible star factor” more than anyone else in NXT or at the Performance Center at that time.

5 WWE Made Rare Move Announcing Her WrestleMania Main Event

Stephanie McMahon Let The Public Know Ahead Of Time Of WM 37 Main

• WWE Announced Bianca's Main Event Vs Sasha Ahead Of Time
• Rarely Let Fans Know Of Main Event For Sure Heading Into WM Nights
• First Time Black Women Main Evented WrestleMania For Sasha & Bianca

WrestleMania 37 was the first live WM to take place over two nights with two massive main events. Bianca Belair had her crowning moment on the biggest possible stage by defeating Sasha Banks in a classic match to win the Smackdown Women’s Championship.

However, the main event spot was more surprising due to Stephanie McMahon telling everyone ahead of time. WWE has done that on occasion, but fans are usually unsure until we see it. The history of Sasha and Bianca both being the first black women to main event WM is why WWE wanted that out there early.

4 Otis Was Shocked At Her Strength During Memorable Segment

Bianca Truly Showed Her Strength By Lifting Otis With Relative Ease

• Bianca Had Tough Strength Of Test Moment Involving Otis
• Otis Was Stunned At How Easily Bianca Picked Him Up
• Fans Started To Get Behind Bianca More During Segments Like This

WWE tried to utilize the athletic ability and impressive feats of Bianca Belair to help her get over in the early main roster years. One of the segments featured Belair running through an obstacle course with the final test having to lift the massive Otis over her shoulders.

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Otis has talked about how surreal the moment was since he weighed over 300 pounds at the time. The shock of Otis saw him feeling like a backpack that Bianca lifted with ease. Belair even viewed this moment as a big reason that fans started to rally behind her moving forward.

3 Accomplished Incredible Record For Black WWE Wrestlers

She Broke A Record To Stand At Top Of Many Legendary Names

• MVP Had Record For Longest Singles Reign For Any Black WWE Wrestler Ever
• Bianca Broke Record During Her Time As Raw Women's Champion
• It Was A Huge Honor For Belair To Break Such A Great Record

There have been plenty of all-time great black wrestlers for WWE holding gold, especially as society progressed with a more diverse roster in the 1990s and more moving forward. The Rock, Booker T, Mark Henry and Sasha Banks are just some names associated with great title reigns.

However, it was Bianca Belair to set a new record for the longest-reigning black wrestler to hold a singles title in WWE history. Belair passed MVP’s record as United States Champion when she hit 344 days as Raw Women’s Champion and talked about being honored to have such an accolade.

2 Felt Polarizing Becky Feud Was Her Greatest Learning Experience

Bianca Loved Program That Was Getting Criticism From Many Fans

• Becky Squashing Bianca Upset Many Fans At Start Of Feud
• Bianca Lost The Short-Term Program Of Her Rematches
• Ultimate Revenge Down The Line At WM Winning Over Becky

Becky Lynch returning to WWE after giving birth featured a shocking moment defeating Bianca Belair for the Smackdown Women’s Championship in seconds. Many fans felt Bianca was buried, especially since she lost multiple rematches the rest of the year.

WWE took a risk with some delayed long-term storytelling when Belair finally got revenge defeating Lynch for the belt at WrestleMania 38. Bianca even called it her greatest learning experience since the end was a satisfying payoff from getting squashed.

1 Sam Roberts Had Backstage Heat For Criticizing Her

WWE Broadcaster Criticizing Bianca Led To Major Backstage Heat

• Sam Felt Bianca Didn't Deserve TakeOver Match Over Bigger Names
• Multiple Wrestlers Took Offense To Sam Getting Harsh About His Point
• Montez Ford Stared Down Roberts Backstage For Months

Sam Roberts is one of the rotating broadcasters from other fields that WWE has used on-screen for PPV pre-show panels. An NXT pre-show featured Sam claiming that Bianca Belair wasn’t worthy of a TakeOver match challenging Shayna Baszler over the other NXT women.

The “hot take” was meant to be a talking point for the talk show panel, but it upset a few people since Roberts came off a bit harsh. Sam revealed that Bianca’s husband Montez Ford stared him down with tense looks for months backstage whenever they were at the same shows.